Scum (Book 2)

92. Interesting

Liam’s POV

Everything feels like it's spiraling out of control.

Royce was right, people in our pack are starting to assume, including Lillian, who was told about how far I went to save Chey by Riker and Phoebe.

She’s young, not stupid, so she was able to put two and two together, but now, she’s at the forefront of helping us spread rumors about Dallas using Cheyenne’s expulsion as a precursor to a challenge.

That’s the word going around, and despite the fact that the Lively family hates me, they haven’t refuted the claims, since they can probably guess that it’s in Chey’s best interest to be as loosely associated with me as possible to protect her from Porsha’s influence.

“Liam… I don’t think Dallas would ever challenge you.” Kelvin is still out of the loop, which is good because he’s the man Porsha has chosen to lean on for ‘support.’

“You don’t know him as well as I do. He was just waiting for the opportunity to strike, which is why he’s always in the gym lately.”

“I talked to him about that. He said he just needed a stress outlet because Porsha is still a member of this pack. Anyone who says otherwise is lying.” It’s odd hearing Kelvin defend Dallas in any way, but I guess he can feel the tension between us.

“Still vouching for others, I see…”

“What? No… I just… If we find Cheyenne, and she comes back-”

“You want to be able to tell her that you stood up for her family?” I’m smirking to hide the fact that I’m livid.

“I told you how I feel about her.” Yes… Kelvin did tell me how he feels, and he’s just accidently given me an idea.

“If you still care so much about her, get her back. Whatever you choose to do is on you. So, you might want to make sure she doesn’t get hurt.”

“Are you serious?”

“As long as you take the credit for everything, yes.” Kelvin clearly can’t tell that I’m using the word credit instead of blame to protect my own interest, but I know he doesn’t want anything bad to happen to Chey, he just wants to be with her.

“I promise you won’t regret this.” Something is wrong with my gamma if he hasn’t realized that being with Chey is impossible for him; unless he’s planning on leaving the pack.

“I hope not, but I am curious; where exactly will you two settle down if she accepts you?”

“It’ll be awkward, but I think that I can convince Cheyenne to stay here.” Not for the first time I’m realizing that Kelvin is really out of touch with reality.

Chey will never agree to come back as long as I’m the alpha of this pack, which gets me to thinking…

Maybe my gamma has bigger plans in mind.

Chey’s POV

I’m off today, and by coincidence, so is Jett.

We decided to explore more of our neighborhood, wanting to allow Marissa time to walk because she needs more stimulation and exercise.

She mostly stays at home, so being outside is always exciting for her, especially since there are restaurants not too far away from our apartment complex, and we promised that we would stop somewhere.

Because I feel like the couple needed privacy, I’ve fallen behind to inspect my surroundings, but as I’m walking, an old woman catches my arm saying something incomprehensible.

Since I’ve moved into this area, people keep assuming that I’m from some other part of the globe, and the number of times I have to shake my head when being asked a question in a foreign language is sometimes annoying because it kind of feels like I’m being challenged by them.

“I’m sorry, I don’t understand.” The woman points behind me, likely trying to warn me to be careful, but I already knew I was being followed. I’m just not worried.

Lifting my shirt, I show the old woman several knives attached to my body, and she immediately releases me, making the sign of the cross before hastily crossing the street.

She’s not a werewolf, so she’s probably confused by my boldness, but I’ve learned more about humans in my time away from the pack than I have in my entire life.

The most important thing is that they’re just as deadly as we are, especially when trying to protect someone they love.

"Why aren't you moving?" Jett mind-links, probably noticing for the first time that I'm not fifty steps behind them.

"We're being followed."

"I noticed them too. At least one of them comes to the gym a lot."

"You think he's a threat?"

"Maybe to my mate, but don't tell her I said that." I start to chuckle, knowing that Jett doesn't want to offend Marissa.

I wonder if I will ever find my mate, and if so, will it be a random and somewhat tense encounter like the one I'm probably minutes away from having, or will it be romantic?

"Hey… you need to be careful." Those are not the first words I expected to hear from the group of men following me. "You seem young, like really young, but you're trailing your scent everywhere, and this area is claimed by bad people.

"Are you a part of those bad people?"

"If I were, this conversation would be going much differently. A lot of you country girls end up getting hurt because you don’t know anything about the city. I'm just trying to look out." I was at first feeling bad for assuming, but now, I'm hung up on the fact that the man knew I was from a rural area.

"How’d you know where I was from?"

"Okay… so you're about to take this really wrong, but baby… those shoes!" I don't know why, but I'm completely offended.

The man who just said that isn't the same one who was warning me, and he didn't just end his rant with what's on my feet.

"You'll have to excuse my mate. He's very into fashion."

"Clearly." I don't know what I said funny, but the men are now dying of laughter, which encourages Jett to approach.

"You okay, Alpha Chey?"

"Alpha Chey." One of the men repeats while moving his hand toward me, but I roughly slap it away, wanting him to know that I'm not a joke. "Damn girl… I just wanted to touch your hair."

"Then claw my face off?"

“Umm… This is the city; we have home training." Again, the men start laughing, and because this scene must be too much for Marissa to ignore, she ‘disobeys’ her mate to see what's happening.

"What's got my alpha and my mate looking so angry over here?" The laughing men explain, and Marissa looks me up and down, almost as though she's mentally agreeing with them. "I think her clothes are charming."

"Charming?" I incredulously ask, offended once again.

"Cheyenne, you're gorgeous. These men can't see that because they're more interested in each other. Anything they say is null."

"B*tch…" one of the men whispers, clutching at his imaginary pearls.

"Let's not get too friendly," I mock, still put off about being followed. "Why were you tracking me?"

"Tracking you? Girl, don’t you know that people like us need to walk?" Now, I'm embarrassed. "There's a club in this area, and they-"

"Host fights?" Marissa has been dying to see a live fight, and it's clear that she 'needs' to find a venue.

"Not this place, but we do know of one."

"Address?"

"Oh, hell no. I'm not getting into any more sh*t with those people. If you want in, you need an invite."

"But we don't know anyone." I know that I'm pouting, but unlike Marissa, who just wants to spectate, I actually need and want to participate.

"Come on Dyson. She's a little girl, the other one's pregnant, and the male is quiet. How much trouble can they really get into?" I watch as the man affectionately rubs 'Dyson's' shoulders until he caves.

"Fine, but if you guys get into it, don't even look in my direction. Also, you need to stop addressing her as alpha in a public setting. She hasn't learned not to mark her surroundings, and someone may get the wrong idea." I like nice people, so I flash a toothy smile, and promise to work on my 'scent'.

"Oh… She really is gorgeous," Dyson says, earning him a push before the man who had been hugging him walks away.

That was probably the most interesting encounter with other werewolves that I've ever had, and to be quite honest, I rather enjoyed it.

Liam’s POV

I won’t pretend that I’m over Cheyenne because I’m not, but little by little, I’m beginning to be able to breathe again.

I spend most of my free time at the gym, taking cues from Dallas, who’s been heavily training lately.

My guess is that he’s eventually going to attack me, but I can’t and won’t just allow myself to be killed, no matter how badly I might deserve death.

It’s funny because people are mistaking my broken heart for maturity, and I keep getting a lot of compliments in areas I didn’t even know I was lacking.

I’m also being praised for my assessment performances, which I’ve started to take seriously, because Dallas has more political support than me.

He only needs six of the pack’s elders on his side to formally call for a pack leadership vote, and if he fails there, he can always challenge me.

I genuinely hope he doesn’t go that far because his mate needs him, and I won’t allow empathy to hold me back.

Back in my room, I reach under my pillow and pull out the wolf plush I bought Cheyenne, smiling at the memory of giving it to her.

Truthfully, I forgot all about it, and while it hurts that she left it behind, it’s one of the few things that brings me the most comfort.

I wonder if my mate shifted already, who she’s with, and most importantly, I hope that she’s safe wherever she is.

I don’t deserve her forgiveness, I’ve already committed myself to that possibility, but if I’m somehow able to find her, I hope that she’s reserved just a little bit of affection for me.

“Alpha Liam… You might want to brace yourself.” Royce has been working hands-on with my father to keep his distance from me, part of the plan to throw people off.

Right now, the pack thinks I’m a sister chasing pervert, which is better than the truth.

“What is it?” I link back, unwilling to get up for another false lead.

“Kelvin has uploaded Chey’s image to the rogue database.”