Wild

Chapter 3

"L-Luke?" I stammered in shock.

    "Val. I see your situational awareness is as lousy as ever."

    "Oh, so you're talking to me now?" I cross my arms, momentarily forgetting my mistake with Scott. I shake my head in confusion. "What are you even doing here?" I tried to ignore how his pheromones smelled to me. His scent appealed to me as much as Scott's. It was annoying and mortifying.

    "Yeah, what are you doing here?" Scott said, coming up behind me.

    "Shut up, Scott," I snap.

    Luke, however, doesn't even look at Scott, and kept his eyes on me. For a quick second, I observed his face. Not much had changed, except for the light facial hair he was starting to grow. It helped cover up some of the scarring on the lower half of his face. "I could ask you the same," Luke said to me. He finally glanced at Scott with a suspicious look in his eye. I shifted from foot to foot -- I couldn't help but feel like he knew what had been happening in the office moments before. Who am I kidding? Of course he knows! I probably stink of Scott. "I thought you were leaving."

    "What?" Scott grabs my arm, turning me to face him. "You're leaving?" I yanked it back.

    "Did you think I was going to stay?" I asked, incredulously. "Besides, it's none of your business anymore."  Luke wasn't smiling but amusement danced behind his eyes as he looks between Scott and me. "Why are you here, Luke?" This time my question was a bit more biting than intended.

    "Stanley called the other day and asked to meet with me. Probably to badger me about selling land to him again."

    "Alpha Merrick," Scott corrected him.

    "He's not my alpha," Luke said, dryly. That earned him a growl from Scott. Luke and Scott never did get along.

"There's a pack meeting going on; Merrick is probably still tied up," I said, attempting to diffuse all the alpha male tension that was building. The amount of testosterone that was permeating between the two was suffocating.

Luke nods. "That explains everyone coming out of the Old Barn."

"Wait," I choke. "They were coming out?" That means the meeting is over. Oh no. No, no, no. I've already had to deal with Luke and Scott. I can't bear the idea of facing the rest of the pack all in one day. Today was supposed to be a nice, quiet day to slip away from this nightmare. "I have to go."

Without another word, I was out the front doors. I swore. Even from the house I could see that people were leaving the barn, some standing around talking and probably catching up outside before parting ways. I doubted I could make to my car completely unnoticed, but I would do my best.

I headed to my car at a brisk pace, not too fast to draw attention, but not too slow as to waste time. I was nearly there when a loathsome voice called for me.

"Valerie Carlisle?"

"Alice Anderson," I gritted out, stopping in place. The she-wolf who ruined my life stood a small distance away. A breeze rustled her straight, raven locks. Mixed with her scent was Scott's; their scents together were a nauseating combination. Painted on her face was a red-lipped smile. Although she wasn't the most beautiful, she was striking. Enough so that I could feel the dark tendrils of jealousy creeping up. She had the predatory air of a lion on the hunt, rather than a wolf. And she'd found her prey.

"Such a surprise to see you here!" Alice walked closer to me. She didn't seem surprised at all. Those who had stuck around outside the barn were now looking our way, ready to watch drama unfold. Where the hell was Tara? The animal side of me shifted into defense-mode. Invisible hackles were raised. I felt like I was back in high school.