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“ A re you gonna finish that?” Rhodes didn’t wait for me to reply before reaching across the table and swiping the last piece of bacon from my plate, popping it in his mouth. He had already finished his own plate of breakfast and part of Larkin’s.

I arched a brow at him. “Help yourself, by all means.”

“Thanks,” he grinned wolfishly at me and winked.

“You’re such a pig,” Katy muttered with a grimace. She slapped the back of his hand as he reached for her bacon. “Try it again and I’ll take your paw off.”

Rhodes retracted his hand as if she was brandishing a knife. His wide eyes went to me and then Larkin before fixing on Katy. “That hurts, Kit-Kat.”

“And stop calling me ‘Kit-Kat’ while you’re at it,” she continued with a glare that had no heat behind it.

“You love it,” Rhodes teased. He rested a head on her shoulder. “And you love me.”

Katy shoved him off her shoulder. “You wish.”

He winced. “That hurts.”

She grinned at him, sucking the last of her orange juice through a straw. “Truth always does.”

With a loud sigh, Rhodes looked across the table to Larkin and me. “So, ladies, what’s the plan for today?”

Larkin blushed adorably, fidgeting in her seat. I caught Katy’s eye and she rolled her eyes with a soft smile. Clearly, she could see Larkin was deeply infatuated with the pack beta, but he seemed completely oblivious.

“Well,” Lark started slowly, tucking her hair behind her ear, “Skye needs to get her class schedule and finish unpacking, then we’re marathoning Stranger Things . She’s never seen it.”

Katy blinked. “How the hell have you never seen it?”

“We didn’t have...” I glanced at Larkin for help.

“Netflix,” she supplied.

“Netflix,” I finished with a shrug.

Katy looked appalled. “That’s tragic.”

“I’m in,” Rhodes announced, raising a hand.

“Put your damn hand down,” Katy snapped. “You weren’t invited.”

“Wasn’t invited where?” Remy asked, sitting down on the other side of Rhodes. After the pack meeting broke up and we had all headed to the cafeteria for breakfast, Remy had said he needed to meet with a couple of the pack teachers.

Remy looked expectantly from Rhodes to me. His tray was loaded with food—bacon, sausage, eggs, toast, pancakes, and hash browns in addition to milk, juice, and coffee. Considering Rhodes put away almost the same amount of food, I supposed it was normal for guys to eat that much.

At Long Mesa, I hadn’t been permitted to eat with the other students, which was fine by me. Any chance I had to avoid my classmates, the better.

“Rhodes thinks he can worm his way into our Stranger Things girl time day,” Katy replied.

Rhodes’s jaw dropped. “What the fuck? You weren’t invited either.”

Katy barely spared him a glance. “ Girl time , Rhodes. I have a vagina and therefore a standing invite.” She flipped her red hair over her shoulder. “Do you have a vagina?”

His eyes were sparkling as he opened his mouth to reply.

Katy held up a hand quickly. “And no, spending copious amounts of time inside one doesn’t qualify.”

He closed his mouth with an audible snap and looked at Remy. “Can you control your sister?”

Remy looked from his best friend to sister and then back to his food. “You’re on your own, buddy.”

“Dude,” Rhodes pressed, “what about bro code?”

“Nothing compared to the blood between siblings,” Katy retorted smugly.

Watching them bicker was fascinating. Remy didn’t seem phased at all by the way they were sniping at each other, and despite some of the barbs having some sharp points, there was an undeniably comfortable vibe between Rhodes and Katy that kept me from thinking they were actually mad at each other. The way Remy smiled indulgently at them made me think he knew they were just trying to get a rise out of each other as well.

“Right, Skye?” Rhodes demanded.

I blinked and realized the four of them were staring at me. Clearly, I missed the question. “Sorry, I missed that. What?”

Rhodes tsk ed lightly, wagging a finger at me. “You gotta pay attention, Skywalker.”

I frowned. “What?”

“Skywalk—don’t tell me you haven’t seen Star Wars either.” Rhodes threw up his hands, exasperated. “It’s only the greatest film trilogy ever made.”

Katy frowned, propping an elbow on the table and resting her chin in her hand. “Which trilogy? Episodes four through six? One through three? Or the newest?”

Rhodes looked disgusted. “I thought we agreed to never speak of the complete fuckup that was episodes one through three.”

Larkin cleared her throat and leaned towards me. “I’ve never seen them, either.”

Rhodes’ head whipped around, his long brown hair flying in his eyes. He shoved it back impatiently. “Are you kidding me? How the hell did I not know that?”

Remy groaned beside him. “I told you not to tell him that, Lark.”

Larkin shrugged, holding her hands up in surrender. “Sorry?”

Rhodes slammed a fist down on the table. I caught my cup of water before it spilled. “This is a travesty. That’s it—I’m vetoing the Stranger Things marathon and we’re watching Star Wars .” He fixed Katy with a stare. “Episodes four through six.”

Now I was confused. “Wouldn’t you need to watch episodes one through three first?”

Rhodes pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes as he took a deep breath. “No, Skye, we don’t.”

“Technically episodes four through six came out decades before episodes one through three,” Remy explained to me. He held up a hand when Rhodes started to protest. “But Rhodes doesn’t acknowledge episodes one through three because they’re shit.”

“Oh,” I said slowly, still not getting it entirely.

“Trust me,” Remy said with a knowing grin, “just let him have this if you want him to shut up.”

Larkin giggled beside me and I cracked a smile at him. It felt good to laugh with my pack.

“I’m not spending the day watching movies that didn’t even know what CGI was,” Katy announced. “You guys can go watch your oldies—”

“ Classics ,” Rhodes growled.

“Whatever. We’ll watch something else.” Katy smiled at Larkin and me.

“But Skye and Larkin haven’t seen it,” he argued.

“And God willing, they never will!” Katy snapped back.

Rhodes was just ramping up for another argument when a body dropped into the empty chair beside me, startling me. I spun on my chair to stare at the newcomer, only to see him staring back at me with a lazy smile.

He was gorgeous with dark skin and onyx eyes. His teeth were brilliantly white, his lips smiling wide. He was clearly muscular and, judging by the look in his eyes, used to getting his way.

A beta, at least.

“You must be the new girl I’ve been hearing about,” he said, his voice rough and playful.

I caught Remy, Rhodes, and Katy all stiffen across from me.

“Aren’t you sitting with the wrong pack, Trace?” Rhodes asked, his normally warm voice icy enough to send chills down my spine.

I moved back and felt a tremble. Larkin was literally shaking next to me. I could see her eyes transfixed on the half-eaten tray of food in front of her as she shook. She was fucking terrified of this new guy.

Remy was frowning as he watched Larkin. His gaze slid back to Trace and narrowed.

I turned, feeling my wolf stirring in me. We seemed to agree on one thing—protecting Larkin from whatever this threat was.

“I just came over to say hello, Katherine,” Trace snapped. He looked back at me, his dark eyes assessing as they raked over me.

I met his heated gaze and, for once in my life, I didn’t flinch back. I didn’t look away. I lifted my chin a notch. His eyes widened a fraction. I had surprised him, and judging by his growing smile, he was enjoying the challenge.

The air crackled around us, charged with energy. I could hear conversations dying off at tables around us as people turned to watch us.

I swallowed hard and Trace tracked the movement, sensing my unease, but thinking he was the reason for it.

He wasn’t.

I just wasn’t crazy about everyone looking at me. I was aware enough to still feel Larkin shuddering beside me, and that was all the fuel I needed to keep the staring contest going.

“Stop.” Remy finally snapped, getting to his feet.

Trace and I blinked and turned to him at the same moment. Now I swallowed again, but for a whole other reason.

Remy was furious, his brown eyes hard and unyielding. All his muscles were coiled, ready to attack. He looked like an avenging angel coming down to smite the guy next to me.

Beside him, Rhodes and Katy were perched on the edge of their seats, ready to stand united with him.

Trace slowly got to his feet beside me. “Relax, Rem. No disrespect meant.”

“This is over,” Remy spat. “Go back to your own pack and stay away from mine.”

Trace smirked at him. “I’ll stay away, but you might want to tell your pack to stay away from me. I mean, that was your bitch who woke up in my bed this morning, right? Not sure why you let Sierra go. The things that girl can do—”

“Do I look fucking interested?” Remy asked coldly, ice dripping from his words. “Sierra can do whatever she wants with whoever she wants. She’s made it quite clear she’s not staying with the Blackwater pack. She’s all yours.”

Trace shrugged, pushing in his chair. “We’ll see. She’s fun to play with, but not exactly mate material.”

“Still not sure why you’re telling me this,” Remy replied coldly, crossing his arms over his massive chest.

Trace took a step back, still grinning. “Gotta keep my options open, ya know?” His gaze slid behind me. “Larkin, I almost missed you over there. How’ve you been?”

Now I stood up, Rhodes and Katy getting to their feet as well. I folded my arms over my chest, glaring. A shiver tripped up my spine, my wolf begging to come out because of course now would be the time she wanted to make an appearance.

I was starting to think she only wanted to play when there was a chance of ripping someone’s throat out.

Trace blinked slowly and looked at me, blocking Larkin. He nodded once, lips pressing together as his smile faded. “Nice to meet you, new girl. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around soon.”