Scum (Book 2)

130. Harsh

Liam’s POV

If my bedroom weren’t already destroyed, I would be doing it myself right now.

I don’t know if what Cheyenne said about having a boyfriend is true, but the council agreed to let her reach out to whomever she felt the need to call, and Alpha Franchelle helped her do it.

I was forced to sit and listen to some random man question my mate about her safety before she told him where to find her cash and bank card, clearly intending for him to take the leadership position in her absence.

That is supposed to be my role, and while I am no Dawn, nor will I ever be, I would do anything for my mate, so if I had to play a supporting character in her life, I would do it with a smile.

“I want his name!” I shout, throwing an already broken lamp across the room. “I want to know everything about him. Where he lives, who he hangs out with, his age…” I continue on and on, trying hard to ignore the irritating scent of Kelvin approaching.

“Liam, you good in there?”

“Do I look good?” I shout at the man, too angry about Chey’s last statement to question him about the ring, but Royce is in a clearer head space, so he does it for me.

“She never told me where she got it. She just said that it used to be important to her, then she took it off and threw it.”

“So, you went to look for it?” I incredulously question, knowing that it must have taken hours or even days for the man to have done that.

“I already told you…” I nearly attack Kelvin, pre-anticipating him to confess his feelings for my mate, but Royce is able to stop me.

My gamma wisely leaves, which allows me to cool down.

“You need to calm yourself. First, you can’t be mad at him for falling in love with someone that he didn’t know was yours.”

“Love? You think Kelvin Loves my mate?”

“I don’t want to get into that, but you and I both know that his attraction to Cheyenne started long before yours.” That may be true, but I don’t want to hear it.

“How did I ruin things? I should have known she was mine. All the signs were there.”

“You know that the mate bond affects people differently. You probably didn’t feel a pull toward Chey because, at the time, your heart already belonged to another.” Thinking that my silly feelings for Porsha may have robbed me of the happiness I was eager to possess makes me sick, especially since I know that the woman is a liar.

“What is my mate doing now?” I whisper, done with the conversation, because I’m afraid that I may track Porsha down and kill her if given the chance, and I’m not entirely sure that her council connections won’t work against me.

“She’s with Jenna. Your father doesn’t think it’s wise to let her spend too much time alone with her family yet, but we also don’t want her to feel isolated.” My mate has refused to look at or even speak to me since her pack members left, which is part of the anger I feel.

“Has she said anything about her boyfriend at all?”

“Not yet, but your sister is working on it.” I hate getting my betas involved in my drama in this way, but I need to know who my competition is because I need to get rid of him as soon as possible.

“Okay. Don’t push her too hard. I don’t want her to get suspicious.” Royce wasn’t in the council meeting with us because he was working with his father, so he didn’t get to experience how much my mate changed, although he was among the first to point it out.

“Have you thought about what I asked before,” he cautiously adds, referring to the possibility of me leaving Alpine to join Chey where she is the alpha, and while I have, my answer remains the same.

“My mate was born in this pack, and she will lead this pack beside me. If she wants, we can move her members here, but I can’t see myself living as a rocky, and I know that my mate wasn’t happy with that life either.” Chey may not be talking to me, but I know her in a way more intimate than just s*x.

She needs the freedom that comes with living in the countryside, especially as an alpha female who has only ever known one way of living for eighteen years.

“That still leaves us to deal with…”

“I know,” I interject, hating that Porsha is still a member of this pack and there's nothing I can do about it. “After I mark my mate, I will let her handle it.” Royce makes a face, probably because he doesn’t think Cheyenne and I will ever get over this hurdle, but we will.

All I have to do is prove to her that she is the only woman I love and want. Suddenly, my mother pops into my mind.

I remember when Porsha first came to the pack, and how badly she wanted to organize an introductory party, one that I wisely declined because it could have potentially pushed me into choosing a mate sooner and losing out on my fated mate forever.

“I’m going to host a celebration.”

“What?” My beta asks, completely baffled. “Cheyenne is my mate, and the future luna of this pack. I want to formally declare it…”

“That sounds like you want to guilt her into accepting a position you know people will pressure her into taking.”

“However you see it is fine with me.” I can tell that Royce is concerned, making me feel like I need to add a command into my speech to compel him to listen, but I stop myself, not wanting to disrespect the only friend I have left.

“Bro, I’m desperate.”

“I get that, but Cheyenne will be here for three weeks. I think you should give her time before you start trying to manipulate her again.” I didn’t even realize that I was falling back into old habits when it comes to my mate, and that depresses me.

“If I lose her, I’ll die.”

“And do you think you’ll feel better or worse knowing that you took your mate's ability to choose away from her… again.” I hate that I can understand what my beta is saying because I desperately want to feign ignorance right now.

“I just don’t know where to start.”

“I think your suite is the best place,” my friend teases, picking up a shredded pillow.

“The future luna can’t stay in a guest room forever, can she?” Thinking about where my mate and I will live in the future is motivating, so I nod, find a trash bag, and start to clean.

There is no way I can do this on my own, but I feel like it would mean a lot to my mate if she knew that I helped.

“I hope that you never make her this angry again,” Royce jokes, making me chuckle.

“Don’t worry. I don’t have plans to enrage my mate ever again.”

Chey’s POV

Knowing that my pack members are no longer on Alpine soil, and are in the safe hands of Alpha Franchelle has allowed me to relax a little, and being put in a guest room is also a plus.

The only irritant right now is Jenna, who won’t stop talking about the past as though my life is some sort of movie plot.

She keeps asking me about my social media account and the people posted on it, probably wanting to know who my boyfriend is, but I won’t tell her because when I said that I was referring to Bruno, Dyson, and Miguel.

The closest thing I had to a boyfriend, other than Liam, is Noah, who already pulled away from me before I was taken.

“I still can’t believe no one noticed,” she says, further irritating me.

“You know, you're talking as though I’m not still living through a traumatic experience. All you need to know is that your brother is an incredibly good liar, and he tricked me into thinking that I needed to be with him.”

“I’m sorry Cheyenne. I didn’t mean anything by it. I just remember that you were able to ignore commands, and thinking back, the way my brother would look at you should have-”

“Can you stop now?” I interject, not wanting to hear anything the woman has to say. “Liam said it himself, then made me repeat it so that everyone could hear. I was nothing more than a hole that he used when he was bored.” Jenna’s expression falls as she finally seems to take in the fact that Liam hurt me in so many ways.

“I’m sorry Chey, I just… I guess I’m just happy that you’re back.”

“Yeah, because you don’t like Porsha…” I don’t care if I’m coming off as harsh when the truth is the truth. “Please leave now. I didn’t sleep well, and I would like to get some rest.”

“Oh, okay,” the woman says. “You know where to find me if you need anything, right?”

“If you can’t arrange for me to leave this place, then you have no use to me at all.”

“You don’t have to be mean to me just because Liam is my brother.”

“And you don’t have to pretend to be my friend in order to gather information for him.” Jenna turns white with fear, but… “I’m not going to hurt you for following orders, but just know that my level of restraint is extremely limited.”

“Noted,” the woman says, leaving the room in what I can only assume is shame.

I may have been a dense person when I left Alpine, but things have changed enough for me to know when I’m being baited.

I won’t fall for that trap, nor will I entertain those trying to lure me into a confession by posing as something they’re not.

Jenna was never my friend, so to pretend that things have changed is ridiculous, although I must admit that in the past, I probably wouldn’t have even noticed that the woman was up to something.

With the room quiet, I was almost in a place where I could shower and settle in, but my ears perked as I picked up the sound of Porsha’s voice outside the door.

“Liam was just with me a few days ago. You may be his gamma, but you don’t have to lie for him,” Porsha says. “She doesn’t even care. Why not tell the truth?”