Scum (Book 1)

17. Invited

Liam’s POV

Chey is incredibly good at avoiding blows; so good, that despite my bullsh*t lie, it looked like I genuinely had a whole lesson planned in the skill of evasion.

Generally speaking, anyone who has to fall back on dodging likely shouldn’t be fighting anyway, but Chey learned how to fight from her brother, who, as a much larger male, could have ripped her head off.

She had no choice but to learn evasive maneuvers, and I’m almost positive it’s the reason she still has all of her teeth. It was for her own benefit though, and not in the sense that her brother just wanted her to be a rough woman, but to keep her safe as well.

Chey is not a ranked female, but she does have a respectable lineage, meaning that she has worth in terms of breeding.

The practice is outdated, frowned upon, and for the most part illegal, but some unfated men and women who care about the genes they pass forward tend to ‘offer’ their services, and no one can dispute that the results are often commendable.

Sadly, that also creates a problem because alphas who want a strong heir, or even parents of future alphas who want to ensure good breeding, have been known to ‘collect’ several women, and Chey fits within the category they usually go for.

However, because of her brother’s training, Chey knows how to get away from large males, which breeder curators tend to be.

Still, that doesn’t change the fact that, as a member of this pack, she can be used as a bargaining chip to foster new alliances, which I hope never happens to the girl who desperately wants a fated mate to love unconditionally.

“Did you see what she did just now?” I ask, addressing some of the younger females who I know look up to Chey like a role model. “She could have kicked my ankle and broken it, leaving me unable to pursue her. You must always remember to look for any weak spots your opponent may have.”

One of the youngest raises her hand, tilting her head innocently as she addresses Cheyenne and not me.

“Does Alpha Liam have weak ankles?”

“I think that he allowed himself to remain open for the purpose of this demonstration,” Chey replies, which is accurate.

“But Chey… you're like… the best female fighter in this pack. I don’t even know how to punch properly yet.”

Chey chuckles, gesturing for the girl speaking to approach, and then she calls for Hector, who scrambles to his feet as he makes the ‘what the hell are you doing?’ face.

“She’s going to punch you, and then you’re going to tell her what she did wrong.”

“You want me to voluntarily allow myself to be punched?” Hector stares at Chey with an arched brow, and I can tell that Kelvin is irritated by the friendship they seem to share.

I’m starting to have my doubts that he feels no pull toward Chey, but then again, if he did, he would have said something to someone; especially since she’s been walking around the pack looking like a fitness model.

“She’s a seventeen-year-old girl,” Chey says, trying to shame Hector into agreeing, but the man gives her the ‘really?’ face, reminding Chey that she too is seventeen. “Coward,” Chey whispers, which was all Hector needed to lift his chin to the girl, who follows Chey’s instruction before she punches the man square in the chest.

“That was good, but…” Hector takes Chey’s place, explaining to the teen where she went wrong, but when he asks Chey to become a punching bag, the girl changes her tune completely.

“First, I’m not an i***t, so I’m not going to just let someone hit me, and second, I can’t promise that I won’t react.”

The teen withdraws her hand from Hector, backing away from Chey, who flashes a toothy smile that other people giggle at.

“That’s bullying,” Kelvin says, still chuckling at the display, but I don’t think Chey was joking.

Since the atmosphere has become somewhat playful, I sort the teens in pairs, but it’s not going well, and a lot of women have already tapped out, not wanting to be seriously injured, which I can see is irritating to Chey.

“That’s right ladies; let’s give up without trying because we all know that the men in this pack will take ‘very’ good care of us.” Many of the girls get embarrassed, casting their eyes away from me in a way that lets me know that Chey’s words had some hidden meaning.

“Can we talk?” I point to the door, but before Chey can walk out, Kelvin grabs hold of her arm, careful not to let his actions seem aggressive because she will react, and based on her expression she was about to.

“You never responded to my question,” he says, causing my blood to boil, so I mind-link my discontent.

“Bro, she’s Dallas’s little sister. What are you doing?” The man casts a glance toward me, but it doesn’t rest on me for long because he’s too focused on Chey’s concerned expression.

“You aren’t in any trouble. I just find you fun to spend time with.” Chey giggles loudly, looking around the room as she does.

“Did Dallas put you up to this?” Kelvin is so put off by Chey’s denseness that he sighs deeply, and I think he’s going to give up, but he just blurts out his intentions, making the entire room go quiet. “Oh… Why didn’t you just say that then?”

It’s clear to everyone that Chey thinks Kelvin saying that he just wanted to talk was friendly and not romantic, but I think the man will take whatever he can get at this point.

“4PM okay?”

“Sure,” the woman says, waving to the man as she leaves the sparring hall.

Chey’s POV

Nora is scaring me by telling me that gamma Kelvin asked me out on a date, but sitting in the dining hall together is not a date… I think.

“You think that maybe he’s feeling a pull toward you?” My heart starts to thump in my chest, feeling overwhelmed by the possibility, but I don’t want to get my hopes up.

“Help me choose an outfit.” Nora and I scramble through the clothes that Mac gave me, looking for something that looks casual and unassuming, but cute at the same time.

We settled on a pair of blue, cut off jean shorts and a white shirt that doesn’t fully cover my stomach, but since the shorts have a high waist, I don’t look desperate.

“You look cute.” Nora says, helping me style my hair in a way that doesn't look too forced, but is still nice enough to make my face stand out.

“Isn’t this too much?” I question, looking at the woman who has make up in her hands. She nods, putting the items down and handing me lip gloss only.

“Have fun,” she says, making me shiver as I stand. Kelvin is handsome and sweet, but I know that he’s sneaky.

A lot of women think that he’s a very honest man, which in a way, he is, but I’ve overheard him telling a girl he used to date that she was ‘violating’ their ‘agreement’ by asking him not to sleep with other people.

He told her that he was young and free to do what he wanted, and while that isn’t an indication that he would behave that way toward his fated partner, it does make me fear that if I’m his mate, he will want me to wait until he’s ready before we claim one another.

That kind of thing can weaken a bond, and my mother told me that in the pack she used to belong to, the beta wanted to wait until he was done with school before he marked his fated partner, and during his absence, he was continuously unfaithful.

The woman started her own relationship with a pack warrior, and by the time her mate returned, she was no longer interested in him. Despite being a lower ranked female, she wanted a rejection, and after their situation was heard by the High Council, it was granted.

The pack’s beta was so distraught that he forced his mark on the woman before a date for the rejection was set. Sadly, the woman was so over the bond that she was willing to risk dying to be rid of it, because to her, the bond meant nothing.

My mother has been telling me stories like that for some time now, likely because she wants to prepare me for the very real possibility that if I’m fated to someone ‘early,’ he may not be happy about it, much in the way Kelvin wanted to have a girlfriend and still sleep around.

If he is my fated partner and if he thinks that I’ll accept cheating or waiting of any kind, then he’s got the wrong girl, and if this ‘date’ is actually a ‘date’ then I will make sure he understands that.

“How do I look?”

“A little overdressed,” Nora admits, so I quickly let my hair down, which I hope makes me look more casual.

My curls look good enough for me to wear them naturally, and since my hair has gotten longer, it actually looks cute.

“Better?” Nora gives me a thumbs up, and I take a deep breath, scared of the many possibilities.

I walked toward the pack’s cafeteria feeling so nervous that I’m practically shaking. I’m early, but I don’t want Kelvin to think that I’m not interested in him.

Unfortunately, I never made it to the man because my phone rings and I’m called to kitchen duty.

I don’t have Kelvin’s number, so I make my way to the cafeteria, intending to let the man know that our ‘date’ is canceled, but when I get there, I have the sinking feeling that I was completely wrong.

Kelvin is sitting with a large group of people that I don’t necessarily speak to or associate with, and there’s nothing that screams ‘date’ about the entire situation.

I pull my hair into a messy bun, and approach the man, feeling like a fool for having assumed. Not wanting to ruin the good time he’s obviously having; I tap his shoulder to give him a tight smile.

“I have to work.” I flash my phone to the man who looks confused, making me even more embarrassed about what I’m wearing. “They said that a large party arrived, and they were short staffed.”

“Next time that you want to invite me to have fun, don’t host it in a place where I work.” I’m embarrassed, but the misunderstanding lies with me.