Talons

Chapter 43: The Heartbreak

Rhea's POV

Progress is moving slowly but it is moving. I have already gotten into a steady rhythm, but I still have a long way to go. Mike spends a lot of his free time in the gym with me and in return I help him study material he is weak in.

He has changed his major to agricultural studies, which makes Sylvia happy. She likes Mike the way I like Jack and it's not hard to figure out why. The man is handsome in a way that makes me feel shy when he looks at me, unlike Jack, who is so handsome that it makes me stare at him.

They are almost complete opposites of one another. Jack's skin is brown, Mike's skin is pale; Jack has light eyes and hair, while Mike’s eye and hair are dark.

Sylvia and I have had lengthy discussions over both men, and so far, we have not determined a definitive victor between the two. Where looks are concerned Jack wins, but where personality is involved, Mike is miles ahead.

I am still a little put off by the fact that he compared my sister and I to condoms, but I heard him compare a few professional football players with even worse analogies that make me realize he is just vulgar in speech when around his friends.

Classes haven't started yet, and Raven recently told me that we have been called back to our brother’s pack for a lake party. I have no idea why he would invite me, knowing that I don't like swimsuits and that I can barely doggy paddle.

We have packed for a few days, because we have a feeling that my brother called us together for a bigger reason. Tucker is not happy that Raven is leaving, but I heard her making it up to him all night. I remind myself to buy a good set of earplugs to shield me from hearing them in the future.

When Raven and I arrive, Robin pretty much crushes us in a hug. She gives us a good whiff and is satisfied when she doesn't smell anyone else’s scent on us.

"I missed you guys so much," she says, and I kind of feel bad. I had believed that Luke would have distracted her from Raven’s absence, but I may have gotten it wrong. "Hurry up and change. The party starts soon."

Robin pulls us into the packhouse, and she puts me in the guestroom. It feels weird to no longer have a place within the pack that I once called home, but it was a long time coming.

I change into a swimsuit and put a large shirt over it as is customary for me. I grab a towel and make my way toward the lake. 

I slow in my steps when I see Jack, but not because he is around, he told me he would be in the state. I am taken aback by the way he is talking to my sister. They are laughing and giggling with one another, and I can see a certain longing in his eyes that I know I will never receive from him. 

"He isn't the only man in the world," Sylvia says, and I nod at her words, leaving the pair alone. I find a nice spot to hide with my book, but I cannot stop looking at Raven and Jack flirting in plain sight. "Don't look."

"I can't help it," I reply. "I'm kind of annoyed."

"He doesn't deserve us." I sigh at my wolf's comment. I know she means well, but words like that always seemed like an excuse to me. I had wanted her to meet Jack on good terms, but right now, there is nothing good about what I see and feel.

I turn away and bury my face so deep inside my book that I don't even notice Lark and Emma standing near me until my brother clears his throat. They tell me that they have something important to say, and I close my book to stand. 

I wonder if the council has lifted my punishment and my heart starts racing, but Emma takes my hand and rests it on her abdomen making my eyes go wide. I have always wanted to be an aunt and I am overwhelmed with happiness. 

"We want you to choose a name," Emma says and I shake my head in disbelief. "Don't look so surprised. Lark and I know that this pack has failed you, and we want to show you that no matter how terrible things have been; we are still here." A stray tear falls from my eyes and Emma pulls me into a hug I didn't know I needed.

Once they are done speaking with me, the couple leave the area, and I completely forget about Jack, until he comes and plops himself down on the blanket next to me.

He has been swimming and he isn't wearing a shirt. My eyes trace his body and I struggle to bring them back up to his face. Sylvia hums in my head, telling me that I have good taste and I resist the urge to laugh. When I have taken in enough of his body with my eyes, I lift my book again.

"Bebé," he wines. "Are you mad at me?" I straight up ignore him, but I can't help but to notice he hasn't commented on my weight, which is good. "Bebé, dimé.” (Baby, tell me.) I say nothing and Jack uses a finger to gently push my book down.

"I'm just showing you how it feels to be ignored." Jack chuckles deeply and away goes all the anger I felt toward him. 

We slip into casual conversation, and he tells me that he has been busy with alpha training. He apologizes for not responding to me often, and he claims that his now ex-girlfriend had a problem with our friendship.

While he is explaining, my mind goes to my mysterious friend and the female middle finger I was sent, and I decide to believe him. I had no idea he had a girlfriend and I kind of forgive him now.

Jack scoots closer to me and my heart skips a beat when his bare arms press against mine.  His skin is damp from being in the lake, but it's warm to the touch. His arms are toned and muscular, and I can’t help but to want to rub my hands along their lines, but I don’t.

"Baby," he says in a deep voice that sounds seductive to me. I wish he would call me that all the time, but he usually goes with Bebé, which isn’t bad. "I need you." My eyes snap to his lips, and I hope he is about to ask me for a kiss.

"Yes?" I whisper. If he asked me anything right now I would do it, and Sylvia's silence tells me that she would do it too.

"Can you put in a good word with your sister for me?" I blanch as my heart breaks, but I don't let it show on my face. At least I don't think I have. "Please?" He begs, picking up my hand and holding it between his two warm ones. 

I nod because I don't trust my words. I can feel tears building in my eyes, and I want nothing more than to run away. I don't know why I ever thought I stood a chance and I feel stupid for getting my hopes up.

Jack smiles at my nod and lays back on the blanket with his arms behind his head. Once again, my eyes trace his body, and I start mentally torturing myself over the fact that someone as handsome as him will never want to be mine. 

Raven comes jogging up to where Jack and I are seated in silence, and I feel inadequate compared to her; she is gorgeous. Like Robin her hair and eyes are a pretty shade of brown that catch the light perfectly. Their faces have well defined features that demand attention, and they both have the body type that models work hard for.

“Jacques,” my sister says, adding a fake Spanish accent into his name that nearly makes me roll my eyes. “I need a partner. Join me?” Jack doesn’t even take time to consider. He jumps up and runs toward my sister and I watch their finger interlock as she pulls him toward the lake.

I use the opportunity of alone time to gather my things and leave before I can’t hold back my tears. I don't know what Raven is doing; she knows that I like Jack, she has heard me mention him many times, and beyond that she has Tucker. 

“B,” I hear Robin say as I walk back toward the packhouse with slumped shoulders. “He isn’t worth a single tear.” I send a smirk in her direction, and nod. I don’t even know why I care. I’ve always believed that Jack slept around, but him going after my sister is a blow I wasn’t prepared for.

All the conversations he and I have had felt like the beginning of something to me, but apparently, they meant nothing to him. So much so that he was able to drop our friendship without even telling me why.

Colton’s POV

Lark is having some sort of function and we have been invited. When we get there, we find out that he and his mate are expecting their first pup, but that is not what has captured and kept my attention. I see Jack and Raven playfully splashing one another in the lake, and as a man, I know flirting when I see it.

Mandy has also caught sight of the pair, but my beta doesn’t let her cause trouble. She and I scan the area, but there is no sign of B, and we assume she hasn’t been invited. I find a quiet place and pull out my phone.

I badly want to check in on the girl, but I don’t know what to say and I am not ready to reveal myself to her yet.