“Oh, it was him.” Cole glanced at her and pointed at Greg. “You can’t forget a cheap-ass suit like his.”
Dear gods. This was only going to get worse, and I had no clue how to fix it. “Come on. Let’s find a different ice cream shop.”
“Oh, hell no,” Damien spoke and glared straight at Greg. “We aren’t going anywhere.”
Now, I wasn’t expecting that from Damien.
Rage leaned down and kissed my lips once again. “He’s right. I’m going to go inside and buy my girl some ice cream. If anyone has a problem with it,” Rage glanced at Greg then Ian, “then I’ll handle it whatever way I see fit.”
He intertwined his fingers with mine and pulled me toward the entrance. As we strolled by Greg and Ian, Rage paused. “Just to be clear, I belong to her in all ways. Get it through your thick skull.”
“Don’t be so sure.” Greg bared his teeth and growled. “She was like that with me too, and look at where I am now.”
“That’s a bunch of bull, and you know it.” Sheila laughed hard and smacked his arm. “She was never like that with you. I always wondered if she even liked you.”
Greg took a step away from her and frowned. “You know that’s not true. Why would you say that?”
“What?” Her forehead wrinkled, and her blue eyes widened. She grabbed a strand of her blonde hair and twirled.
“It’s not true.” Greg took a step toward her, getting in her face. “Tell them now.”
Even though I never was a fan of Sheila, she didn’t deserve to be treated like that. “Are you trying to bully her?” I untangled myself from Rage and headed in their direction. “Are you that fucking insecure?” I tugged Sheila away, getting in between her and Greg. “Why don’t you recognize that you’re pissed at me and stop taking it out on everyone else.”
“Why don’t you back away, bitch?” Ian stood next to Greg, and they both just stared me down.
That was possibly the worst thing he could do.
Within seconds, Rage and Cole were on both sides of me, and Damien flanked Cole. They were ready for action.
Ian startled, and Greg took a step back.
“Are you sleeping with all of them?” Ian’s voice lacked malice now that all four of us were staring down at their group.
“Is that what you think would be happening for all three of us to want to protect her?” Cole tilted his head, his eyes as cold as ice. “If that’s how your pack operates, I’m damn glad I’m a vampire.”
“Well, how else would she get three Bloodshed guys willing to fight for her?” Ian’s voice wasn’t filled with as much hatred, but he obviously didn’t want to back down completely.
“It’s called friendship.” Jess stayed back with Sheila but still wanted her presence known.
“This has to end now.” I took a step toward Greg and stared right into his eyes. “There is no chance of us getting back together ... ever. Rage is my true mate, so you need to get it through your head. I loved you once but only as a friend, nothing more. As of now, those feelings are disappearing quite quickly. We are done.”
“You’re fucking heartless to do this to him like this.” Ian had always hated me. It was even more clear in this moment.
“You’re the ones who came out here and started it.” Rage stood next to me, our arms brushing.
“Don’t worry.” Greg smirked, examining me up and down, which made Rage growl. “She’ll come back home when it’s all said and done.”
His unveiled threat rang true in my ears. He expected to be my alpha one day. “The only way I’d come back here is if you weren’t in charge.”
“Are you challenging me?” Greg’s hands quivered in rage, and his eyes began to glow.
This was my parents’ home so I couldn’t do something that would cause them harm. “No, I’m saying if I come back, it won’t be as part of your pack.”
“Raven, be careful.” Sheila sounded concerned for me.
Now that the words were out, it was clear. I didn’t belong here. In fact, I had never felt a sense of comfort and unity as I did with my friends and mate.
“I’d listen to Sheila if I were you.” Greg stood tall, but there was a hint of fear in his eyes that I’d never seen before. He was used to getting everything he wanted on a silver platter.
Everything was finally clear to me. I just hoped my parents would understand. “As of this moment, I’m no longer part of your pack.”
“Hell, yeah.” Cole threw his arm around me and laughed. “I’ve been wondering when that would happen.”
A part of me turned cold with those words. It surprised me since I’d never even known that it was a part of my physical body. That was where my pack connection had been, and now it was gone. It felt empty.
“You’re going to regret this.” Greg pointed his finger at me and growled.
“I feel like that’s all he ever says.” Cole chuckled and glanced at Rage. “How many times has he said that now?”
“Come on. Let’s get out of here.” Ian patted Greg on the back and motioned to the car. “She isn’t worth it.”
“Sheila, come on.” Greg used his authoritative, controlling tone.
“Uh … Okay.” Sheila stopped in front of me. “Thank you. We’ve never been super good friends, but I know you were standing up for me.”
“No problem.” This was the first time ever that she’d been nice to me. “Remember, you’re a person too. Don’t let him do that to you.”
“It’s easy for you to say.” She mashed her lips together and sighed. “My wolf already sees him as alpha.” She turned and followed after the two climbing into the back seat of the F-150.
“It’s never boring around you.” Damien’s eyes stayed on the truck until it turned on to the main road. “That’s for sure.”
“I know.” Cole chuckled and wrapped his arms around me. “That’s why she’s my bestie. I don’t know how I survived without her.”
“You bring your share of drama.” Jess rolled her eyes and sighed. “Let’s see. You slept with a ton of girls, and when they expected more than just sex, you made a mockery of them in front of everyone.”
“Hey, I’ve reduced the number recently.” Cole lifted his head like he was offended that she had brought up his past transgressions.
“True, but there are some crazies holding on to those last rays of hope that you’ll finally notice them.” Jess arched an eyebrow.
“Can we just get the damn ice cream we came for?” Damien groaned and moved to enter the store.
“A huge ice cream cone is sounding heavenly.” My stomach growled, reemphasizing the point. The last thing I wanted was everyone to focus on what I’d just done. I wasn’t ready to talk to them about it yet, so Cole diverting the attention relieved me.
“Y’all go on in, and we’ll be right there.” Rage tilted his head, but his eyes stayed on mine.
It was only a few seconds before we were alone.
He reached out, pushing a piece of hair behind my ear. “What are you going to do?”