Eli cleared his throat, taking a step in my direction. “I’m sorry, I don’t discuss business outside of the office,” he told her, doing his best to look apologetic. He wasn’t much of an actor, and it was almost funny. Almost. But then his hand settled on the small of my back, which was the last thing I felt. “I hope you have a nice evening, Hannah.”
As he steered us away, I couldn’t help but smirk. “That woman was ready to dive right into your pants, Eli,” I murmured.
Eli groaned, looking positively pained. “I should never have slept with her,” he admitted, shaking his head. “I was trying to piss my father off, and…” He shook his head. “That’s a decision that keeps showing up trying to bite me in the ass.”
I snorted, raising a brow. “Speaking of your father… is he going to be upset you aren’t speaking with her?” The last thing I wanted to do wascauseissues between the two men — it was apparent they had enough on their own already.
Eli grunted and shook his head. “Business in Austin ismybusiness — and he has no say over who I speak to, and who I don’t.”
“Fair enough. Oh— Eli, that man is trying to get your attention.” My brows furrowed and I nodded towards the man dressed in all black.
“Hm? Oh.” He flashed me an apologetic smile. “That’s one of my guards. I’ll be right back.”
The moment Eli left,I felt my heart rate start to pick up again.Ugh. Parties were so much more tolerable when you knew at least one person, but now I was alone.
And wouldn’t you know it, Hannah spotted meimmediately. She locked her eyes on me and started towards me like a shark who scented blood in the water. I wanted to run — but I sure as hell didn’t want to give this woman that satisfaction.
“You know,” she remarked, not bothering to hide the disdain, “if you’re going to try to catch an alpha as prestigious as Eli Archer, the least you could do is put in a little effort.” Hannah arched a manicured brow and nodded at my outfit as if that proved everything she was trying to say. “You look like a common wolf.”
That’s because Iama common wolf, and I have no reason to feel bad about that, I thought, my skin already prickling.
I offered Hannah a saccharine smile. “Well, considering this is someone else’s birthday party, I thought it best not to try to steal the show and dress like a glittering Oscar Mayer hotdog.” I mirrored her earlier look, nodding towards her skintight sequined dress. I forced my smile a little larger. “And you know, strangely, I want to be with a man who likes me for who I am, not because I’m two centimeters from popping a tit out at any second.”
Hannah inhaled sharply and glanced down, not so subtly pulling up the front of her dress. I wasn’t kidding — her breasts were mere centimeters away from escaping their fabric prison, and the way she was bouncing around like that? She was moments away from a fashion disaster. When she looked up, there was fire in her eyes. “Oh, honey. You don’t know the first thing, do you? You draw them in with your good looks, and it doesn’t matter what a bore your personality is. He’ll never know.”
I felt a pang of jealousy; Hannah had probably never had someone call her ugly, even in middle school. Or a weirdo. Or anything other than pretty or gorgeous. And worst of all, Icouldpicture Eli with someone as beautiful as her.
But not her,I had to remind myself.He made that clear.
It wasn’t even my place to get jealous at all. We’d kissed. Once. And even that made me feel a little weird.
She’s right, though. I’m the plainest one in here.
Some of my doubt must have appeared on my face because Hannah leaned in and cooed as if she actually pitied me. “Look, you seem like a nice girl. A little backwater, maybe, but nice enough, so I’m going to give you some advice. If you want a real catch like a future alpha, you need to make some effort — but as far as Eli’s concerned, I suggest you get out of my way. I’ve run over much tougher wolves to get what I want.”
I took a deep breath and forced my thoughts to slow down. “I’m not interested in Eli,” I replied, tipping my head. “So, all this posturing is pointless.”
“Really? I’m glad to hear that.” Hannah smiled at me. Before I could blink, she reached for my hand, grabbed me as quickly as a viper, and began leading me towards the crowd. “I think you should meet some of my friends. They’ll be a good introduction to Austin. Hey, fellas!”
A large brunette turned as she cooed, but I realized quickly that he wasnotalone. He was standing and chatting with at least six other men. I didn’t want anything to do with this woman, much less so many strangers.
I stumbled along, and the other she-wolf all but threw me at the boys. I barely heard Hannah introduce me as ‘new in town’ as blood rushed to my ears, my heart thundering in my chest. My vision started going spotty. My lungs felt too small. I couldn’t catch my breath as my vision got blurry. I couldn’t breathe. I could feel myself reaching for my chest, but I felt like I wasn’t even in control of my body.
Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no.
26
ELI
Silverstreak Ranch House
Travis County, Texas
“Eli, what are you doing with that woman?”
I sighed, rubbing my face as Damon led me to the front yard of Remus’ house. It was only a matter of time before my guard caught on; he’d been a part of my life longer than most. My father had hired him to keep an eye on me after my mother had left, worried that a young boy would find trouble without two sets of eyes on him. He probably wasn’t wrong, but it also meant that he’d been with me for almost twenty years and knew me better than most.
Possibly better than my father — and at the moment, that was coming back to bite me.