Cold Reception

Kiarra

We left.

Just like that, Angela and I were on Apex territory, which meant, for now, I could focus on what I came here to do.

Figure out who I was.

The Kendricks sent a car for me and Angela, but Melody opted out.

She confused me. One moment, she was in my corner. The next, she was cold and standoffish toward me.

The ride to Apex territory was short, but since I hadn’t seen or spoken to Angela since the kitchen incident, every second felt like an eternity.

She wasn’t her usual high-energy, flirty, fun self. But to be fair, neither was I.

I didn’t know what to expect, and even though I had pushed just as hard for this as the Kendricks, all of Aidan’s warnings still rolled around in the back of my mind.

“Ten minutes out, miss,” the driver called to the back. I gave him a meek smile and decided now was the time to approach Angela.

“I wonder what the living situation is like here?” I asked casually.

At first, I wasn’t sure if she would respond, but as the car passed the gate, she seemed to give in.

“If it’s anything like the welcome sign, I’d say it’s looking bougie,” she laughed. I was glad she did. It lightened the atmosphere.

The car came to a stop. “Thanks, Angela, for doing this with me.”

She smiled, “I’m your beta. It’s kind of my job,” she shrugged.

“All the same,” I smiled and touched her hand, “thank you.”

The driver opened my door, and I stepped out to greet the warm sunshine on my face. Angela jogged over to meet me. “Kiarra, I’m, um, I’m sorry about…”

I threw my arms around her; I released, our eyes met, “Me too.”

“Kiarra darling! You made it!”

Rose suddenly appeared, interrupting our moment, as James tried subtly catching up.

~“It’s as if we’ve crossed an ocean,”~ Angela joked, and I bit my lip, trying not to giggle.

I held my breath as I noticed pack members were starting to gather. Rose must have seen the anxiety or sensed it.

“Oh, never mind them,” she gushed, “everyone is very excited about your return, Kiarra!” she said before clearing the way and letting them all have a good look.

“Members!” James’ voice boomed over the murmurs, “May we introduce our long lost but not forgotten Kiarra!” he turned and winked at me.

I didn’t know what to say, so I nodded and gave them an awkward smile.

~“Our Kiarra?”~ Angela scoffed, ~“What a load of bullshit.”~

~“No truer words have been spoken,”~ I agreed as I tried to grin and bear the scene in front of me.

“So, where do we stay?” Angela piped up suddenly, breaking the stare off. I couldn’t be more grateful to have her with me.

“Oh! We have you all set up, Kiarra! You’re going to love your room,” Rose busily replied as she grabbed my arm and navigated us toward the pack house.

Angela wasn’t a fan of Rose; her wolf flashed, but she followed in silence. More silent than I’d ever known.

***

Once Rose had left us to unpack, Angela and I would have an opportunity to evaluate the surroundings.

“So, what do you think so far?” she asked, sounding as optimistic as possible.

“They seem nice, and this place is just as glamorous as the Kendricks had said.”

It was a shallow take on the situation, but I didn’t have much to go on yet.

“Mmm, isn't it a bit weird? I mean, they’re ~so~ nice. Maybe ~too~ nice?”

I laughed. I wondered if Aidan had paid her to remain suspicious. I shook my head and smiled, “You’ve been trained well, little grasshopper.”

There was a light knock on the door. “Oh, the bellhop is here with your refreshments,” Angela said, rolling her eyes.

“Stop,” I giggled, “it can’t be that bad, can it? Plus, I’m parched.”

I opened the door. It was Melody; she had a mean look on her face, but I tried to look past it.

“I’m here to show you, and what’s her name, around.”

Angela was behind me in a flash. “My name is Angela, sweetie.”

I knew it wouldn’t take much for these two to get going, and I’d had enough conflict to last me another lifetime.

“Let me get my coat.”

Melody turned abruptly as she wasn’t interested in waiting for us to catch up.

“She seems like a real peach, Kiarra,” Angela growled, “I’d like to get to know her.”

I was surprised at Angela. I’d never known her to be this territorial. It was like having a miniature Aidan by my side, but I guessed that was the point.

“This has been hard on all of us, Ange. Maybe it’s taking some time to adjust.”

I gave the kid the benefit of the doubt. She had, after all, really saved my ass after the car crash.

I grabbed Angela’s arm, and we jogged to catch up to Melody, who, by that time, had already made it to the town boundary.

“That was a hell of a run!” I laughed, but Melody didn’t acknowledge my humor. “This land is about three times the size of where you come from.”

I looked at Angela, who was already busy rolling her eyes.

“If you plan on staying here, you’d better learn to run fast.”

Angela growled, “Is that a threat?”

“Take it as you want it, ~sweetie~.”

I nudged Angela, ~“Please!”~

Melody stopped dead and turned to face us. “To your right, small mom-and-pop shops. You can pretty much find anything you need, though.”

I smiled, “Like those earrings!”

“No. Anyways, the pack house doesn’t serve mass meals here. We think that’s gross. But we do have kitchens like normal people.”

I felt my cheeks flush, and I heard Angela’s lowered growl.

“What, she thinks they’re better than us?” Angela whispered.

“No, we don’t think we’re better, but money means we don’t live like ~actual~ animals.”

The tension between my sister and my beta had reached an all-time high in the short ten minutes we’d been together.

I needed to do something. I turned to Angela as Melody walked off to continue the tour. I put two hands on her arms and smiled.

“I know you’re trying to protect me, and I love that, but I think we need to split up?”

‘Oh good, I thought we were stuck with her,” Angela replied, relieved but misinformed.

“Um, no. Do you mind if I hang out with her alone just for the tour? Maybe that will make everyone calm down and settle in.”

Angela looked hurt, but she also had to listen to me.

Perks of being my beta.

“I’ll look around on my own, I guess,” she said with a shrug and turned toward the pack house.

I ran to catch Melody, who hadn’t slowed her long stride.

“Hey! Sorry about that. Angela can be really…”

“Obnoxious, defensive, dense?”

I was taken aback. I didn’t think any of those things about Angela. “No, overly protective.”

“Except for the other day, right? She must have had the day off?”

I took a deep breath and tried to maintain a pleasant face, but inside, I was fuming.

What was her problem?

“Down there, we have a shopping mall. All the same shit you’d find in the real world.”

“Any movie theatres or anything…”

“Fun? No, not really. There’s a bowling alley called Argent and a few pubs.”

“No fun allowed then?” I tried to joke, but she still wouldn’t bite.

“Oh, I see burgers. Want to grab one?” I asked since I was hungry, and maybe eating would make this encounter less awkward.

“No, I’m good. I don’t eat meat.”

She was so snotty, so cold. I couldn’t figure it out. What had I done?

I stopped in my tracks. I’d had enough, and it was even worse now that Angela was gone.

“What the hell, Melody!”

She turned to face me, but she remained silent.

“I don’t get you! What the hell have I done? What do you want from me?”

“Go back to where you came from.”