It was as if he slapped her. “What? Hey, buddy, I’m not the one who kissed you.”
“Yeah, but you allowed me to kiss you, and in my book, that tells me you wanted it just as much as I did.”
Embarrassed, Raven could feel her face turning red. She had no recourse. Nothing to say that would take that smirk off his face. So, what did she do? Ran, and ran fast.
When she looked up, she was at the Dixon Pack property line. She knew Dixon pack guards were watching her from the trees, but they all knew her, and she also knew they would contact their alpha about her presence on their land. She calmly walked toward the alpha’s house. Why she thought Quinn would be the one to talk to was beyond her, but this was where she was headed. Unless the guards tried to stop her.
As she came to the house, Quinn sat on the front porch in the swing. Watching her as she approached. Her wolf eyes glowed in the dark. Wolves were a predator just like her, but Quinn Dixon was something different. She had magic and she wasn’t afraid to use it.
Raven slowly approached but stopped at the bottom of the steps. “Usually, people call before they show up.”
Blowing out a deep breath, Raven sat on the bottom step. “I know. I’m sorry, but I just—"
“What do you need, Raven? But why I should help you is beyond me. You’re rude and a total bitch, especially to Jade. She has been so nice to--”
Raven couldn’t control it anymore. She did the thing she hated the most...Cry. Not just a few tears but leaning over sobbing into her hands. Her life felt out of control.
“Hey, hey, it’s going to be okay.” Quinn was next to her with her hand on her head, slowly, her fingers played with her hair. She didn’t say anything further. Quinn just allowed her to cry it out.
“I hate people who cry. I hate myself right now for being so weak,” Raven said. She was disgusted with herself. How did she let this happen?
“Nah, we all have our moments. It’s just your turn.”
Raven jerked her head up. “But it doesn’t happen to me.” Pointing at herself, she cried out, “Never!”
“Umm, Raven, exactly what happened to you?” Then Quinn did something that gave her secret away, she leaned in and took a big sniff of her. That’s when Raven realized she should have kept on running and never stopped. “Oh...Oh...Wow, you’re definitely right. I never saw that one coming.”
“I didn’t maim or rip his arms off. Nothing. Just let him manhandle me. Just like a stupid girl with her first kiss.”
“Really? That was your first kiss?” Quinn’s eyes were no longer her wolf, now they were as big as saucers.
Raven shook her head. “Of course not. I just…”
“Hey, look at me.” Quinn snapped her fingers getting her to look at her. “So what if it is? Everyone has their first kiss and it’s always a disaster.”
“But it wasn’t. Well, at first, I didn’t know what was happening since he was so fast, but then the second time, he took his time and I’ve never felt like that before. His lips were so soft and he tasted like peaches. Who tastes like peaches? But he did. Then he spoke and it ruined the moment.”
Quinn busted out laughing. “Ahh, this is so sweet. You like him. The big fat head tiger.”
“I do not. And he doesn’t have a fat head.”
“Have you seen him shift yet?”
Raven shook her head.
“After you do, then we will talk. Let’s talk about why you are so upset about him kissing you. You said you liked it.”
Her cheeks had to be a bright red. Even though it was already dark, shifters could see just fine and Quinn didn’t miss much. “Hey, talk to me. Let’s make this easy and you tell me what you dislike about him.”
Rolling her eyes, Raven looked off into the dark. “He is so arrogant and rude. He acts like he has a secret. He just talks to me when he knows I want to be alone.”
“Now that sounds like someone else I know, but continue,” Quinn said.
She scrunched up her face and stared at the woman. “Who? Me?”
“Yes, you are probably the rudest person I’ve ever met, and let me tell you, I’ve met a lot. Plus, you think you are so much better than everyone else. Including your alpha’s mate. Who, by the way, could probably kill us all with that magic inside of her. But she still likes you. Why, I don’t know, because, Raven, you just described yourself and Jade still wants to be friends with you. So you tell me, why do you treat her like that?”
Raven glanced at Quinn and then toward the ground. She was already out on a limb by coming to Quinn, might as well go on farther. “Growing up, I never had friends. The girls didn’t want to be my friend and the boys were scared of me. Except one girl, Sissy Jacobs.
“At first, everything was great. She came to my house and we would dress up each other. Then the popular girls at school took her in and from that day on, she never looked at me, never acknowledged me. It became easy to be invisible around others. The less they saw me, the better. I controlled that. Not them. Me.”
“But, Raven, that doesn’t make an excuse for why you are so rude to Jade.”
“Because once she gets to know me, she will run too, back to the popular girls. Like you and Simone, Alex, Greer. I could go on, but what’s the use. I’m just not the friend type. I keep her at bay, so I don’t get hurt.”
Quinn was so silent even the crickets stopped chirping. She glanced up and found a blank look on her face. It was the silence that worried her the most. “Quinn, what is it?”
“That was such a personal memory, Raven. I want to cry for you. That girl was never your friend, but we are. Jade is. But you have to take a chance and let us in. Just like right now, you are telling me things about you that I never would have imagined. I’m so proud of you.”
“You’re not going to kiss me, are you?” Raven asked, smiling.
Blowing out a deep breath, Quinn shook her head. “Then you say some prissy remark to cover up your vulnerability. Stop doing that and start being a friend. And if you came here for my advice on Caz Milton, well, you might want to ask Jade. She knows the Milton’s better than anyone. I think she would be delighted if you just talked with her. Instead of giving her one-word answers and then leave her standing there as she tries to talk to you. Now run home and think about all of this. We will talk later. My show is coming on. So scat, bear.”
Raven stood and watched as Quinn left her standing as she went inside her house.
What just happened? Now she would be the laughing stock of the packs. Quinn would tell everyone what she said and everyone would know about school and Caz Milton. Why did the fat head tiger kiss her? Why?
Caz sat at the kitchen table of the pack house. He needed to know she was okay. Everyone was in their rooms or gone. Why did she push his buttons so much? Why did you kiss her, you idiot? The growl rattled up his throat in response.
Calm down, big fella. I know you like her, but she is a pain.
But she’s pretty and strong. Exactly what we need.
Gasping from his tiger’s response, Caz started coughing. Never had his tiger made such a demand. He’d never been interested in a woman before, at least not long. But Raven made his blood boil and turned his instincts to protect her into overdrive.