Talons

Chapter 84: The Outing

Rhea’s POV

Brice has been looking for his brother, but we probably won't see him for a while. I saw the way he carried Julee, and I have only seen that action done when mates are about to, well… mate. I know that she has been saving herself, but I never imagined that a friend of mine would be her fated partner.

When I relayed the information to the rest of the group I came with, they were as shocked as I was, but Miracle saw an opportunity in Brice. She immediately got on the phone to inform her mother, who I could hear telling her daughter that Julee should bring both boys to meet the family in hopes that Brice would be fated to one of my other cousins.

Since Fortunate is happy and already expecting her first pup, my aunt’s views on a fated partner has somewhat changed. She now believes that she and her siblings were just unlucky, and when it comes to the situation involving me, she too believes that General’s wolf was confused by the 'aura' I put out.

When Julee and Brent get back they kiss before parting ways, and when my cousin strolls up to us, Miracle covers her nose in mock disgust.

“You should be lucky I even showered,” Julee says, and I take my cue to leave. Sylvia and I are somewhat jealous of my cousin, whose first experience with a man was one that she not only wanted, but one that she won't look back on disgust.

For me, Colton was the first man to touch me intimately, and that was against my wishes, the next man was a rogue who tried to force his mark on me, after that there was Tucker, then General and finally Mike. I have very little good experiences with men, and if I’m being honest, I prefer not to be around them.

“B,” Brice calls and I jog up to him. “It’s boring, let's do something fun.” I glance around and see a bunch of models just standing around. It's clear that no one is having a good time; they are just there for free drinks and maybe to catch the eye of one of the men.

I look for backup, but Jamie is playing poker with the man who's called me ugly several times despite my face being covered, Miracle is begging the DJ to let her take over for ten minutes, Julee and Brent have somehow ended up intertwined and my sister is moping in a corner because, for good reason, she is anti-male and too many men have been flirting with her.

“How about we make a bet?” I offer. “Whoever loses has to dive off the board.”

“Too lame. Why don’t we both dive off the board?” I shrug and Brice makes the ‘you first’ gesture.

“The person whose dive is the weakest has to buy my cousin's dinner tonight.” Brice holds up his thumbs and I shrug off my coverup and remove my accessories. "I'm not a strong swimmer," I say, and Mike who had been hovering, promises to fish me out.

I get on the board, and back flip off, earning myself a round of hoots from my cousins. As promised Mike pulls me out of the water, and Brice quits before jumping.

"How much can a couple of girls eat?" I laugh at the man who has no idea how much my family can eat. Unlike me, they have a sense of taste and a big appetite; he will likely go broke feeding them.

I slip back into my coverup although I don't need it. April is warm in Miami, but Mike handed it to me, and I absentmindedly put it on.

"Damn bro," the man who has been insulting me since I came says. "You walked away from that?" I ignore him and continue talking to Brice.

Jamie comes strolling up fanning a wad of cash that makes the man roll his eyes. He introduces himself as Tremaine, and I shake his hand to be respectful and walk away.

Mike is still following me, and I start to grow uncomfortable. I tell him that I don't feel comfortable around men, and he takes my hint and backs off.

I use the space to sit in a corner and dry off in the sun, but then Brent comes up to me and sits at the edge of my chair.

"I understand why you couldn't tell me, but it doesn't change anything. If ever you need help; Julee and I will be there." I glance over to my cousin, who despite being wolfless has acute enough hearing to have heard her mate’s words.

"Thank you, but there is a lot more you still have to learn. Julee will tell you."

"She has told me enough. I have a large enough home for you to stay with us." I screw up my face in confusion. "Julee is moving in with me as soon as we find a group who will take her."

"And you," I correct. Brent seems confused by my words but realization dawns on him quickly. "Contact Coach Jim, I'm sure he will know someone."

The pool party ended early for me. I wasn't up for sticking around, and Mike’s staring was making it difficult to wind down. I couldn't even drink my water in peace because I felt as though it had been tainted.

There was also his teammate, who decided I was not as ugly as he originally thought. At one point, he was so rude to Brice, who he called a ‘straggly,’ and I had to show my ugly side. I don’t think the man thought I had it in me, but he recovered calling me a groupie wh*re.

I’m good with insults, as long as he doesn’t touch me, we will be fine. After being in a situation where I literally could not fight back without consequences, I’m a little higher strung. Not toward my friends and family, but toward anyone who isn't.

I find Raven and she practically sprints away from one of the athletes who was staring at her like she was a goddess. My sister is a beautiful woman, and the new coldness she displays gives her a mysterious vibe that Brice told me was attracting attention.

“Are you leaving?” Mike asks, and I nod.

“I’m coming with you,” Brice adds. “Brent is busy.” He points to his brother who is literally cuddling with my cousin in the pool.

“They are getting married soon,” I say and Brice flinches.

“Damn, he’s moving like Braylen. When the hell am I going to find a soulmate?” My sister and I look at one another in amusement. It's something so simple, but we just realized that the human term soulmate must have come from couples like Julee and Brent.

Much later in the evening, I find myself dressed in a silver rhinestone plunge neck mini dress. My hair has been pulled into a tight mid ponytail, and I look nightclub ready. Brice watched most of my transformation process, and he made Raven laugh so much that I thought my smokey eye was going to look more like a raccoon, but my sister did an excellent job, which was almost ruined when Brice sat down waiting for her to make him up as well.

“I’ll do it,” Raven warns, and Brice shrugs.

“Make me hot too.”

When all is said and done, Brice looks surprisingly good. My sister made his lashes look thicker and his eyes look more striking by lining them in black. However, when Brent came, he burst into laughter at the sight of his brother, who had been waiting for his clothing to be brought.

“You aren’t wearing that,” Raven says, and Miracle hands her a bag that she pulls clothing from. “This was supposed to be a gift for my brother, but it should fit you fine.” My sister pulls Brice into a back room, and when he comes out, he looks like a model.

I can’t help but to wonder if my brother has changed a lot since I’ve been gone because from what I know he would never, but I later find out that Raven was trying to be less creepy. She had actually brought the outfit for Dolton.

Miracle then told me that my sister is obsessed with shopping for the man and most of her room is filled with gifts for him. I frown at the information, and when I get back to Claw, I will make sure that I curb that habit.

We get to the nightclub and make our way to a VIP table. Mike is already there, and Brent tells me that he wouldn’t take no for an answer. I feel bad, but not bad enough to let my guard down around the man.

We sit down, and laughter is soon consuming the group, except for Julee, who looks uncomfortable. Miracle is also a bit tense, and when I ask her what's wrong, she tells me that a rogue female has been staring at Brent. I cannot sniff the woman out, but I scan the room and find her.

I stand, and Jamie grabs my arm, but I shoot her a warning glance that forces her to let go. I strut up to the rogue who only notices me and starts a slow retreat, but when she realizes she has cornered herself, she drops down onto her knees in submission.

I don’t know what it is, but rogues respond oddly to me, some become aggressive and others, like the woman in front of me, give up without a fight.

Raven’s POV

As soon as I smelled my sister, I could tell that something was different. She is definitely a rogue, but the scent is mixed with something else. When Jamie and I went shopping, she told me that the few times she and my sister have met rogues has been interesting at least, and now I get to see what Jamie meant.

B has done nothing, but the rogue who was eyeing Julee’s man has completely submitted in the most embarrassing way, clearly not wanting a fight to ensue. I watched my sister nudge the woman with her foot, and when she stood, B said something that made the rogue sprint out of the club.

“We all just saw that, right?” Brice says, and I link Miracle, who is sitting closer to Jamie.

We decide to sing happy birthday, and end the evening early. The man named Mike who is apparently still in love with my sister looks saddened, but B pulls him to a back corner and I’m not sure what she said, but they exchanged a passionate hug before he left.