Page 21 of Brutal Reign (Shadowed Heirs #5)

21

“ R iv!” I call out, throwing up a hand to wave her over to our table in the dining hall.

She pointedly ignores me, cruising right by with her plate of stir-fry even though I know damn well that she heard me. She’s not making this easy, that’s for sure. Good thing I’ve never minded this little game of push and pull.

I shamelessly stare at her ass while she walks away, mesmerized by the gentle sway of her hips as she makes her way over to her usual table on the opposite side of the room. She’s the first one there– her friends are still in the food line– and it takes me all of two seconds after she sits down to push up from my own seat, grabbing my plate to take it with me.

“Well, Ace, looks like she wants us to come to her,” I remark, beckoning him with a flick of my head.

He rises to his feet while Beau and Eli look between us questioningly.

“You want us to come, too?” Eli asks, brow furrowing.

Ace shakes his head as he grabs his own plate. “Nah, we just wanna have a little chat with Riv,” he provides.

Beau squints in confusion as he glances toward River. “So she’s not on ice anymore?”

“No,” I reply flatly, looking to Ace for some passable explanation to give the boys as to why we’re bringing her back into the fold.

As usual, he doesn’t disappoint.

“Since Jake issued a challenge, the Alphas need to stand together in solidarity,” he states confidently, as if he’s planned and rehearsed this excuse for our sudden change in attitude toward River. Knowing him, he probably has. “It’s what’s best for the alliance. If there’s a disruption in one pack’s dynamics, it impacts all of us.”

“Oh yeah, that makes sense,” Eli quips, nodding.

“Totally,” Beau agrees.

I give them a tight-lipped smile before turning on a heel, starting across the dining hall for my girl. She’s still sitting at her table all alone, so I’m sure she’ll be thrilled to have our company.

Or she’ll get all pissy and tell us to leave. That’s the more likely scenario, but there’s no harm in being optimistic, right?

I bump my shoulder against Ace’s as he falls into step beside me, shooting him a side-eyed glance. “Hey, thanks for that,” I mutter under my breath.

He slides me a sly smirk. “Figured they wouldn’t question anything to do with pack politics.”

He’s right– Eli and Beau couldn’t care less about the inner workings of pack dynamics. Only Micah would be curious enough to ask follow-up questions, so it’s a good thing he gave up his spot to Ace and left training camp weeks ago.

Kinda miss the little fucker, though.

Ace and I are the closest, but we’ve been friends with Beau, Eli, and Micah our whole lives, too. Though it started out as a forced friendship since our dads were all close growing up, the five of us have formed our own bond.

And speaking of bonds…

River looks up from her plate as Ace and I approach her table, abruptly stopping mid-chew to frown at us disapprovingly. Since her mouth’s full, though, she can’t voice a protest as we round it to claim the spots on either side of her. Throwing a long leg over the bench, I drop down and slide my plate onto the table, scooching close enough for our thighs to brush beneath it. She flinches away, but that only sends her bumping into Ace on her other side, her posture going rigid.

Damn, she’s cute when she’s flustered.

It’s why I’ve always enjoyed riling her up, and I know she gets the same satisfaction in pushing my buttons. We’re ether and kerosene; constantly hovering just one match strike away from catastrophe… and there’s nobody I’d rather burn up with.

River finally finishes chewing and swallowing her food, curling in her shoulders to make herself as small as possible between us in a bid to avoid physical contact. “What the hell do you guys think you’re doing?” she whispers sharply.

“Having dinner with my girl,” I reply, smooth as butter. Picking up my fork, I spear a piece of meat off my plate, grinning as I bring it to my lips.

Her brows pinch together in frustration, but I don’t miss the way her gaze flickers to my lips as I take a bite before she shakes her head, frowning. “I’m not-”

“Are we really doing this again?” Ace sighs, scrubbing a hand over his face wearily. “C’mon, guys, we can share one meal together in peace. Riv, this’ll just lay the groundwork for us being friends again, and Seb, stop saying shit that you know will provoke her. We said we’d keep it quiet, so keep it fucking quiet, eh?”

I roll my eyes as I grunt in agreement, still chewing my food.

Hayden approaches the other side of the table, breaking up our happy little trio when she drops her plate onto the surface. Her eyes ping from me to Ace before settling on River, a perfectly sculpted brow lifting in question. “What’s with the henchmen?” she asks, wrinkling her nose as she climbs onto the bench and sits down.

“Just ignore them,” River sighs, waving a hand dismissively. “I am.”

I whip my head in her direction, mouth dropping open in offense, but she doesn’t turn my way to engage. The little minx seems dead set on this game of hard-to-get she’s playing.

Here’s the thing- I may be an asshole, but I’m not completely dense. I realize that she’s got every right to be mad at us for how we’ve treated her. That still doesn’t change the fact she’s mine , and no matter how hard she tries to push me away, I’m not giving up on her.

Knowing what I do now, I regret every-fucking-thing I did from the age of fifteen on, but I can’t go back and change it. I can’t hit the rewind button and slap myself upside the head for being a fucking idiot and putting my duty to my pack ahead of River. I’ll be the first to admit I should’ve handled things differently, but now that fate has put us on a collision course, there has to be a way to make things right between us again.

It’d help if I wasn’t so fucking bad at this. I’m totally out of my wheelhouse because I’ve never really dated anyone. There was only one girl I ever wanted to date, and now that I actually can , I need her to give me a chance, not the cold shoulder.

I swear if she just told me what to do to make this work, I’d fucking do it.

Finally accepting that Riv isn’t going to turn and look at me, I swing my gaze across the dining hall with a resigned sigh. Gus and Kendrick are making their way over here, but they stop in their tracks the moment they spot me and Ace cozied up to Riv, whispering to one another for a few seconds before hesitantly continuing in our direction.

Kendrick claims the spot across from me, looking completely unbothered by my presence as he drops his plate and sinks down on the bench beside Hayden. Gus looks decidedly more nervous as he takes a seat on her other side, immediately looking to River for an explanation.

“Um, so what’s…” he starts, but she cuts him off with a shake of her head.

“Don’t ask,” she grumbles.

“She said to just ignore them,” Hayden chirps, grinning right at me as she says it.

Yeah, this girl’s gonna be a problem.

I glare back at her, stabbing my fork into a piece of broccoli. “We just wanted to catch up with Riv since we’re her oldest friends,” I say before stuffing it into my mouth, smiling around my fork.

Hayden rolls her eyes. “Yeah, then where have you been for the past three years when she’s been my best friend?” she scoffs, picking up her fork to tuck into her own meal.

“It was complicated,” Ace grumbles.

Hayden turns her attention to Ace, shrugging a shoulder as she sets her fork back down with a soft clink. “Well, let’s hear it then,” she says, pushing her plate out of the way to rest her arms on the tabletop. “I’ve got time.”

River snorts a laugh, and I turn to face her again, leaning in close. “I don’t like her,” I growl under my breath.

She finally flickers a glance in my direction, the corner of her mouth tugging up in a little smirk. “You’re free to leave, then.”

My jaw clenches in frustration. “No,” I force out through gritted teeth.

“Then deal with it,” she remarks, flipping her long ponytail over a shoulder. “She’s my friend, and up until recently, you guys weren’t. So, if you wanna get on my good side and actually be friends again, you’ll play nice.”

I make a scoffing sound in my throat.

Riv narrows her eyes on me in challenge. “Dare you.”

I stare back at her, my heart tripping over its valves as I get lost in those hazel eyes. Well shit, I did say I’d do whatever it took to earn her forgiveness if she just told me what it was. She’s got me by the balls here, so I turn back to River’s purple-haired friend and force a fake-as-fuck smile to my lips.

“Hi, Hayden,” I grit out, no doubt looking goddamn deranged while both smiling and glaring.

Her smug grin widens as she lifts a hand, wiggling her fingers in a teasing little wave. “Hi, Seb. You’re looking extra surly today.”

My faux smile dissolves on a dime. Who the fuck does this girl think she is?

“Is it because your girlfriend left you for Jake?” she asks, batting her lashes while feigning sympathy. “It’s gotta be a blow to the ego when even the resident tramp gets sick of your shit.”

My hands curl into fists atop the table. This girl is obviously trying to bait me, but I’ll be damned if I let her.

Hayden clocks my reaction, a satisfied smirk curving her lips. When I don’t respond, she doubles down, hissing in a breath through her teeth and shaking her head. “Hate to break it to you, babe, but you’re barking up the wrong tree here. My bestie isn’t interested in Chandler’s sloppy seconds.”

I shove up from the bench, biting my tongue against firing off a retort that’ll put me right back in the doghouse with River. I need to walk away before I say something I’ll regret– or worse, put Hayden in her place by telling her that fate hand-picked her bestie for me . Snatching my half-eaten plate of dinner off the table, I turn and stomp away, pacing over to the nearest wash bin and tossing it in with a clatter. Then I continue to the exit, my movements stiff from the tension bunching up my muscles.

If this isn’t an exercise in self-restraint, I don’t know what is. I’m not known for backing down– quite the opposite, actually– but I’m not about to blow this whole thing over a few bitchy comments made by that purple-haired princess. She’s inconsequential. River’s opinion of me is the only one that matters.

Not that it’s great currently, but I’m fucking working on it.

The heat of the day is still clinging to the air when I push through the main doors of the complex, storming outside and flinching as they bang closed behind me. I’m wound up tighter than a goddamn bowstring, seconds away from losing my shit. Too bad Jake isn’t out here right now to release some of this aggression on. Nobody is, and that’s probably a good thing.

I pace along the side of the building before stopping to lean back against it, stabbing my fingers through my hair and releasing a growl of frustration. Then the doors open again, and I snap my head around to see who it is, a relieved breath fizzling from my lungs when Ace steps outside to join me.

He doesn’t say a word as he starts toward me– just flips his hood up over his head and reaches into the front pocket of his sweatshirt to pull out a joint and his lighter. He leans against the wall beside me and sparks it up, the two of us passing it back and forth silently. After a few hits, the tension in my muscles starts to dissipate, my aggravation waning.

“This sucks,” I grit out.

“I know, bro,” Ace sighs, flicking ash off the tip of the smoldering joint. “But she’s worth it, right?”

“Of course she’s fucking worth it,” I snap, snatching the spliff from him and taking another hit. I drop my head back against the wall behind me as I exhale, allowing my eyes to close for a few seconds.

Ace plucks the joint from my fingers, raising it to his lips for one last drag before tossing the roach to the ground and stomping it out. “Wanna go for a run?” he asks.

“Fuck yeah,” I sigh, pushing off from the building.

Ace always knows exactly what I need to get my head on straight. The best way to burn off this aggression right now is by shifting to my wolf and taking to the forest.

The two of us head for the gate to exit the squad complex, taking the trail to the grove of trees where we typically launch from. After stripping out of my clothes and tossing them in a heap, I call my wolf forward, the air shimmering around me as my body rearranges itself to take on my animal form.

When my paws hit the ground, I finally feel like I can breathe again, sucking in a deep breath of fresh air while shaking out my onyx fur. Ace’s silver wolf waits patiently as I stretch my limbs, then I take off into the forest with my best friend at my side. I can always count on him to lend his support when I need it most.

Though as we run through the trees, I can’t shake the feeling that something’s missing. Someone’s missing.

And I’ll do whatever it takes to get her back.