Scum (Book 1)

39. Perverted

Liam’s POV

Chey is an absolute pleasure to be around, especially when she isn’t in ‘character.’ Yes, she’s a strong girl, and yes, she’s a skilled fighter, but underneath her tough exterior, she’s just like anyone else her age.

She’s been playing in the sand with Jenna, too afraid to go into the ocean with her ‘new skin,’ but I have no complaints because it means that I can watch her from a safe distance.

“You liking what you see?” I pretend not to have understood my beta and point to a woman in a thong not too far away from where Chey is building her sandcastle. “Sh*t, sorry bro. I thought you were looking at Chey.” I glare at Royce, but he’s right, I was. “I keep forgetting that you’ve been abstinent.”

“And since I have a ‘girlfriend,’ all I can do is look right now.” I lean back, grateful that my sister is bougie enough to have rented beach chairs and umbrellas for the day because the weather is perfect for an outdoor nap, but Chey comes back before my eyes can get heavy.

“Done with your castle?”

“Royce ‘accidently’ knocked it over.” Chey’s pouting like a baby, so I mind-link Royce, wanting to know what actually happened.

“Bro… they asked me to be the judge; I had to do what I had to do.” I start laughing, and Chey mistakenly thinks I’m mocking her.

“It’s not funny. I didn’t even get to borrow your phone and take a picture of it.”

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry. I’ll get some water so we can build one together right here.” I wasn’t expecting Chey to give me one of her heart stopping smiles, only this time, I wonder what her lips taste like.

I quickly shake those thoughts away, borrow a bucket from some nearby children, and bring enough water to wet the sand. If we need more, I’ll get some, but for now, I want to return the bucket to the patiently waiting boys.

“Do you like kids?” Chey asks, catching me completely off guard because the only thing on my mind right now is how babies are made. “Did I say something wrong?”

“No, I was just thinking about how to answer that question.” I take a second, actually wanting to give Chey a truthful answer. “I love children, you?”

“Umm… Well, they’re cute, but I don’t know how to feel about something so small and fragile.” That reminds me that I’ve never seen Chey play with children, or even hold a baby. “I’m not allowed to play with anyone under the age of twelve,” she admits, making me tilt my head. “There was… an incident.” I’m already laughing before I can ask what happened. “I didn’t even punch him that hard.”

“Chey, you beat up a child?!”

“No! Travis thought he was stronger than Lillian, so I was helping them test the theory."

“What kind of 'test' is that?” Chey shrugs, making the cute face that usually means there’s more to the story. “Tell me.”

“You used to play open chest with Royce, Kelvin and Dallas all the time.” Thinking about it, it's true.

We used to do dumb sh*t like that, wanting to know who the stronger of us was, but I don’t remember Chey being witness to our pre-pubescent antics.

“Yes, but all of us were pretty evenly matched back then. You out class Lillian and Travis.”

“Travis, definitely, but Lillian is a strong girl. Royce doesn’t see it because she’s his little sister, but she shouldn’t be underestimated.” I fall silent, knowing that like my parents did with Jenna, Lillian’s parents shelter her.

They have Royce, so there’s no need for her to be a fighter, and before I can say anything Chey takes the words right out of my mouth.

“Can you imagine how formidable Jenna could've been if she were allowed to train with the rest of the pack?” Coming from anyone else, that statement would have been offensive, but Chey tends to think like a pack leader.

It's probably learned from her father, but what's crazy is that his injury is a major part of why she was able to do half of what she’s done.

If he weren't a stay-at-home dad raising her identically to the way he was raising Dallas, Chey would have been just like Jenna, full of potential, with no real skill to back it up.

However, unlike her brother, and in between all the training, Chey's her father’s princess. That means, she's kind of naive, but little by little, she’s picking it up, learning things that she would have learned long ago had she been traditionally raised.

Chey’s POV

Our trip to the beach was beautiful, and I actually enjoyed the sand this time. It helps that Liam is fun to talk to, and not bad at castle building.

We took a lot of pictures too, so I’ll have plenty of memories to look back on, and thanks to Liam's careful selection of appropriate pictures, I now have many new followers on my social media, although most are pack members.

One of the first comments I received was from gamma Kelvin, asking me if I’m enjoying my vacation, and if it weren’t for the fact that everyone thinks I’m working, I would have replied with an all caps ‘yes.’

Jenna and Royce went for a romantic dinner after the beach, so Liam and I were free to do our own thing, stopping at random restaurants in the area to sample their appetizer platters, then moving on to the next before we settled on where to have our meal.

The night was beginning to feel like a real date, complete with the man I’m with holding the doors open for me, but everything is made even better as soon as we get back to our room.

By this time, Jenna and Royce are back, so Liam mind-links them immediately, and we all laugh uncontrollably as we unpack the items left for us.

Four two park tickets to Disney, three two-hundred-dollar Disney gift cards, and one for four-hundred dollars. We have something called lightning lane, four refillable water bottles, polarized sunglasses, sunscreen, several Disney themed shirts, and hats.

“Chey this is amazing! Thank you for keeping us in mind.” Jenna gives me a tight hug, and Royce follows up with a fist bump.

The woman and I start going through the shirts, wanting to choose which one looks best, and taking a cue from her, I ask Liam what he prefers.

“You look good in anything.” The man didn’t even look up, his answer was extremely brief, and completely unlike Royce’s active role in looking through the shirts to find one for his mate.

I guess that I got confused, so I shrug off my disappointment, and choose what I like, pairing it with a pair of jean shorts and setting it to the side for later.

Liam’s POV

I'm struggling not to look at Chey in a s****l way, but she’s so damn attractive that the only way I can do that is to ignore her completely.

Fortunately, she’s not the kind of girl to read too much into anything, so when I flippantly responded, not wanting to look up and become aroused, she picked something out herself.

Shortly after, someone pounds on the door, making me roll my eyes because I know who it is.

“CHEY!” As soon as I opened the door, Phoebe ran in and grabbed Cheyenne in a hug that she’s likely been dying to give her.

Riker’s also with her, and the pair start telling Chey what happened with them while she was out of it, and to put the icing on the cake, they update her on Leanne’s recovery.

I know Chey felt guilty about the woman’s mate, so hearing that they’re okay, and that they’ve been transferred to another pack for their safety, actually makes her breathe a sigh of relief.

“Also, thank you for putting me in my place. I never actually looked at Morgan’s situation in that way, and you're right, I was wrong.”

“Group hug?” Riker asks, prompting me to look up from my phone screen and pull Chey away. “It’s just a hug.”

“Sure it is.” I know what the man’s thinking, and truthfully, I don’t blame him for thinking it.

Phoebe isn’t an ugly woman, and if he could have them both, I’m sure his dreams would be made.

Sadly, he’d only be able to mark one of them safely, or Phoebe could mark Chey, and he could be their third wheel.

Typically, same s*x fated couples mark the end of a bloodline, unless there are siblings from the same parents, but chosen same s*x couples usually choose a donor, and I don’t mean lab conception.

There are a lot of threesomes in our world, in fact, they’re pretty normal, but Chey WILL NOT be taking part in any of them, at least not while I have some control over it.

I have to fight the urge not to think of Cheyenne in that way, but even in my threesome fantasy involving the woman, she’s the only star.

“I can smell your thoughts,” I quip, making both Phoebe and Riker shrug uncaringly, which drops my jaw. “You perverts!”

“What?” Chey questions, still too innocent to realize that they've come to some sort of side deal regarding her, and likely her body.

“Oh, eww,” Jenna adds, understanding what’s going on at the same time as her mate. “Chey’s a little girl.”

“Chey is seventeen; completely legal.”

“Wait a minute,” Chey says, looking around the room as though she’s just caught on to the silent discussion. “Is someone spreading rumors about me?” Silence. That was all that could be heard until Royce barked out a laugh that caused Chey to continuously hit him.

He didn’t even defend himself from her punches, in fact, he just kept laughing until I finally pulled the girl off, sensing that she had no plans to stop.

“Chey, you’re hurting him.”

“Then why’s he still laughing?” Royce is really an i***t, so he laughs in Chey’s face again. “I’m about to challenge you,” she says, finally making the man stop cackling and shoot to his feet. “You want to say that again?”

“I didn’t say that I’d win. I just said that I’d fight you.” Chey cannot beat Dallas, thus it’s fair to assume that she can’t beat Royce. The men are equally matched, and she knows it, which is actually shocking.

“You’re lucky that I love you like a little sister. Otherwise, I would have blackened your eye.” Chey holds her face, and although Royce is within his rights to threaten her, I can feel my wolf becoming annoyed.