“So, what was that about?”
“One of the Omegas at the mixer. I know her from back home. I don’t want her to know I’m here.”
“Why not?”
“Because she’s had it out for me since we were thirteen. I know without a doubt if she knew I was here, she would do her absolute best to make me miserable.”
“Why would someone do that?” Andie asks me, her forehead crinkled in a frown.
I groan, tipping back the mimosa as old wounds from my youth bubble up. I’m not sure how to explain Upper East Side bullshit drama to someone who’s never experienced it, and even thinking that has me feeling ridiculous. But the fact was, that summer was the worst month of my life. It was so bad I had my dad, River, come pick me up early when I called him sobbing. It didn’t help that Megan also showed up the following year at the same high school as me and continued her rampage against me.
Her going after me then made me retaliate, and it’s been a never-ending cycle of us hating each other’s guts.
“Have you ever befriended someone who only got to know you so they could ruin your life?” I ask her.
“Uh. No.”
“That’s how it started. I thought we were going to be best friends, that she liked me.” I sigh dramatically, not wanting to go into this decade long feud with a stranger, or admit that the things she said to me still hurt my feelings to this day. “Either way, she made it her mission to humiliate me, and for a while, it worked. When I graduated, I thought I’d never see her again. I guess I’m just not sure how to handle it.”
“We hate her. Got it,” Andie says with a smile.
Talking to her is easy. She reminds me of Shiloh. Even though I just met her, there’s an immediate comfort.
Wanting to change the subject, I look over at her with a wild smile.
“So what kind of pack are you looking for anyway, Andie?”
“I really just want to be stable, you know? My parents struggled, my brother is still struggling. Is that bad? That the main thing I want is a pack that can give me a better life?” she asks, taking a heavy swig of her mimosa.
“No, there’s nothing wrong with that at all,” I tell her honestly.
“Obviously, that’s not all that matters. I want to like them, build a friendship before becoming lovers. But the idea of not worrying about the roof over my head? I also really want to have children and it’s important that they have a comfortable life. That’s the priority,” she says drifting off. “But if we’re talking personality wise…I love a hot nerd.”
That has both of us laughing.
“I’m happy I found you, Andie,” I say; maybe the mimosas are hitting too hard.
“Me too,” she says happily.
I’ve almost forgotten the wicked witch of Manhattan is on the ship as I hear her cackle again. I sigh, glancing over at the sound and when I see her hand on Wells’ forearm…
I see red.
I’m up out of my chair so fast and Andie is following me.
Wells is being polite, his smile not showing his teeth as he nods at what she’s saying.
“Claire? What are you doing?” Andie whispers behind me.
I don’t answer, because it might be murder, but something needs to be done with this bitch touching my Beta.
My plan of sticking under the radar and not letting her know I’m on board is completely out the fucking window.
“I can’t believe we have an Olympic Gold champion in our midst,” she says, and it has me wanting to choose violence. Of course, she zeroed in on him because he has a certain level of fame. I’m not even sure why she’s here. She fits in perfectly with all the sharks back home.
I could punch her in the throat, but that seems a little extreme.
Instead, I step in between the two of them, severing her touch from his and running my hands through his hair.