Chapter 4 - The Rage is Out.

After the strange morning he'd had, waking up by the lake to a screaming Angel , Layon almost didn't bother heading into university. He would

have much preferred to stay in bed and sleep off what remained of his hangover but as a son of Alpha's founding family, appearances were

everything and so instead, he found himself shoving his things into his locker.

He heard Jason and a few of the other guys coming from a mile away but didn't bother to acknowledge them until Jason clapped a hand on his shoulder and asked,

"Hey man, where did you get to last night? The last thing I remember is meeting you for a late-night shift through the woods."

Layon cringed at that and slammed his locker shut before responding,

"The woods is exactly where I woke up this morning."

The feminine chuckle that erupted the moment he finished his sentence certainly didn't come from Jason or one of the other guys, and so

Layon found himself glancing across the hall. Though she had had back to him, Layon could tell exactly who it was standing opposite them. Not only did he know where her locker was but he would know Angel's flaming red hair anywhere, not to mention her musical laughter that came now because she had likely overheard their conversation and was imagining herself finding

him butt naked.

The alpha in him wanted to charge right over there and demand to know what was so amusing, and yet the rest of him was caught up

in the fact that she might very well be thinking of him naked in that very moment.

Unable to stop himself, Layon imagined what she might look like naked. Maybe if she wasn't the traitor's daughter, he might have encouraged her to go for a shift with him just to find out. Stop it, he snapped at himself, suddenly remembering how agitated she had been in the woods at dawn. It made his blood boil to think anyone had made her that uncomfortable, and so he turned to Jason and asked,

"Did you wake up in the woods this morning?"

When Jason began to nod, looking proud at himself for their antics, Layon quickly added,

"I don't suppose you saw any redheads running about at dawn, did you?"

Even as he asked the question, he glanced over Jason's shoulder at Angel and saw the way her entire body tensed at the mention of her. She

clearly knew exactly what he was asking.

All too quickly, Jason responded,

"No, I didn't see anybody."

Then with a shake of his head, he seemed to attempt to change the subject slightly,

"Did you happen to find one? I hear they're great for a good time."

Layon could sense Angel’s irritation right across the hallway and a part of him wanted to grab Jason by the throat and warn him to stop being

disrespectful, but he quickly reminded himself of the pack hierarchy and exactly what kind of rumors would be spread if he was caught protecting the lowest member of the pack. Layon knew Jason well enough to guess that he was lying, and that was good enough. I'll have a word with him in private later, he thought, able to feel the others watching them. Offering Jason a glare that told him they would be having words later, he glanced once more over his large friend's shoulder and found that Angel had turned her

head.

She was watching them now, the grim expression on her face suggesting that she didn't believe Jason even for one second. The hand she had

still clutching her locker door was white-knuckled, as though it was taking all her effort not to match over and get the truth out of him.

Remembering how shaken up she had been that morning, Layon also remembered how he had walked her home with the almost constant urge to wrap his arm around her shoulder and comfort her. Instead, he had kept his distance, unsure as to whether he might set her off all over again after their argument the night before. Touching her then had been a bad mistake to

make, and he hadn't been about to make it again.

Layon was still watching her, feeling as though he was locked into place by her charcoal eyes, when the sound of heels clicking on the tiles sounded down the hallway. Accompanied by the scent of honey and lavender perfume, the sound made Layon cringe. Tall, blonde, and self-confident, Reeba swanned in as if she owned the place and practically draped herself over Layon. His eyes closed only for a second as she pressed her lips to his but the moment he opened them again, he found himself gazing at Angel once more, this time over Reeba's head. And if Layon didn't know any better, he would have said that Ang looked pissed as hell. Every single inch of her looked poised ready to charge across the hall and yank Reeba off him. He even found himself tensing, preparing to pull the two women off each other if their she-wolves decided to see which bitch could come out on top.

You don't need to be jealous of Reeba, Layon thought, wishing he could say the words aloud, his gut twisting at the disgusted expression on the redhead's face. She looked as if she had never seen such a disgustingly outrageous spectacle before and Layon had to admit that even for Reeba, she was going over the top. Maybe she sensed something that Layon couldn't even put into words himself. After all, they had been on-again-off-again ever since

they had been kids though the older he grew, the more Layon realized what a ball ache it was. Sure Reeba was there for a bit of fun and she looked good on his arm but she was shallow, so shallow in fact that if she were a puddle, a weak winter sun could evaporate her.

"Reeba, what are you…"

Layon growled suddenly, his gaze yanked away from Angel by shock. Reeba's friends who had taken up offering similar affection to Jason, were chuckling and watching with amusement as their lead bitch slipped her hand south. Layon caught her hand just in time, but it wasn't quite quick enough for him to catch Angel's reaction. It wasn't until he heard the loud and overexaggerated slamming of metal on metal that his gaze darted back to her just in time to see her storming down the hall, away from the locker she had just slammed shut. The torrent of emotion that was coming off her in waves made Layon's head spin and yet when he glanced

around at his friends, none of them seemed to have noticed.

What the hell is wrong with her? Layon wondered, gritting his teeth even as his wolf threatened to begin growling. A part of him wanted to race

after her and demand to know what was wrong. She had barely spoken a word to him on their walk back to her house, only offering her thanks as though he had demanded it of her before she disappeared inside her apartment building, and now here she was looking all green-eyed and jealous because another she-wolf was hanging herself all over him.

Frustration was rising deep inside of him and when he felt Reeba beginning to have another go at getting touchy feely, he grabbed hold of her wrist and yanked her away, "Reeba, no!"

"What's gotten into you?"

Reeba asked, her entire face falling into a deep scowl. If he hadn't been in such a horrendous mood, Layon might have laughed because he knew Reeba hated to be told no, and sometimes he did it just for the amusement of her reaction.

Thinking on his feet, Layon shook his head and quickly responded,

"Nothing. I just have training."

"But you always have training!"

Reeba whined, and Layon could think of nothing he wanted more than to get away from her. Well, actually, there was one thing he wanted more than that. Reeba.

Quickly, forcing the thought away, Layon turned to Jason and ordered,

"Meet me on the training field."

Knocking seven bells of shit out of Jason might help him vent in frustrations.

"I'd be happy to help you warm up!"

Reeba called after him as he began to walk down the hallway in the direction Angel had taken, only half-hoping to bump into her on his way to the changing rooms. Ignoring Reeba, he gave a challenging growl that sent Jason and the other guys all hurrying after him, stumbling away from the she-wolves who had grabbed their attention while Reeba tried to steal his.

Never again, Layon vowed to himself, feeling a sudden change deep inside his very fibers. He wasn't at all sure what it was, but he tried to force it to the back of his mind. He had bigger things to worry about.