Chapter 21: Chapter 21

HARLAN

Kellan knocked on my door before he opened it. The hurried way it shut and the way he lingered in my living room told me he didn’t approve of my sitting on my couch.

“You’re not going to the game?” he asked.

I groaned and leaned my head back against the couch. “I’m not in the mood. Sue me.”

Kellan shifted. “Come on. It’s the first game of the season and you’re stuck in your room for the night? Let’s go. Get up.”

“Seriously, Kellan? You think I’m afraid of you?”

Kellan walked over and kicked my feet off the table.

“Hey!” I said, catching myself. “That’s enough of the bullying for one night. You don’t even care about the team.”

“You’re right, I don’t. But I care about my best friend’s mental health and his lack of motivation for anything other than Everlee Alliare.”

“Says the mate-less, drama-less wolf.”

Kellan offered me a hand. For a moment, I thought about slapping it away, but none of this was his fault. I shouldn’t stand around and wallow in my self-pity every time Everlee was away from me.

Slowly, I stood up and glared at him. “I’ll go for a little while.”

“Good, I didn’t want to drag you out.”

“Like you could,” I scoffed, grabbing my keys and wallet from the table.

Kellan opened the door and shut it behind me. “Don’t tempt me. My wolf is dying for a fight. He’s on edge because I haven’t shifted.”

“We can go for a run tonight if you want.”

“Yeah, I’m down for that. As long as you don’t invite the lycan squad with you.”

“Oh, here you go,” I mumbled, getting into the passenger seat of Kellan’s truck. “I’m tired of you talking crap about them. They’re just trying to give the lycans a place where they feel comfortable.”

Kellan gave me a deadpan look as he started his engine. “Whatever helps you sleep at night. Those dudes are freaking weird.”

I stared out of the window as he drove us toward the football field with the windows down. The sound of the packed stadium hummed in the distance.

Kellan wasn’t the only one that felt weird around the lycans. Ever did too. I wanted to make her happy, I needed to make her happy, but something inside of me stirred angry at the thought.

Why was I so drawn to them?

It was odd. I’d always been more of a loner. Sure, I had friends, but this felt different.

Kellan parked and killed the engine. I followed him toward the stands, feeling the stares as we made our way toward the middle of the bleachers.

The hair on the back of my neck stood as I sat.

Kellan cleared his throat. “Dude, everyone is staring at us.”

I tossed him a heated look. “They’re staring at me.”

“Mr. Popular,” he said, searching the field. “You want something from the concession stand?”

I shook my head, feeling my wolf grow irritated at the stares. A few girls whispered about me several bleachers back.

“I guess the slut’s with Rage this weekend.”

“You’d think she’d pick Harlan. He’s way hotter.”

“No way. Rage is the alpha king’s son, and have you seen his eyes?”

My fingers balled into fists on my knees, and I screwed my eyes shut. My phone vibrated in my pocket, but I couldn’t open my eyes to answer it.

“Are you okay?” Kellan leaned in and whispered. “You’re shaking.”

My eyes popped open, and I looked down at my body. I was shaking. My wolf was hardly keeping it together.

“I think I need a drink.”

I stood swiftly and made my way down the bleachers. I ignored the glares at the back of my head and walked quicker.

My ability to hold it together was stronger than I realized. My phone buzzed again in my pocket, so I pulled it out and saw Alpha Alliare’s name run across my screen.

I answered. “Hello?”

“Are you free?” he asked.

“I’m at the football game.”

There was a few moments of silence before he answered. “Are you okay? You sound wrong.”

“I…I need to get out of here.”

“I’m in town. I’ll swing by and get you.”

“I’ll be at the gate.”

I texted Kellan quickly and shoved my phone back into my pocket. The closer to the gate I got, the more I could breathe.

I hated that everyone else’s opinion of me felt so suffocating. I’d been here for three years, and I’d never been the object of gossip. I find my mate and I’m tossed into the gossip pool quicker than a pregnant she-wolf.

The flag shadowed over me while I waited for Alpha Alliare.

My heartbeat slowed and I took a deep breath of Louisiana air. It settled over me like a warm blanket. Minutes passed before he pulled up in his truck. I got in and didn’t even look back as he drove us away from the football field.

He turned down the radio. “Rough day?”

I snorted. “Rough life?” I asked.

He gave me an exaggerated eye roll. “Don’t give me that self-pity. You’re better than that. We’ll talk about it while we eat. Is barbecue okay?”

I nodded, unable to answer without showcasing my anger.

He drove us downtown and parked along the sidewalk. The barbecue restaurant was tucked away in the corner of a shopping center with only a few cars in the parking lot.

The bell on the door signaled the server over.

A tall woman with short hair and a simple smile greeted us. “Two?”

“Yes ma’am,” Alpha Alliare said.

She led us to a booth in the corner and dropped off two menus. Alpha Alliare ordered a beer and leaned back to wait on me. I ordered a water and turned my attention to his intense stare.

“What is this about?” I asked after several minutes. “You’re making me nervous.”

He chuckled. “This is about Ever.”

Relief swallowed me, and I leaned back against my seat. “I’ve been hoping you would weigh in. I feel like I’m drowning. She’s”—I cleared my throat—“she’s with him this weekend. My wolf is pissed. I’m hurt, and I don’t know how to win her in this.”

Alpha Alliare watched me carefully while our server dropped off our drinks and took our order. Once she was out of hearing distance, he leaned forward and said, “You have to fight for her, Harlan. You can’t think that your connection from your childhood is going to do it. Sure, it’ll help, but it’s not going to work. Rage is the alpha king’s son. He has power, strength, and oddly enough, after doing some digging, a clean record. He is going to do whatever he can to get her, because his father doesn’t allow failure.”

I swallowed the hard lump of reality in my throat.

I didn’t have a hammer over my head to impress someone. The Allaires had taken me in willingly and raised me. They weren’t the type of parents that forced you into things. I loved that about them.

“I don’t think I can,” I whispered. “My wolf wants her. I want her, but I’ve been having these feelings…”

He gestured for me to continue.

“I think it’s my lycan. It’s aggressive thoughts. I feel like someone is following me around campus. I don’t know what to do about it.”

“What kind of thoughts?”

Our server dropped off our food. I took a giant bite of my barbecue pork fries. “To act irrationally.”

He ate in silence for a few moments. “Have you shifted lately? Maybe it has something to do with his need to run free?”

I knew that wasn’t it. I could feel it deep down.

But I also knew that he wasn’t a lycan.

I loved him, but he was a wolf.

“Maybe so.” I took another bite. “I’m running with Kellan this afternoon. I’m sure that’ll make him loosen up.”

He wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. “How are classes going?”

I shrugged. “A lot of whispers, but besides that, fine. This is my last year. So I’m not too worried about it.”

“I wanted to talk to you about that. What do you plan to do after college? Are you still wanting to be a warrior?”

“That’s all I’m good at,” I laughed.

He chuckled. “It’s not. You’re a strong leader. You make good decisions. I think we should talk about a higher role after you graduate and have a year or so of warrior training.”

Pride swelled in my chest. I loved the idea of Alpha Allaire trusting me. I just had to get these negative thoughts out of my head. I needed to give the book back to Professor Sitting and give Ever my heart.

“Ever is my only daughter,” he said suddenly. “I want her to pick what’s best for her. I never in a million years thought this would happen to her. You need to remember none of you asked for this. If she does pick Rage, nothing will be the same between the two of you. But you have to promise that you won’t take it out on her. She’s hurting just like you are. She’s confused. This is a huge life decision.”

“I know that,” I mumbled, feeling like a kid.

Alpha Allaire reached over and put his palm on top of mine. “But no matter who she chooses, Savannah and I will always love you. You’ll always be part of our family, no matter what happens.”

Tears threatened my eyes, but I pushed them down. “Don’t cry, Pops,” I teased. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”

The door to the restaurant dinged and several kids from campus walked in. Two of them were alphas, I’d seen them around campus, and the other two were their mates.

I dropped my gaze as they walked by and acknowledged Alpha Allaire.

“You could be friendly to the kids at your school. You may like it.”

I chuckled. “I hang out with Kellan, and now Ever.” I took another bite. “I actually had a few lycans reach out to me recently.”

“That’s good,” he said. “You can be friends with wolves, too. You don’t have to ostracize yourself from us.”

“Not everyone loves lycans.”

“But some do,” he countered. “You should also listen to me every once in a while. I went through hell to get Savannah. You’re not the only one that struggled to win their mate.”

I smiled. “Yeah, I still don’t know how you pulled that one off. Savannah is a fox.”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “Watch it. I may be old, but I’m alpha. I’ll kick your ass into tomorrow.”