Scum (Book 2)

115. Competition

Chey’s POV

It’s been days, but Martha was kind of famous within the professional fighting community, so clips of our match are circulating everywhere, and they’ve even gotten back to my boss.

Now, I’m at a work meeting to discuss my future in healthcare.

“Technically, I can’t fire you for what you do on your days off, but you’ll need to be drug tested.” This situation is terrible.

No matter what, I’m going to fail because I’m not human, and our species, regardless of gender, have more testosterone in our urine, among other things.

“I understand, but I have never taken drugs in my life, and since I’ve started working here, no one has had any complaints about anything I’ve done.” Except you, I think to myself, knowing better than to say it out loud right now.

If Maya hadn’t come through, I would have had to call out of work, and with all the publicity the posted clips are getting, I could have been fired without warning.

“I actually believe you, but I don’t make the rules.” The woman tells me where to go, but because I don’t know what to do, I call Franchelle.

“If you tell me that you’re in another fight, I’ll release your pack members from bootcamp early.” That actually offends me because I haven’t quite gotten over that whole fiasco.

“I didn't fight, but I’m being drug tested at work. Won’t I fail?”

“Where are they sending you?” I let the woman know, and after a brief silence, she tells me that I should be fine.

Our species works in every field, so they know what to look out for, and as gross as it sounds, my urine should carry my scent, so any wolf on staff will know which tests to manipulate in order for me to keep my job.

“Any word on my earnings?” Martha Mcgregory’s camp is refusing to pay out, not that it’s a large amount, but they say she wants a rematch.

I’m not scared, but before I put myself in that kind of situation again, I need to be prepared. There’s that and the fact that too many people depend on me now.

The minute I woke up, Marissa was telling me off, using Sophia as a ‘weapon.’

It’s true that the couple didn’t experience a miscarriage because I took them with me. It's also true that I saved Sophia in utero, but I didn’t know the importance of the role I played to her mother, who really had no clue what to do with a baby.

I taught her how to change diapers, and how to test the bottle temperature. I even showed her ways to soothe the little girl, but it wasn’t until Marissa stood in my face and asked if I really cared about my pack that I finally understood the gravity of my actions.

If I had died, that would’ve left Jett, Miguel, and Dyson in charge. That means, any and all peace treaties we’re in would have to be renegotiated.

I don’t want that, not when we’re doing so well right now.

“My advice would be to forget the money. It’s not much, but if you really need it, I can advance it to you as a loan.”

“You’ve done enough for us already. I just wanted to finish buying school supplies.”

“Have you applied for a council grant?”

“I have not, and I will not.” Alpha Franchelle knows that.

“Come on, Chey. This is one of those times that you’ll have to swallow your pride. The worst they can do is say no.”

“Fine. What do I have to do?”

“I’ll give you the money, and you can pay me back with the grant.”

“What if I don’t get it?”

“You can pay me in one of the potions your wiccan makes.” I don’t like that, but because Franchelle is my mentor, I say nothing. “You can breathe now… It was just a suggestion.” I’m still quiet because Alpha Franchelle has never made me feel this uncomfortable, and it’s worrying me.

“If I offended you, or did something wrong, I would prefer for you to just tell me. You know that I don’t have great social skills, so it’ll take a long time for me to guess.”

“I’ve got to go, but I’ll visit sometime next week.” My eyes narrow as the call disconnects, filling me with dread.

I just realized that I’ve depended on Franchelle way too much, and now may be the time to cut ties with her.

Noah’s POV

Chey’s been suspended from work until she can be tested for steroid use, and somehow, my brother convinced her to come to a party with us.

He just signed a 120K contract over three fights, win or lose, and he’s celebrating because it’ll bring him closer to his ultimate retirement goal.

My brother and I share a checking account, but he has his own savings account, and according to his math, he only needs 300K to fully commit to our pack, which doesn’t pay well.

His logic is that he’ll only dip into his savings when he needs to, which shouldn’t be hard because most of his expenses will be covered once he officially takes over as beta.

“You ready?” Elijah asks, looking much more dressed up than usual.

I know that we’re going out, but he seems a lot more put together right now.

“Someone special going to be around?” I don’t want to believe that my brother is pursuing Cheyenne, knowing that I like her a lot, but I’m not entirely sure.

“Of course someone special is going to be there…” My question was aimed at my brother, but Iris, the current Beta's daughter just responded, and she looks even more dressed up than he is.

Unfortunately for the woman, my brother has zero interest in her, but she’s extremely interested in him.

“You’re coming too?”

“Why wouldn’t I? My father said this is an important milestone for you.” Watching the interactions between my brother and Iris is always cringeworthy, especially since I can see his facial expression, and he is not happy.

“If you’re coming, don’t start no sh*t. A new friend will be around, and she’s a lot better at arguing with her fists than with her words.”

“Are you threatening me now?”

“Don’t be so dramatic.” Eli walks away from Iris, making the woman ball her hands.

“Why does he hate me so much?”

“He doesn’t hate you. He just sees you as a little sister, that’s all.” That is not all.

I think Elijah hates Iris because she was the one who introduced me to Natalia, my not-so-fated mate.

That woman ended up robbing me blind, and despite saying that she knew nothing about anything, it was eventually uncovered that Iris knew all about what her friend was doing, she just didn’t care.

“So, what kind of competition am I walking into?”

“Cheyenne isn’t your competition, and it would be a huge mistake to treat her that way.” I start thinking back to the night of Elijah’s last fight and how rude my brother’s friends were to Chey.

The worst part about everything is that she was genuinely trying to be friendly, but they were treating her like trash.

In hindsight, the hostility was probably based on the fact that the women are also Iris’s friends, and they may have mistaken his invitation as a declaration of sorts.

I don’t think my brother has those kinds of intentions, but just in case he does…

“Hey Iris, I need a favor from you…”

Miguel’s POV

After what happened the last time she went out, no one felt comfortable with Chey going clubbing in a well-known trouble area, so Dyson and I agreed to go with her.

She’s a gorgeous girl, so all eyes were trained on her the moment we walked in, but she’s also a natural born protector, so she’s had her guard up since.

“Are you not going to dance?”

“Who’s going to watch my back if I do?” I desperately need to get my alpha drunk. Otherwise, this whole outing will be for naught.

I come back with drinks for our group, but she's afraid to take it, making me curious…

“I’ve had a bad experience,” she admits. “It’s not something I’m eager to repeat, but aside from that, I don’t handle liquor well.

“This isn’t that strong, and I already told you, I have sisters. I won’t allow you to make a fool of yourself.” Cheyenne's facial expression goes pensive, but she eventually picks up the drink and sips slowly with Dyson’s instruction.

Over time, she starts to loosen up to the point where when her friends showed up, she practically ran to them.

“Sorry we’re late.” Elijah gently kisses the side of Chey’s face, and just for a second, Noah’s expression goes dark, but when I look again, he’s smiling.

“So much for being friend-zoned…” Dyson mind-links, distracting me for just long enough for Cheyenne to be approached by a woman we all don't know.

“Hi! You must be Alpha Lively. I’m Iris, a very, very close friend of Elijah’s.” I can tell the woman was expecting some sort of reaction, but she gets nothing.

Noah, on the other hand, uses his brother’s irritated shock to his advantage by pulling Cheyenne into a hug.

“You look beautiful,” the man says, twirling the woman who really can’t handle her liquor if she’s this loose with just two drinks.

“Thanks, and as usual, you look great too.” Those words make Elijah frown, but Noah and Iris are beaming in glee.

Dyson and I make eye contact, already confused about what we should do because it’s as clear as day that both brothers are interested in our alpha.

“Let’s go to our reserved section…” Again, I look at my mate, silently laughing because Elijah may think he’s showing off, but if Cheyenne knew how much renting a section at a nightclub costs, she'd be disgusted. “What are you drinking?”

“I’m not sure, Miguel bought it for me.”

“I didn’t know you drank,” Noah adds, moving closer to an oblivious Cheyenne.

“This is my third time,” our alpha replies, holding up two fingers.

I know she’s young, but I’ve only just realized how little experience Chey truly has.

The night continues to be awkward, but eventually, neither man is jockeying for Chey’s attention, probably because their pride is a little hurt.

Chey, however, is chatting away with some of the more friendly people in attendance, including Iris.

"I'm not sure if I trust that woman," I mind-link, making my mate shrug.

"Chey will put her in her place if she passes it…" That's true, but I still don't like all her fake flattery.