I hurried after him, ignoring Kaige’s questioning glance. The Noble heir was walking so fast he’d already made it halfway down the hall. I had to jog to catch him. He didn’t stop until I’d planted myself right in front of him.
“What is wrong with you?” I asked.
Wylder’s jaw twitched. He looked like he was ready to kill me, or maybe kiss me as furiously as he had in the kitchen the other day. The memory of that moment and the way it made my pussy tighten just pissed me off more. I didn’t know if my anger was directed at him or myself.
Wylder had made things more than clear. He didn’t want anything to do with me. Time for my body to get the memo too.
I glowered at him. “Answer me. I feel like I’m talking to a wall. Why are you treating me like I’m useless? I’ve proven myself about a million times over by now.”
Wylder’s gaze smoldered right back at me. “And why should I care about that?”
I barely restrained a growl. “You told me I was part of the Nobles now. What happened to that?”
“Just because you’ve wormed your way into my home doesn’t mean I have to entertain you,” he replied, his voice cold.
“I’m not asking you to. I just want to be a part of everything that’s going down against the Steel Knights.” I folded my arms over my chest. “You know I’m capable. You told me yourself. Why are you treating me like this now?”
Wylder hesitated, and for a second I thought I might get an honest answer out of him. Then his lips curled with a sneer. “It’s not my fault you bought into all that bullshit. I’ve gotten what I wanted from you. Now I’m done with you. Deal with it.”
He spoke as if I were a doll he could use and throw away. Despite my determination not to care, pain and humiliation lanced through me.
Before I could think of what to say in response, Wylder pushed past me. “And I have more important things to take care of than your hurt feelings, Princess. Bryant, for starters. We can handle him just fine without you. You’re only going to end up slowing us down.”
He stalked off without a backward glance, leaving me burning with an uncomfortable mix of anger and shame.
He couldn’t really mean even half of what he’d just said, could he? I remembered so clearly the way he’d acted when the guys had found me after I’d escaped from Colt, how carefully he’d looked me over, how much restrained fury had radiated from him. A man like Wylder didn’t get that worked up over a woman he just saw as a one-time lay to use and discard.
And the way he’d held me in the kitchen, his promise that we’d destroy Colt together…
No, I couldn’t believe all that had been an act. But the words he’d just hurled at me still jabbed deep. There had to be something else going on with him, some other reason he was acting like such a jerk… but he didn’t trust me enough to tell me.
So in a way, I might as well be back where I’d started. Fuck. Fuck him, fuck this whole place.
I’d still be the one to make Colt pay, no matter what Wylder Noble had to say about it.