Chapter 0003

Stretching, I waited outside for Antoine to change into his workout gear. Luckily, Ashton was currently not at home, which meant that we had free range of their yard to do some sparring. Though I didn’t want things to be awkward between us, I knew after my ridiculous decision that they would be.

From what Antoine had told me, Ashton was currently on a date. A fact that made my heart squeeze painfully in my chest. It figured that the guy could easily go out with another girl after rejecting one. This was Ashton we were talking about, after all. He didn’t give a shit about anyone but himself.

“You look like you’re about to cry."

Turning around I looked at Antoine, who had emerged from inside the house wearing nothing but a pair of sweatpants and a white wife beater.

“Who is about to cry?" I shot back, drawing in my emotions.

“You." Antoine challenged smirking. “Aren't you thinking about my brother again?”

“Of course not.”

I mean, I was, but there was no way I was going to admit that to Antoine.

"Good, because you are going to need to focus all your attention on me if you don’t want to get your ass kicked." Antoine teased as he positioned himself directly in front of me, ready for our spar.

"Yeah right."

Lunging forward I didn’t announce that I was attacking, easily catching Antoine offguard. Lifting his arms, he had just enough time to stop my fist from connecting with his cheek.

"That’s bad sportsmanship." Antoine huffed, readjusting his footing.

"Nope." I giggled. “Anything goes in war. Remember that."

Wasting no time, I moved forward, punching out with my right and left hand, slamming them into Antoine’s hands again and again. The rhythm calmed my aching heart and the normalcy of sparring cleared all thoughts of what I had done.

Continuing to move, I made my way forward as Antoine backed up until I had him pinned up against a tree. Striking out once more, I allowed my fist to connect with his stomach, catching him completely off guard.

"I win." I smirked, placing my hands on my hips. "Now, what do I get for that? "

"How about me as a date to a party tonight?" Antoine said, flashing a brilliant smile. "You know that Kelsey is throwing a rager tonight, right?"

"Kelsey?"

The name sounded familiar to me, but I couldn’t quite place a face to it. If memory serves me right, she was some insignificant fly that liked to hover around Antoine and Ashton.

"Is it really worth it to go?" I asked, cocking my head to the side. "I mean, are you even close to her?"

"Nope, but free booze." Antoine said simply, as if that was enough reason. "Don’t ya think that it would be a good opportunity to unwind and forget what happened?"

Good opportunity, free booze, a chance to unwind and spend time with Antoine. I mean, I had nothing else to do aside from wallow in self-pity. I guess there could be worse things to do on a Friday night.

"Alright, I’ll go."

Smiling Antoine nodded before moving forward ready to go another round, distracting me completely.

Looking in the mirror, I took in my reflection. Though I initially didn’t want to go to this party, I eventually decided to go, and because of that, I actually took the time to doll myself up. Taking in the woman staring back at me, I couldn’t stop myself from feeling impressed. My grey eyes popped due to the eyeliner and shadow I had applied. My tan skin looked smooth and flawless, not to mention my usually wavy black hair fell in curls around my chest. That was extra perky due to the new pushup bra I had bought. I was smoking and ready to turn some heads, and hopefully one of those heads would be that of Ashton.

Feeling satisfied with my appearance, I quickly applied some matte lipstick before heading out.

"It took you long enough." Antoine huffed.

He had been waiting in my living room for me. I felt for the guy since I knew he had to put up with my father’s ranting. Given the chance to speak about pack-related matters, he could go on and on for hours.

"Are you going out like that?" My dad demanded taking in my appearance.

Looking down, I examined the black tanktop and denim shorts I was wearing. I couldn’t quite see what exactly was wrong with what I was wearing.

"And?" I asked, looking at my father. "What’s wrong with this?"

"For one, you’re showing too much skin." My father pointed out.

"Nothing wrong with that. It is nice and decorated, so at least it isn’t bare." I responded, flashing a smile.

My full-sleeve nautical tattoo ran the length of my arm and a tribal owl covered my right thigh. I had to admit, my skin was fun to look at, probably why I loved showing it off. I had a few other tattoos hiding below my clothes, but my father didn’t have to know that.

"Cut the shit." My father snapped, crossing his arms. "Are you going to change?"

"Nope." I huffed and blew a kiss. "Come on, Antoine, I’m sure the party has already started."

"Stop right there!" My father yelled as I quickly ran out the front door. "DAMNIT HAIDAN!"

Laughing I began to run with Antoine in tow. I didn’t bother looking behind me to see if my father was still standing in the doorway. He would get over his annoyance soon enough. After all, this was a pretty common occurrence between us anyway.

“One of these days, he is seriously going to kick your ass.” Antoine pointed out once we had stopped running. "Why do you insist on pushing his buttons anyway?"

"Dunno." I shrugged. "Because it is fun?"

"Fun?" Antoine repeated lifting a brow. "It is fun to push the buttons of the mighty Beta Bryan."

The mighty Beta Bryan, the leader of the Caeruleum Rosa army. The man who single-handedly defeated a dozen Lycans with his bare hands. My old man was a legend and considered an extreme badass, but to me he was just an old fart that was way too overprotective.

"Please don’t call him that." I growled, shooting Antoine a look.

Sighing, Antoine nodded as we continued to move forward. The sound of bass thumping could be heard in the distance, and I could make out the smell of a bonfire. It seemed that we were running late and everyone else had already arrived.

Looking around, I took in all the bodies that were jumbled together, either drinking and dancing, or already in hot and heavy makeout sessions.

"When did this party start?" I asked, eyeing Antoine, who looked extremely uncomfortable. "Antoine?"

Antoine didn't seem to hear me as I spoke. His eyes remained straight ahead, fixed on one couple in particular. As I turned my gaze to where he was lying, I felt my heart clench painfully within my chest. Of course, I recognized that too-blonde messy hair, recognized those big tan hands, and recognized that plastic figure that was pressed against him.

Feeling tears threatening to spill, I tried to rip my gaze away from Ashton and Brailyn. Not only had Ashton rejected me earlier in the day, but now he was lip locking with my best friend. How could this day get any worse?