Page 8 of Pit Stop

I let out a small laugh and take a sip of my drink, which is far too sweet for my tastes, but I refuse to have the barista remake it. I’ll just force myself to enjoy it.

How did Mav know exactly how I like my coffee? He got it right every morning I was with him. I never even had to ask.

“Anyway, thanks for coming. Maybe you can be my wingman when I go introduce myself to him after the poetry is all done.”

“Um, Delphy, I don’t see how I’d make a good wingman. The last time you asked me to do this, I tripped and spilled my drink all over the guy.”

“Yeah, but you’re cute and nerdy. You’re easy to forgive. Alpha wolves eat that shit up.”

I eye her and scoff. “That sounds like a lie.”

“No, for real. You’re an adorable, needy omega. Alphas love protecting guys like you, and maybe since we’re friends…”

She waggles her eyebrows at me.

I don’t know what to say to that. Is that why Maverick ended up fucking me during my heat? Did he feel sorry for me? Was I just a needy little slut his instincts told him to protect? Was I just that pathetic?

The thought makes my chest clench and my hole slacken. It’s a curious thing, my body and mind working against each other.

“Anyway, it’s worth a shot. All doors you open, never close.”

“I really don’t think that’s how the saying goes.”

“Oh, who cares.”

“Fine, well, if alphas are so into needy, pathetic nerds, what if he ends up wanting me instead? You’re a beta, Delphy.”

She grins at me. “Oh, well, if he gets with you, then I can live vicariously. I don’t mind a little friendly competition. Plus, you could use it after your heat, amiright?”

Oh, how the hell did she find out about that? Is Maverick telling everyone? Forest?

I worry about it through the entire awful poetry reading, my mind spinning through every possible scenario.

If one more person howls between sentences and gets on all fours, I will riot. The only good thing about this gods-awful thing is that it’s stemming some of my anxiety.

Not that it ever really stops.

As I finish my drink and set it between my feet, I try like hell not to think of Maverick. Or that shifter standing at the other side of the room as he keeps peering over at me.

Like he knows me.

Like he can smell me.

I don’t know what any of it means, but it’s making me fucking nervous. So much so that I take my glasses off toward the end and peer off into the blur that is now my life.

When the last person gets up and shouts into the microphone that it’s time to mingle, Delphine shoots up and drags me across the room.

I go unwillingly, feeling slightly nervous at this introduction.

Honestly, I want Mav here with me. I want him to wrap his arms around me and protect me. But Mav and I can’t happen. That’s not a thing.

“Hi there!” Delphine practically screeches.

I wince and peer up through my glasses at the guy before me. He’s big, and with his jacket discarded, his tattooed muscles are clearly bulging as he takes a sip of his water. Why the hell would someone like this come to a wolf poetry slam night?

I don’t get it. Especially because the whispers are ferocious among our small clan. A lone shifting wolf away from his people is fodder for gossip.

“Hi,” he says, his eyes moving to Delphine. She’s gorgeous with her long, wavy black hair and her dark blue eyes, but for some reason, this guy’s gaze moves to me and won’t leave.

I shift on my feet, wishing I could disappear into the floor. He’s hot and smells really good, but despite that, he’s not doing anything for me.

Damn Maverick and his pheromones that have me all twisted up. I can’t even look at another guy without him right there, in the forefront of my mind, telling me that I want no other.

“What’s your name?” he asks me, almost a growl, and I shake my head, not sure what to say.

For some reason, I want to tell him something different, something so unlike my own.

“This is Skye and I’m Delphine,” she says for me.

She stretches out her arm and he finally moves his gaze away from me to glance at her waiting hand.

“Right,” he replies, not even bothering to shake it. Guy seems like a fucking dick, like he has a chip on his shoulder.

“Skylar, you’ll do. Let’s go,” he tells me and then nods toward the exit. I stare at him in confusion, and Delphine nudges me.

“He wants to go fuck,” she whispers far too loudly.

I shake my head, not wanting to go.

“He didn’t even get my name right!”

“So what?”

I shake my head, the vision of Maverick calling me by my name over and over flitting through my mind. “Um, no thanks,” I murmur, feeling myself shrivel slightly from the attention he’s giving me. I don’t like being on display like this.

His eyes narrow and he blinks at me. “You saying no? To me?”

I nod and swallow, feeling my throat click as I do. I want nothing more than to go home, to my safe space, to my books.

I want to disappear inside one and not return.

I would have loved this attention a week ago, would have gladly followed him outside to get railed, but now I don’t want to. I really fucking don’t.

“Fine,” the guy says and then turns his gaze to Delphine, tracking up and down her form. “Guess you’ll have to do.”

She perks up, excitement rushing through her. “Oh, really? Great!”

I tug on her arm and pull her into me. “The guy is an ass,” I tell her, and she grins.

“And an even better fuck, I bet! I’ll tell you how it is.”

She pats my arm and lopes away, leaving me standing there feeling…gross, wrong.

I want to leave. I shouldn’t have come out so soon. I should have stayed in to recover. This was a mistake. I’m too raw, too vulnerable. Everything is too much.

I slide a hand down my hot face and message Delphine as I head for the exit, telling her to text me when it’s done, so I can make sure she’s okay.

As I drive away, past The Pit Stop, I wonder where Maverick is at this moment, what he’s doing, and if he’s found someone to replace me.

I don’t know if I want to know. I don’t fucking want to know a thing anymore.