Chapter 9 Wish Me Luck

Asher led me towards his new blue convertible, quickly unlocking the car and both of us getting in. "So, this is how you're picking up all the girls in Blackclaw?", I asked jokingly. He rolled his eyes and pulled up his arm, flexing his muscle before he kissed it, "more like this". I almost snorted from laughing so hard, Asher was always a good time. I wasn't surprised at the rate he was picking up girls. Heck, even Mia wanted a piece of him.

"Look who's talking, you had no problem causing a ruckus tonight between Alpha Tate and Alpha Blake", Asher acknowledged while he put the key in the ignition and the car roared, "what did Blake say to you anyways that put you off edge?" I shifted in my seat, I knew there was no way that Asher was going to drop seeing us both disappear outside.

"You really want to know?", I said in an unimpressed voice, "he bitched me out for calling him Blake. Apparently, the only way I'm expected to refer to him from now on is as Alpha". Asher turned his head in disbelief, then quickly diverted his gaze back to the road, "So you hate him even more than you did when you got here?", he chuckled.

"Something like that", I admitted, reaching for the radio and turning it on. Truthfully, as much as I tried to hate him, there was still something about him that still made my brain foggy at the simple thought of him. I felt like I couldn't breathe whenever he was nearby. The rest of the drive to my parents' house was short and sweet with light banter back and forth, I got out of the passenger side of Asher's car and started walking up the steps into my childhood home. "Arizona! Don't forget your gym shorts for training tomorrow, I hope you're ready", Asher called out from the car. Not bothering to turn, I extended my arm out and gave him a thumbs up. I could hear him laughing as I entered the house and closed the front door.

I pulled my phone out of my leather skirt pocket, remembering that I still hadn't responded to Eric as I climbed up the stairs in an eerily quiet house to my bedroom. Realizing it was too late to call him, I sent him a message that I had just gotten busy but would call him tomorrow and plugged my phone in to charge.

I shimmied my skirt off and pulled off the black bodysuit I had worn, leaving me exposed in only my black lace thong. Realizing that I had forgotten to close the curtains, I turned towards them and placed a hand on each side to close them. I looked down from my window and noticed a black SUV that had just arrived at the pack house. I guess that was the perk of living so close to the pack house, you always knew who was coming and going. Two very drunk girls climbed out, one hand in hand with Alpha Tate and the other hand in hand with Alpha Blake. My eyes narrowed at them trying to figure out if I knew either of the girls. Like clockwork, Blake turned his head and glanced up to my window. The look of shock enveloped his sharp features as the blonde girl pulled him towards the front door of the pack house, following behind the other girl and Alpha Tate.

I felt my jaw clench hard and I snapped the black curtains in my room shut, throwing on nothing but a white t-shirt and tossing the covers on my bed over my body. I couldn't stop the thoughts from possessing my mind of what they were doing inside the pack house, I wasn't an idiot – I can tell you they weren't playing board games. But, why did it hurt so much? Why did it feel like a knife was gutting me from inside? Blake rejected me five years ago. I was no longer his mate, yet my wolf still whimpered at the sight of him with someone else. I huffed and puffed, tossed and turned, until sleep eventually overtook me.

The smell of freshly brewed coffee wafted through the air and my eyes bolted open, glancing at my alarm clock and noticing it was already seven in the morning. I threw on my robe and made my way down the wooden stairs and into the kitchen. Mark was standing beside the coffee maker, pouring two cups of coffee. "Mornin", I said groggily. "I thought the coffee would wake you up", he chuckled, "I'm headed to the pack house soon, do you want to walk together?"

I gripped the warm cup of coffee out of Mark's hand and nodded, "yeah, that would be nice". Mark leaned onto the kitchen island, opposite from where I was sitting and put his cup of coffee up to his lips. "So how was last night? I heard you somehow ended up at the Alpha's table at the Wolf's Den. Anything to do with Blake?", he finally blurted. I could see he had been itching to ask me yet was trying to put on a calm front.

I rolled my eyes, forcing myself to take another sip of my coffee before I even attempted to answer his question. "Blake is still dead to me, if that's what you're asking", I replied coldly. He nodded and placed his cup on the island, "I can see that", he said, pressing his lips into a tight line.

I stood up from the kitchen stool, "I better go get snazzy for my meeting with Alpha Max", I said and let out a loud defeated sigh. It wasn't a secret, Mark was aware of how little I wanted to be back in Blackclaw and was perfectly aware why.

I finished my coffee in my bedroom, pulling out what I would wear to the meeting and walking into my washroom, turning the faucet on in the shower and stepping inside. After a quick shower to wake up, I stepped out and reached for a towel from the rack and wrung my hair in it. I knew I didn't have much time, so I did a simple makeup look, applying some mascara and my favorite nude lipstick before blow drying and using a round brush to dry my hair. I moved towards my bed and slipped on a fitted black dress with a pair of red heels.

Shit, I muttered. I didn't know how long the meeting would take so I reached for my gym bag that I had thankfully brought from Arizona and stuffed the first pair of shorts, a sports bra and my running shoes inside.

I glared at the clock that read 7:50am, I had less than ten minutes to make it to the meeting, or as I like to refer to it "my summoning". I rushed down the stairs to find Mark standing at the front door, "about time princess, you aren't going to the ball", he teased.