Scum (Book 1)

18. Options

Liam’s POV

I really wanted to find a way to stop Kelvin from making a fool out of Chey, but he did it for me by making a fool out of himself. For whatever reason, he invited several other people to join him for lunch, likely wanting Chey to feel comfortable, but what actually happened was worse.

The girl was called into work, and instead of eating lunch with Kelvin, she ended up serving him and his friends.

Royce and I watched him uncomfortably squirm the entire time, and it's likely the last time Chey will entertain the idea of even eating in the same room as him.

I, however, think it serves him right. Dallas doesn’t ask for much, in fact he doesn’t ask for anything except our help in protecting his sister.

Chey’s a very strong-willed woman, and some men can’t handle it, so her brother tries to make sure that what happened in the past will never happen again; by making sure that his sister is well trained, and by asking us to take care of her.

I thought we all took that request seriously, but it appears that Kelvin wants to do a little more than ‘help’ Cheyenne.

“Why did you even invite her?” I mind-link, curious about what Kelvin’s explanation will be.

“The rumors spreading lately aren’t sitting well with my father. I was trying to put them to rest.”

Dallas is an exceptional fighter, with a skilled nurse as a mate, and there are people who want him to reclaim the title.

Since I’m bonded with both men, it’s possible for a challenge to be issued without severely impacting the pack, but Dallas is happy where he is, at least that’s what he says.

“I was trying to show people that our families were close.” I feel terrible for Kelvin, especially because he may have done the opposite.

The entire cafeteria falls silent, and my eyes land on the only person moving. Chey must have finished her shift, and by the look on her face, she’s ready to go home and sleep, but knowing the girl, she works tonight.

Wanting to help, I pull out my phone and text Chey, but unlike what she normally would do, she ignores the message completely.

“Bro, she looks pissed.” Kelvin massages his temples, and before he can even let the entire weight of the situation sink in, my father calls us to his office. “We’re in trouble,” I say aloud, wanting my gamma to know that I’ll have his back.

“I’ll never try anything like this again.” I feel bad for the man, so I pat his back, hoping to encourage him.

“You don’t have to fix everything.”

“I just feel so guilty,” he replies, something I’ve known for years now.

“And now you actually have a reason to be.” Kelvin takes a deep breath before heading to be punished, because I know that’s what’s about to happen.

Cheyenne’s POV

I was angry, but my paycheck this week looks amazing, so I feel much, much better about what happened.

I clocked more hours than typical, earning me overtime pay for the kitchen duty that I was randomly put on, and from babysitting Alpha Liam.

He listed the time I spent in his room as a special guard post, but I know that I did nothing but listen to him periodically moan and groan while I thought about my future.

“I bet Liam will never get drunk and assign you as a special guard again,” my brother teases, looking at my pay stub approvingly as we try to calculate how much in our family finances need to go to where.

Nora has been working with our parents to keep the house functioning on a tight budget, and honestly, she’s so good at it that my mom doesn't even help her anymore.

She does a lot of couponing, so we are able to get many things at discounted rates: a definite game changer.

It also helps that I make more money since I’m not in school anymore, but my father has asked me to slow it down because he claims that people are starting to think that I get preferential treatment when shifts are assigned.

Honestly, I just apply for every available time slot and hope I get chosen, and as for the patrols, I always make sure that I work the first part of the night shift because that’s the one no one wants. There was also some issue with gamma Kelvin that I don’t really have details on, but I’m not too worried about it.

“Sorry ladies, but we’ll have to cut this conversation short. Alpha Liam is linking for me.” My brother kisses Nora before he leaves, and I smile at how affectionate he is toward his mate, allowing Alpha Liam’s reassuring words to replay in my mind to counteract the extreme anxiety I’ve been having lately.

“Any news of your wolf?” Nora asks, snapping my attention back to her.

I don’t like to talk about this in front of my brother because he becomes angry that he wasn’t allowed to kill the people who plotted against me, but Nora plays mediator between us, using their bond to keep him calm as she explains.

“The doctor said that it can only be considered an issue after I turn eighteen.” Nora rubs my back, and I can feel the comfort in her touch, almost the same way I do when Dallas tries to cheer me up.

“If I have a wolf, so do you, and if I can shift, you can too.” I smile at Nora, whose face goes flat before she tilts her head. “Dallas just mind-linked; he says that he needs you to go to Alpha Liam’s room.”

“Did he sound angry?” I ask, fearing that Alpha Liam didn’t realize the amount he would have to pay me for putting me on special assignment while I was already on duty. I knew, and that is technically a crime.

“He just seems a little uncomfortable,” Nora replies.

Liam’s POV

Of all f*cking times for me to be invited to speak as a future alpha at a special assembly, it just had to be the one time that I didn’t even plan to go.

I’m not over my breakup, and the fact that Porsha may be at the event with a date has me feeling an intense sense of indignation.

“Bro, just take Shelby with you?”

“One, Shelby doesn’t leave pack grounds, not even to go shopping, and second…” I flatten my face and my beta chuckles.

The woman isn’t ugly, but she’s definitely no Porsha, and I’m not walking into that event with a downgrade, however f*cked up that may sound.

“What about Chey?” Jenna blurts out, and her mate actually seconds it.

“Royce, what the hell? Chey is Dallas’s little sister.”

“Exactly. She’s a safe option to bring. First: she won’t misunderstand, especially because of what happened with Kelvin…”

“And second: you’ll have a bombshell on your shoulder,” Jenna adds, backing up her mate who she, not too long ago, wanted to foolishly reject.

“I don’t know man… It’s kind of risky. Chey isn’t even eighteen yet.”

“So, unless someone asks, they will assume she’s your date, and if they do, you can say that you’re training her to be an escort… wait… don’t say that; it sounds bad.”

I know what my beta meant, but I enjoy messing with him, so I continue to harp on the fact that he unintentionally called Chey a prostitute, much to the irritation of my sister.

At the worst possible moment, Kelvin comes in, and he’s so taken aback by our joking that he mistakes our words as jabs toward him.

Chey was paid triple for what my mother called an unimaginable traumatic experience. Many people believed that Kelvin’s desperation when he ‘asked her out’ was because he was feeling a pull toward her, and although it's not true, rumors are still spreading about the possibility.

“No one feels as bad as I do and paying Chey for what happened was your mother’s idea.”

“Relax… We weren’t talking about you; Royce made a poor word choice and we’re teasing him about it.” Kelvin plops down in a chair, whining like a baby because he’s still not off the hook for what he did.

“I’m sorry. I just don’t know how I got to this place. My father’s been making me run two hours in the morning, and another two at night.”

“Well, don’t take it out on us.” Royce didn’t need to add that bit, but like Dallas, he’s angry that my gamma put Chey in an embarrassing situation in the first place.

If he were feeling pressured into being friendly with the girl’s family, there were other things he could have done, including inviting Dallas to lunch.

That actually would have been much more influential, but Kelvin claimed that he didn’t want to take the man away from his mate, already knowing that Dallas was working hard that week.

“What did I miss?”

“Liam’s been invited as a guest speaker at a special werewolf assembly.”

“That’s awesome bro.”

“Porsha might be there…”

“Oh…” Kelvin’s facial expression tells me that he understands my situation clearly, but then his features morph. “What does that have to do with Chey being a prostitute?” I fill Kelvin in on the previous conversation, and he raises a brow at it. “How does Dallas feel about that?”

“Oh! That’s a good idea,” Jenna says. “Let’s ask him what he thinks.”

I mind-link for the man, and he arrives wearing his signature smirk until he sees Kelvin; then it drops.

“Chey didn’t do anything wrong, did she.”

“Your sister isn’t that bad of a person,” Kelvin replies. “Even if she cursed me out, I would deserve it for causing this misunderstanding.”

“Good that you know,” Dallas says, sitting in the nearest open chair. “So, what’s up?”

Again, I go through the entire situation, and Dallas’s knee starts bouncing, indicating to me that he’s getting worried.

“You know that I’d never try anything with Chey, right?”

“It’s not you I’m afraid of. You’re asking me to allow you to pay my sister to be your date. You know how that sounds, right?” Dallas is the head of his household, so naturally I wanted to ask his permission, but in actuality, his mother is the boss.

“Come on D.; Chey is literally the only girl I can take who won’t try anything or misunderstand my intentions.”

“Then you need to ask her; I’m not getting involved.” I almost pulled out my phone to text her, but Jenna beat me to it.

“This is going to be fun,” she says, likely referring to irritating Porsha.