Un.Requited (Claimed Series) Page 18

  “No,” she gave a wide, knowing smile. “It’s you.”

  She stood up and patted Hayden’s elbow as she moved past. “He doesn’t want to be like his father.” Her voice dropped a few octaves and her tone turned apprehensive. She spoke behind Hayden’s immobile form. “He doesn’t want to get too close to those he cares about.”

  Distinctively, Hayden remembered Cole telling her about his father. After Nicolas killed Xavier’s life mate, Xavier ended up killing himself over her dead body. Hayden supposed it could be frightening, to love somebody so much that they would be unwilling to continue living after they passed on. Life mates, especially, had no option but to follow their lover in death.

  “He thinks it’s weak to be close to another, which is why he distances himself from you.” Addie’s voice tensed, sounding exceedingly old. “Just remember his past when he pulls away, Hayden. That’s all I ask of you.”

  She glided out of the living room, leaving Hayden standing alone. She didn’t know what Addie was suggesting besides the fact that Cole cared for her, much more than he was willing to admit, and much more than Hayden was willing to acknowledge or even think about.

  10. Chapter Ten

  “There must be one lane open.”

  The customer snapped her gum impatiently, looking beyond annoyed. The tongue inside her mouth rolled sideways as she relocated her wad of gum from one molar to the other before proceeding to snap it a second time.

  “No ma’am, all the lanes are full.”

  Hayden had trouble removing her eyes from the customer’s clumpy, red lips. It wasn’t even the fact that this woman was a human that ensnared Hayden’s undivided attention. No, it from the sheer discourtesy the woman treated everyone around her with, Hayden included.

  The customer scoffed throatily, placing her hands on her hips. Behind her, her three children stared at Hayden beneath heavy bangs. Their gazes were lifeless, jaded, almost as uncaring as their mother was.

  “Well,” the mother sighed heavily and looked vindictively around the bowling alley. “Can’t you just… combine a game or two to make room for me?”

  Hayden’s cheeks ached from her strained smile. The pencil in her fist received the brunt of her frustration as it snapped cleanly in half. “There is only a few minutes left until we start closing up for the night. So no, there is no possible way I can interrupt a game to combine two lanes together.”

  Across the bowling alley, Hayden could sense Shane Donovan’s close observance. It was only her second week working at the bowling alley, but Hayden felt as if she had adapted easily enough. Actually, it would have been her third week on the job if it hadn’t taken five days of constant persisting and arguing with Cole. On the sixth day, the Alpha had reluctantly agreed to let Hayden work with Shane.

  Unfortunately, his consent had come at a price. It was mandatory that she would wait for him after her shift. Cole always came a half-hour early to watch Shane closely, as if he expected the human to do lewd and cruel things to Hayden.

  She hadn’t argued at the time, as she was happy to receive any bit of independence she could get her hands on, but it was starting to get ridiculous. Even the other pack members stopped by occasionally, making sure Hayden was playing nicely with the humans.

  They really had no reason to worry, and their lack of confidence was beginning to insult her. Ever since her arrival to Oregon, and especially after the full moon, she was able to coexist more peacefully with her wolf. Humans still smelt good, undoubtedly, but they weren’t nearly as irresistible as they once were.

  “Unacceptable,” the customer snapped callously. “Not even one lane.” The woman eyed Hayden’s cheek-straining smile with heavy malice. “What are you grinning about, honey?”

  Shane suddenly popped up from behind Hayden and cleared his throat. “Is there a problem here?” His tone was proficient and capable, giving onlookers the notion that he was a lot older than he actually was.

  The woman’s bracelets clinked together as she thrust out a well-manicured hand at Hayden’s face, entirely ignorant to the blonde werewolf’s intense desire to bite it. “This girl is laughing at me. She’s completely incompetent. Just look at her.”

  Shane turned and met eyes with Hayden, his gaze dropping to her strained smile. His own lips twitched, just barely, before he turned back to the woman. “Well,” Shane started with a practiced tone. “Technically, we are required to smile to our customers, even in this case, when they are extremely discourteous. She seems rather competent to me.”

  The gum finally stopped snapping and the customer leveled Shane with a look of extreme disbelief. Even Hayden was taken aback at the human’s candidness. Usually Shane took the role of his grandfather’s successor seriously and treated all his customers professionally. Honestly, though, it was easy to see why he had snapped.

  With a dignified huff, the woman took the youngest child by the arm and yanked him out the door, her other two children scrambling to catch up. Hayden watched them go, snapping out of her retrieve when a hand landed on her shoulder.

  “Why don’t you go clean the shoes, Hayden,” Shane suggested. “There’s someone here to see you anyway.”

  For a moment, Hayden’s hopes were high as she wondered if her visitor was Asher. He made an appearance from time to time, the only werewolf who could successfully distract her enough that Shane had to kick him out of the bowling alley.

  The blond beta easily passed the time for Hayden when she was working, but there was always that lingering fear that Cole would stumble across them someday. Because of the risk involved, Asher didn’t make it a habit of seeing her during her shift. Usually, they just met during the days Hayden didn’t have to work.

  As she turned to look, she dully noted it was Devan sitting at the counter, not Asher.

  Slowly approaching the other woman, Hayden acknowledged that she wasn’t as disappointed to see Devan as she would have been two weeks ago. The former female Alpha had made life at the pack house unbearable for a week after being assigned Nathan’s mate. Slowly, but surely, Devan began to inch her way out of her depression.

  Surprisingly enough, she even started to seek out Hayden’s company. They weren’t friends by any means, but they were gradually coming to a point where they could comfortably carry on a conversation without any scornful insults.

  “Devan,” Hayden greeted casually.

  She took a pair of sweaty shoes and slapped them on the counter for both of them to suffer. When no response came forth, she looked up at Devan and noticed the other female was staring at nothing in particular with a grim expression on her face.

  “Joseph,” Devan muttered unexpectedly.

  Hayden’s hands paused over the bowling shoes. Apparently, Devan was having one of her off days. However, if she had to be honest, Devan was doing remarkably well considering the circumstances.

  From what Hayden knew, Devan was even staying at the pack house during the day and not meeting up with Joseph. She didn’t know the extent of Nathan and Devan’s relationship, but it appeared as if the two were trying to work things out.

  “Apparently, he willingly took on a mate,” Devan spat out, staring unseeingly at the shoe cleaner. “Her name is Sasha.” She pressed a fist against her cheek, supporting the weight of her bowed head. “Do you have any idea how this makes me feel? I thought…” she trailed off, shooting Hayden a cold look. “I thought things could work out somehow. I wanted to convince Nathan that we weren’t meant to be together, but Joseph didn’t want to wait.”

  It seemed as if Hayden had been wrong. Devan hadn’t been trying to adjust to the situation at all. Instead, she had been trying to work behind the scenes and manipulate Nathan into calling off the arrangement.

  Hayden suddenly felt disappointed in herself. She had actually believed that Devan was getting over Joseph and merging completely into the pack. How could she have possibly thought that Devan would take everything lying down?

  “Have you talked to Joseph—?”
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br />   “Of course I talked to Joseph,” Devan interrupted fiercely. “I was stupid for thinking he could somehow save the day. Even more so, for thinking that he loved me. But in the end, he didn’t want to disappoint his father and chose to… mate with a female from his pack.” There was thick emotion in her eyes and she swiftly looked away to hide it.

  “You’re not stupid for thinking that,” Hayden argued, suddenly uncomfortable. Reassuring Devan wasn’t exactly one of her fortes and her dislike for Joseph just skyrocketed to astronomical levels. “Just be thankful that you got to see what kind of person Joseph really was. He wasn’t worth it if he…” she trailed off, recoiling when Devan adopted a malicious stare.

  “Just stop, Hayden. Forget I even said anything.” Devan twisted her neck around to watch the humans bowl. “It’s not a big deal, anyway.”

  Clearly, it was a big deal, but Devan wasn’t one to show any sort of vulnerability. A part of Hayden envied the other female for that particular trait. Then again, Devan’s avoidance when it came to seeking out help could also be a sign of her reluctance to trust anyone. It might also mean that she didn’t have anyone to turn to. Considering Hayden was the only one in the pack that knew about Devan’s secret relationship, it fell on her shoulders to be the one to set things right.

  Hayden frowned down at the counter, tapping her fingers against the disinfectant spray. It took a few minutes to gather the right words and the right tone, but she eventually got it.

  “You and Joseph—”

  “Hayden,” Devan interrupted for the second time that night. The brunette turned back around to look up at Hayden, her hazel eyes suddenly serious. “I don’t want to talk about it.” She pressed her lips together before sighing. “You’re a good Alpha for the pack, and tonight, I’d rather just sit here with you.”

  The dark blonde Alpha blinked at the unexpected compliment coming from Devan of all people. Regrettably, she didn’t get much time to appreciate it, for Shane called her name from across the bowling alley.

  “Garbage?” He mouthed the word, pointing at the large garbage bin behind Hayden. He sent a half-hearted smile at her less-than enthusiastic nod of consent.

  When his back turned, Hayden scowled.

  Sweaty shoes were already a burden on her sensitive nose, but day-old garbage was another story entirely. Curling her foot around the trash bin, she pulled it closer to her, wishing her status as female Alpha gave her enough authority to make Devan do the garbage. Hesitantly, Hayden touched the edges of the garbage bag, sucking up her courage and tying the bag as quickly as she possible.

  A powerful sense of accomplishment raced through her as her fingers came back relatively unharmed and dry. She sent a smug look in Shane’s direction, faltering when he was no longer standing in his previous position. In his place, a man stood, his pale blue eyes catching Hayden’s gaze effortlessly.

  Her lungs froze as she stopped breathing. A chill raced down her spine as she stared at Nicolas, unable to believe he would be here of all places. Just as suddenly as he appeared, a human walked in her line of sight and blocked her path to the rogue Alpha.

  “Hayden?” Devan asked quietly, having sensed her unease. “What’s the matter?”

  Hayden craned her neck around the human, now staring at empty air. “I…” she stuttered and looked around the bowling alley. Her trembling hands began to relax when she saw a human about the same size as Nicolas in the general area where she’d been looking. It was only a trick of the light. It had to be.

  Turning around, she spotted Shane unharmed and carefree as he talked with one of the customers.

  “Hayden,” Devan snapped.

  Amber eyes riveted toward the snappy female. “It’s nothing. I thought I saw Nicolas.” The dread in the pit of her stomach lightened into a nervous flutter. A tense laugh escaped her lips as she pulled at the garbage bag.

  With sharp jerks of her head, a pale Devan urgently scoped out her surroundings. “Nicolas?” she hissed lowly. “If you saw him, Hayden, it isn’t something you should take lightly. He’s dangerous. We should call Cole.” She already had her cellphone out and a crimson-painted nail was already poised over the buttons.

  “He’s going to be here soon anyway,” Hayden argued. Reaching across the counter, she pressed a hand over Devan’s phone. Curious eyes glanced at the clock beside her, realizing Cole should have been at the bowling alley at least ten minutes ago. “Don’t worry about it, Devan. Really,” she added confidently when Devan looked at her with disbelief.

  In an attempt to appear more assertive than she actually was, Hayden pulled the garbage bag from its bin and began to make her way to the back of the bowling alley.

  She fought her nervousness as she pushed open the door to outside. It was dark out, the light in the alleyway between buildings having gone out yesterday. Luckily, she knew where the dumpster was and her night vision allowed her to see where she was going.

  Jogging quickly to the dumpster, Hayden lifted the lid and threw the bag of trash inside. As the lid slammed shut, a strong-smelling odor breezed inside Hayden’s nostrils. She quickly backpedaled away from the odor, holding her breath and raising her hands in repugnance when she felt her fingers come away wet and warm.

  “Disgusting,” Hayden moaned.

  Needing more oxygen, Hayden tentatively breathed in again, stiffening when she identified the odor as blood. Slowly, Hayden raised her hands up to catch a few rays of the weak moon. In the silver light, it was undoubtedly crimson that stained her fingers. Crimson so deep and dark, she knew instantly that the source in the dumpster was abundant in large quantities.

  Trembling, Hayden backed further away from the dumpster, too terrified to look inside. She held her hands out at a distance, unnerved when her wolf began to stir in both hunger and interest. Arguably, her wolf had been compliant as of late, but the shock of the situation wouldn’t defuse the temptation of split blood, an easy and free meal.

  Suddenly, her ears twitched when she heard the distinctive sound of a body cutting through the air and dropping gracefully behind her. Before she could turn to flee, the figure flattened itself against her back and grabbed her from behind.

  Wet hands struggled to grip her face, smearing thick liquid across her mouth. The liquid, easily identified as blood, slipped inside her mouth and teased her tongue. As soon as it made contact, Hayden struggled, grunting in aversion and lust as her wolf reared up for a taste.

  No. She didn’t want this, not with human blood.

  And just like that, the stranger leaped away, discarding Hayden to the ground and disappearing over the rooftop. She collapsed ungracefully, doing nothing to stop her fall. It was a struggle to hold back her hysterical tears over what had just happened, though it was even more difficult trying to control her wolf from lapping up the foul liquid around her mouth.

  “What the hell is this?” a man sneered from the opening of the alleyway.

  Through the fall of her hair, Hayden looked up, spying two Alphas, Adolf and Asher’s father, Eric. A bitter laugh escaped her lips as she bowed her head, not wanting to see their horror-struck expressions.

  Pressing a fist to her mouth, she breathed steadily in order to tame the shaking and the hunger. All she had to do was remember Cole’s calming touch to her wrist and her uncontrollable hunger seemed to subside.

  “What kind of animal are you?” Adolf inquired cruelly, his tone full of ridicule and antipathy. A pair of light footsteps approached Hayden’s fallen form. “You’re a vile creature, that’s what you are.” He reached out and grabbed a handful of Hayden’s hair, yanking her head back.

  Through jaded eyes, Hayden stared up at him. She watched, on edge, as he crouched down in front of her, his body stiff with unbridled hate and disgust. Over his shoulder, Eric stood motionless, hardly doing anything to defend her against the silver-haired Alpha. Hayden didn’t stop the angry growl that rippled through her chest and through her throat.

  They had no right to treat her like this.
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  “I will kill you,” Adolf stated firmly. “Animals, like you, don’t deserve to have any part in my town.”

  He stood up again, keeping his hand fisted in her hair. Without warning, he jerked her head back at an odd angle. It was obvious that he could cleanly snap her neck with just one sharp wrench. She dimly wondered if werewolves could even die from snapped necks, but she didn’t want to sit around and find out.

  Just as she considered shredding his wrists apart with her claws, the atmosphere around the alley seemed to thicken and grow ominous. A massive chill tingled down her spine and the hairs on her arms stood on edge as she heard a deep, warning growl. It sounded remarkably like a lethal purr and it seemed to originate from every dark corner, echoing eerily across the alleyway.

  Like a shadow, Cole’s powerful figure swooped from the darkness, his eyes amber and narrowed intensely on his target. Without any concern for gentleness, his large hand curled greedily around Adolf’s throat.

  “I truly hope you’re not threatening her, Adolf,” Cole murmured softly as he pressed his face closer to the other Alpha.

  From Hayden’s position, she could visibly see two of Cole’s fingertips digging into Adolf’s jugular vein. If Cole unsheathed his claws, Adolf would be bleeding, possibly to death. Her heart gave a profound thump in anticipation.

  Cole always had the remarkable ability to intervene when things got too difficult. Though, Cole hardly looked like a wholesome savior as he grinned almost eagerly at the prospect of harming Adolf. His eyes were wolf-like and he hungrily inhaled Adolf’s controlled fear.

  The silver-haired Alpha tried his best to contort his expression to one of indifference, but everyone could sense his distress. “She killed a human, just like we all predicted she would.”

  His response hardly seemed to steady Cole’s wrath, for her Alpha smirked more widely. “And how do you know it was her?” he asked coolly. His arm muscles flexed noticeably as he tightened his hold around Adolf’s neck.