Claimed

Chapter 20: Jealousy

Red's POV:

Jealousy was an unfamiliar emotion for me when it came to romantic attention. I was jealous in other things, sure. I was jealous that my dad would fawn all over my brother just for taking a shit while I couldn't do a single thing right in his eyes. I was jealous of all the things Santi got to do while I had to stay home and endure another fucking sewing lesson, but when it came to guys I was interested in? I was never invested enough to get jealous.

José and I barely had any normal time together before my dad started poisoning him against me. That might've been the closest I came to jealousy but even then, I didn't feel that jealous because until my dad fucked everything over, José's eyes never wandered and all the women were too afraid of me to even think about approaching my mate.

That's why when an adorable, sweet little blonde with her hair up in an endearing messy bun ran to Ben and he gave her a smile he'd never even sort of thrown in my direction, I wasn't ready for how jealous I felt. It was unfamiliar territory but the fact I almost growled at the poor girl for hugging someone she clearly knew better than me told me I better learn real fast how to deal with jealousy. Even though it bubbled inside me so intensely my fists clenched, growling at a woman I didn't know wasn't the right way to go.

"Ness," Ben breathed, a sense of relief and calmness in his voice unlike anything I'd ever heard come out of his mouth.

It really didn't help the jealousy. Here I thought I had an effect on him when I flirted with him. It seemed like I did, especially when the second I was naked in front of a bunch of people he covered me immediately. His scent clinging to the shirt I wore and permeating in my skin while he hugged another girl also didn't help the jealousy issue.

"I missed you," she said, tightening her arms around his neck and burying her face in his neck.

Oh Goddess, help me, I want to rip apart a woman that really hasn't done anything wrong to me.

"I missed you too," Ben said. Then he kissed her forehead and I looked away. Dari sent me a sympathetic look I really fucking hated. "When the hell did you get back?" Ben asked, finally loosening his hold on her.

"Literally just now," she said, smiling up at him. "Finding you and Zach was first on my to-do list but hey," she said, frowning in concern and setting her hand on his arm. "Are you okay? There were hounds?"

"Yeah, well, we did all right thanks to Ezra," Ben said, looking over at me and Darius.

"Ezra?" The girl asked, her eyes shifting over to me and Darius. "Oh, from the visiting pack you told me about?"

He told her about us? So they'd been talking. This whole time I thought he was available and... It was starting to look like he wasn't. Oh Goddess, I so blatantly flirted with him earlier in the day and when he completely avoided me afterwards I thought it was because he was shy not because he had a freaking girlfriend.

It was too bad Ezra was drained and... Anxious or whatever it was he was, because I would've liked him to conjure me a rock to crawl under.

"Yeah, Nessa, this is Red and Darius," Ben said, dropping his arm over her shoulder and turning her towards us. "The Luna and Alpha staying with us for a while. It was their Beta, Ezra, that saved our asses out there."

"Then I owe you everything," Nessa smiled, offering her hand to me. "Hi, I'm Vanessa. One of the Gammas. It's nice to meet you, I've heard so many good things about you and your pack and I find it so inspiring that you've gone and started your own pack against all odds. It'll be an honor to call you an ally."

Gamma? I tried not to judge by appearances but... Gamma's were typically warriors and I'd seen the other Gammas. Mia was the only other female Gamma but when I met her I wasn't surprised she was ranked. That girl walked into a room and exuded power and intimidation, not to mention the fact she was so toned and her arms so strong, I was almost intimidated. But Vanessa?