Ruthless Alpha: Shadowed Heirs book one, page 10
One step at a time.
“Hey beautiful, I heard you were moving in,” Ares drawls, stepping into the open doorway of my new dorm room and leaning a thick shoulder against the doorframe. “Need any help unpacking?”
“Thanks, but I’m actually almost finished,” I say as I fish a hanger out of the closet and slip a dress onto it. “I didn’t bring everything, just one bag for now.”
“Wow, gorgeous and low maintenance? You’d better stop it before I fall in love with you.”
A giggle slips past my lips and I roll my eyes. “Does that actually work on women?” I ask, scrunching my nose.
He shrugs, a mischievous glint shining in his big brown eyes. “You tell me.”
“Nice try, Ares, but I’m probably the most emotionally unavailable girl in this whole building,” I sigh, crossing the room to return to my suitcase on the bed and pulling out a few more of my things. “Not to mention the fact that I’m what, five years older than you?”
“Psh, age is just a number,” he scoffs, waving a hand dismissively.
I toss a grin his way as I move back over to the closet to hang up more of my clothes.
“Well, I just wanted to come by and say welcome to the neighborhood. If you ever wanna hang, I’m in Andie’s old room,” he says, carding his fingers through his red hair. “Room one-oh-four,” he adds belatedly, as if suddenly remembering that I’m new around here and wouldn’t be familiar with his sister’s old dorm assignment.
“Thanks, Ares,” I say, flashing him a genuine smile. “I really appreciate it. It’s nice to have a friend around here.”
He smirks, pushing off from the doorframe and pointing a finger in my direction. “Friend zone me all you want, Sloane, but when you get lonely at night and need a cuddle buddy, you’ll be whistling a different tune.”
I laugh, balling up a shirt in my hands and throwing it at him. He ducks out of the way with a laugh of his own, blowing me a kiss as he retreats back into the hall.
Ares Raines really has the whole slick, charming thing down pat. And though I’d never go there with him in a million years, I’ve gotta admit that it’s a nice change of pace for a guy to actually laugh and flirt with me after all the verbal abuse I’ve taken from Madd these last few days.
I slide another shirt onto a hanger in the closet, then step over to the doorway to retrieve the one I threw at Ares. As I bend down to pick it up, I see a pair of feet approaching my door wearing black flip-flops and hot pink toenail polish.
I straighten with the shirt in my hands only to come face to face with Roxy, her brows lifting in surprise when our gazes meet.
“Oh, sorry,” she stammers. “I saw the door open, so I thought…” She trails off, blue eyes wide and throat bobbing with a hard swallow.
“I just moved in,” I rush out. “Not with Madd, he gave me his old room. Well, he said that there weren’t any rooms left and there was a waitlist, but that he didn’t use this one anyways, so I’m just kinda borrowing it, I guess. For now. Not with him. Just me.” I snap my mouth closed, my cheeks flushing with embarrassment at the realization that I’m just nervously rambling. “He didn’t tell you?”
Roxy shakes her head, folding her arms tightly across her chest. “We broke up.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.”
“Yeah.” She heaves a sigh, sweeping her ponytail over her shoulder and fiddling with the ends of her hair. “Well this is awkward, huh?” She chuckles uncomfortably, glancing past me into the room. “I actually just came by to get some stuff I left here, do you mind if I…”
“Oh, sure,” I blurt, stepping aside and gesturing for her to come in.
Roxy moves past me into the room, heading straight for the nightstand and pulling open the top drawer.
And if I wasn’t already thinking about her sleeping beside Madd in that bed, in this room, I definitely am now.
“For what it’s worth, there’s nothing going on between the two of us,” I grit out, cringing at the awkwardness of this whole situation. “He doesn’t want anything to do with me.”
“Do you really believe that?” she murmurs as she rummages around in the drawer. Then she pushes it closed and turns around, clutching a phone charger, some hair ties, and a pair of sleep shorts in her grip. She must see the confusion written all over my face, because she heaves a sigh, shaking her head. “Look, I know Madd.” She winces, amending, “well, as much as he’ll let anyone know him, at least. Let’s just say that if I got upset at a party and started crying, he wouldn’t have jumped in and carried me away so I could save face. He probably would’ve just told me to suck it up before walking away.”
I stare at her dubiously as she strides back toward me, her light brown ponytail swishing behind her.
Roxy is pretty. I can see why Madd chose her. From her slender, athletic build, to her bright blue eyes, tiny nose, and full lips, the girl is a damn catch. It sort of makes me want to hate her, but if Madd was really as cold and aloof as she makes him sound while they were dating, I just feel sorry for her.
“Maybe now that you’re back, you can get through to him,” she sighs, shrugging. “I tried, but let’s face it, I wasn’t the one.”
“I mean, you could be…” I say, not even knowing why I do. It’s not like it’s easy to watch Madd with someone else. I just feel guilty because Roxy is obviously hurting over things ending with him, and I somehow doubt that their breakup happening right after I suddenly reappeared in his life is entirely coincidental. Me being here seems to have brought out the worst in him.
She chuckles wryly. “Yeah right, like I’d stand a chance against the history you two have.” Her voice breaks, eyes rounded in sadness. Then she quickly schools her features and blows out a shallow breath. “It’s okay, Sloane, I don’t blame you. I knew Madd and I weren’t built to last. I guess I’d just hoped that might change with time. But you know what? I deserve better than to be strung along by a guy who’s in love with someone else.”
“He’s not in love with me,” I mutter, curly hair swishing in front of my face as I shake my head. “Maybe a long time ago, but not anymore.”
“We’ll see,” Roxy drawls, the corner of her mouth lifting slightly in the ghost of a smirk. “Well, anyway, welcome to the dorms. I’m right down the hall if you need anything. Room one-twelve.” She steps closer, reaching out to touch my arm. “Even if you just wanna drink wine and talk shit about our mutual ex,” she adds with a wink.
I can’t help but laugh. “Thanks, I appreciate that,” I say, following her as she starts toward the door. “I honestly can’t believe how cool you’re being about this. I’m not sure I would be if the roles were reversed.”
She pauses in the doorway, turning to me with a shrug. “Well, life’s short, right? I feel like this whole thing with the hunters is a huge wakeup call as to how short it can really be.”
I nod sadly in agreement.
“Besides, there are plenty of other alphas to go around,” Roxy continues. “And speaking of, you wouldn’t wanna put in a good word for me with your brother, would you?” She grins conspiratorially, waggling her eyebrows.
I stifle a giggle, nodding again. “I’ll see what I can do.”
After Roxy leaves, I finish unpacking my suitcase, tucking my things away in the closet and drawers. Then I immediately strip the bed and carry the linens to the laundry room, planning to wash them twice after Roxy’s visit reminded me what she and Madd likely got up to while twisted in those sheets. The thought of my first love being intimate with someone else makes my stomach hurt, but I suppose I can’t blame him for moving on. It’s not like I waited around for him all this time.
I would’ve been a fool to.
I stuff the bedding into the washer, start the cycle, and then, not really knowing what to do with myself, I start wandering around the complex with the hope of running into Avery or Lo. I don’t wind up seeing either of them, but instead find myself gravitating toward the back of the building, where I find and climb the old utility ladder up to the roof.
Madd and I originally found it by accident when we were kids, hanging out at the complex in the summertime while our parents trained up the new recruits. During a game of hide and seek with the other squad leaders’ kids, the two of us stumbled upon the ladder and headed up, turning giddy when we realized it provided roof access. For some reason, we didn’t tell the others about it- not even Avery- and from that point on, the two of us would sneak off to the roof to watch the squad train on the practice field, stealing private moments together before we even fully realized why we wanted them.
I grip onto the rusty rungs, making the familiar ascent for the first time since I was a teen. When I’m halfway up, it occurs to me that this ladder probably isn’t the safest after so many years of disuse, but I still continue to the top, thankful that it holds my weight. I hop off the ladder onto the roof once I reach it, dusting my palms off on my leggings and glancing around.
The view’s the same, yet different. The trees are more mature, the foliage thicker, but it’s still peaceful and serene up here, a little slice of privacy in an otherwise crowded setting. It’s the perfect place to get away and be alone for a while, and I’m glad I wound up wandering this way and remembering it existed.
I smile to myself in contentment, stepping over to skirt around the big air conditioning unit that blocks the view to the practice field…only to find I’m not alone up here after all.
13
A plume of white smoke curls from the end of the joint pinched between my fingers as I hold it out in front of me, watching the paper curl and burn to ash. I don’t smoke often these days, but I indulge once in a while when I need a little something to take the edge off. And after unloading the shipment from Chicago and getting everything set for the squad to start training with firearms tomorrow, I definitely need something to help me relax.
The Denver pack has been on lockdown since their brush with the hunters last week, but just because there hasn’t been another incident doesn’t mean they aren’t still out there, watching and waiting. Taking drastic measures like procuring and training with guns only makes the threat feel that much closer, like they’re breathing down our fucking necks, the shit just waiting to hit the fan.
The waiting’s the worst part. If it were up to me, I’d rally our squad to take the fight to them, see how they like to be hunted for a change. But there are too many variables; too many lives hanging in the balance. The safest thing for my pack and the entire alliance is to stay hidden. They can’t kill us off if they never find us, right?
But we have to be prepared in case they do, and that’s where the guns come in. We’ve gotta fight fire with fire if there’s a chance in hell of us coming out of this unscathed.
I lift the joint to my lips again, dragging in a deep inhale and holding the smoke in my lungs as I drop the roach to the ground and grind it beneath my heel. Then I gaze out over the practice field from my perch on the roof of the squad complex, exhaling slowly and letting the breeze whisk the smoke away.
I haven’t been up here in a while. When I lived at the complex, I’d hide out up here regularly, but these days I hardly get a moment to myself. Between running my pack and heading up the squad, there’s always something I’m being pulled away to deal with.
Not that I’m complaining. Leading is what I was born to do; it’s in my blood. And though I’m still getting the hang of it, my dad says my instincts are spot-on thus far. He says I’m a natural.
High praise, coming from the esteemed Alpha Gray.
I slide my palms behind me on the concrete ledge I’m perched upon, leaning back to rest on my elbows. The ledge runs down the entire length of the roof in the middle, and I watched the squad training on the field countless times from this exact position before I was finally old enough to join them. I wasn’t alone back then, though. Sloane was always beside me, chattering in my ear about whatever was on her mind while I hung on every word like the sun shined out of her ass.
My inner wolf suddenly perks up, right before I hear the scuffle of footsteps behind me, and I know it’s her before I even turn to look over my shoulder. For one, my wolf and I are decidedly not on the same page when it comes to Sloane Masters- he’s always fucking delighted when she comes around- and for two, nobody else would climb that rusty old utility ladder to hang out on the roof.
When I turn, our gazes lock, and Sloane stops in her tracks with her green eyes rounded in surprise. “Sorry, I didn’t think anyone would be up here…”
Seeing her on this roof is so familiar that for a second, I feel like I’ve been thrown into a vivid flashback and it’s a seventeen-year-old Sloane standing there, her wild curly hair blowing in the breeze. It hits me so hard that my chest aches for the kids we used to be, for the carefree days and nights we shared before everything turned to shit.
I can’t look at her without remembering, and every time I do, it feels like a knife to the heart.
“Run along,” I grumble, turning away to gaze out over the practice field again.
I grind my molars, pushing all those old feelings as far back in my mind as they can go, but then I hear the light patter of her footsteps against the concrete moving closer rather than retreating. I swing my gaze back around to see her approaching the ledge in pair of black high-waisted leggings and a lavender crop-top, my eyes immediately drawn to the sliver of her tan belly showing.
“What are you doing?” I scowl.
She shrugs. “I think I’ll stay.”
Sloane plops down onto the ledge a few feet away from me and I eye her menacingly, clenching my jaw tight. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
She snaps her head in my direction, defiance blazing in her eyes. “Why, what are you gonna do, Madd? Say more hateful shit to try to push me away?”
She heaves a sigh, turning sideways and pulling her feet up onto the ledge, tucking her knees into her chest and looping her arms around them. It makes her look even smaller than she already is; delicate and unassuming.
Looks can be deceiving.
That’s how she got away with so much shit when we were kids- everyone thought I was the troublemaker, but she was the Bonnie to my Clyde that nobody suspected. And I was so damn enamored with her that I always gladly took the blame.
“You don’t own everything around here,” she mumbles. “This place was mine once, too.” Resting her chin atop her knees, she snorts a laugh. “Hell, since it was, I’m surprised you still come up here.”
“If I stayed away from everywhere that reminded me of you, I’d have nowhere to go,” I mutter, thinking out loud and wincing as I immediately regret admitting that to her.
A hot prickle of anger unfurls in my chest and I push up to stand. “If you won’t go, then I will,” I growl, reaching up to secure my backwards hat tighter to my head.
“Whatever,” she scoffs, rolling her eyes. “Go ahead and stomp away again, as if that’ll solve anything.”
“There’s nothing to solve,” I snarl. “I stay out of your way, you stay out of mine. It’s that simple.”
“So we can’t even have a conversation?”
“What would be the point?”
She throws up her hands. “I don’t know, to clear the air, to try to move forward? In case you haven’t noticed, it hasn’t exactly been easy for me to be back here, either. You’re not the only one struggling to adjust.”
“And who’s fault is that, Sloane?” I demand, narrowing my eyes on her and taking a threatening step in her direction.
She swings her legs off the ledge, the toes of her sneakers meeting the rooftop. “Blame me for leaving, blame me for coming back. What the hell do you want from me, Madd?”
“Nothing.”
“You sure about that?” she clucks, arching her brow in challenge, all fucking sass.
“The fuck is that supposed to mean?” I growl.
She rolls her eyes again and I ball my fists at my sides, resisting the urge to punch something.
Sloane waves a hand flippantly. “You’ve obviously got an ax to grind since you’ve been treating me like crap since I came back here.”
“How’d you expect me to act?” I scoff wryly. “Did you think I’d fall to my knees, beg you for another chance?”
She pushes to her feet, brow furrowed and lips twisted in a scowl. “Well no, but I didn’t expect you to hold an eight year grudge for some shit that wasn’t even my fault.”
A chill washes over me, the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end. “Oh, I know it was my fault, trust me. Everyone blamed me for what happened that day.”
What I don’t say is how much I blamed myself. How I went from being a respected future Alpha to the guy who almost killed Sloane; the one who got her sent away. How I didn’t even flinch at the looks of disdain aimed my way in the wake of her injury, knowing I deserved every single one of them.
She shakes her head, dark curls bouncing and a tinge of sadness flickering in her mossy green irises. “I wasn’t talking about the accident. I meant after.”
“I’m not doing this again,” I mutter, turning around and stalking away. Because I can’t stand to see that look in her eyes, and I won’t let her see it reflected back at her in my own.
“Stop walking away, stop acting like you don’t care!” Sloane yells after me.
“I don’t!” I call back, refusing to turn around.
“No? Then why’d you console me at the party? Why’d you give me your dorm?”
Rage unfurls in my chest and I whip back around, advancing on her again in quick strides. “Because you fuck with my head!” I shout, shoving a finger against my temple. “You show up here after all this time and I don’t know how the fuck I’m supposed to act around you!” I close the distance between us and reach out to grab her by the biceps, yanking her in close, my upper lip curling back from my teeth in a snarl. “I choose to walk away because I know it’s not fucking healthy that every time I see you, I can’t decide if I want to fight with you or fuck you.”
