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“So…lions and tigers, too?” Hayden slid her gaze toward her cousin. “Besides the shifter kind.”

Her cousin chuffed, and a grin tugged at Hayden’s lips. “That’s Romans, silly.”

“I mean, they’re already combining the two cultures, why not?” Hayden hedged, causing Bell to laugh again.

“If it isn’t the loser,” a woman in a pink gown said. Behind the snotty girl, stood three of her sidekicks, arms crossed over their chest, and their eyes narrowed on them.

“Wow. A female goon squad. Interesting,” Hayden quipped.

“Laney,” Bell muttered.

“Did you run out of pledges again?” The girl snickered. “Not surprising. Loser.”

Hayden stood up. “You got a fucking problem, lioness?”

"Ooo, so scary. When did you get a dog to do your work for you, Bell?" The girl tweaked Hayden off. She reminded her of Lindsey and Claire. This Laney was a bully plain and simple. She wanted to reach out and wrap her hands around the girl’s neck, ending whatever game the girl wanted to play before the GSG even began. Maybe then that smug look of superiority would be wiped from her face.

“You should probably walk away now,” Hayden muttered. “If you know what’s good for you.”

“Oh really? What are you going to do about it?” Laney’s obnoxious laughter grated on Hayden’s tattered nerves. Like Lindsey, this girl didn’t know when to shut the hell up and walk away. Had Lindsey done that in the beginning, she wouldn’t have ended up in jail for six months then physically removed from Raferty/Dryer Pack and Pride lands.

“Back off. I’m only going to say it once.” Hayden growled getting into Laney's face allowing her she-wolf to push forward. The blood-thirsty bitch was looking for some action after Hayden ran away from Nico. "The last girl who fucked with me ended up in the hospital for a week." Not a total lie either. Lindsey, due to hitting her head on the hardwood floor, had a horrible concussion. Add in the broken bones in her arm and the slices from Hayden’s claws, well, the girl didn’t look like herself when she left town.

“She reminds me of Zoe,” another girl said. “So uncouth.”

“I’ll take it as a compliment since we’re cousins.” She curled her lip in disdain, exposing her curved canine at the girl.

“Oh wow, are we already starting early?” Zoe pushed through the crowd, pulling her partner behind her. “Stupid cows.”

“Watch who you’re calling a cow.”

“Kylie, go play with yourself.” Zoe curled her lip, showing a hint of her canines as well.

“Whatever, losers.” Laney snapped her perfectly manicured fingers at them. “Let’s go.” The girls started to walk away then stopped. “Oh and, Bell….” She turned to Hayden’s cousin. “I am going to love tearing down your house when we expand Sigma Sigma Pi.”

Zoe lunged for the girl. “What did you say?”

Hayden laid her hand on her cousin’s arm and shook her head. “She’s not worth it.” As much as she too wanted to rip those silicon injected lips off Laney’s face, it would give the girl exactly what she wanted.

A show.

“But she—”

“She’s not worth it. She wants you to react. Don’t be stupid.” Being the daughter to a deputy sheriff came in handy sometimes when a situation needed to be defused. Being the niece of the Alpha taught her to keep her anger in check, even if Hayden also wanted to rip those fake fingernails off of Kylie’s hands one finger at a time. “You guys have worked way too hard on these games to ruin it because the wench has it out for Bell.” If anyone did anything, it would be Hayden who threw down, after the games, when Laney wasn’t paying attention.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Zoe stormed to her seat next to the newcomer. “Lacy, that’s our cousin, Hayden. Hayden, Lacy, my vice-president.”

“Good to meet you, Lacy. So, there are only four of us together?” Hayden retook her seat next to Bell.

“No,” Lacy answered. “Terri and Emma should be here soon. Emma’s having a little issue with her dress.” The girl’s cheeks flamed, and her gaze dropped to the ground.

“What happened?”

“Laney, if I had to guess,” Zoe muttered. “Stupid bitch needs an attitude readjustment.”

“An accident I-I’m sure.” The girl, Lacy, folded her hands in her lap as she stammered. Then tsked as she blew out a breath. “Someone switched the dress from a fourteen to a smaller size, and she’s…well, she’s trying to zip it up.”

Hayden growled. “How much smaller?”