Four

Vespa

I kept the hood of my sweatshirt low as I slipped into the lecture hall and took the seat closest to the wall. A few heads turned when I walked in. Some people whispered. Most pretended not to stare.

I used to walk across campus head high, no second-guessing. Now I sat in the back row like a damn pariah.

Across the room, one of the Wolfe brothers leaned against a desk talking to two guys from the football team. Ziah. The flirt with the man-bun. He laughed at something they said and stretched his arms behind his head.

Donovan’s pregnant fiancée slid into a seat near the aisle, flipping her hair over her shoulder. Just seeing her was enough to make me hate my existence.

I pulled the hood lower and focused on my notebook.

Our eyes met. She leaned back in her chair across the aisle and spoke loud enough for the entire row to hear.

“Careful where you kneel around here,” she said. “Some people might mistake it for another proposal.”

A few students laughed.

Someone muttered, “Damn.”

“You should really check a man’s relationship status before planning a public spectacle,” Nebula added sweetly. “Just a tip.”

More laughter.

“Enough.”

The word landed flat and hard.

Ziah stood near the aisle, his usual easy grin gone. He looked straight at Nebula. “It’s a fucking classroom. Take the circus somewhere else.”

Nebula rolled her eyes.

“Oh relax. I’m just telling the truth.”

Ziah didn’t move.

“Then try telling them how much of an asshole Donovan is.”

The room went quiet. Even the people who had been laughing suddenly focused on their desks.

Nebula scoffed and turned away.

Across the room, Ziah glanced toward me. Then he pushed away from the desk he had been leaning on and walked straight toward my seat.

He slid into the empty seat beside me like he had every right to be there.

I didn’t look up from my notebook.

“Are you planning to hide under that hoodie all semester,” he said, “or is this a temporary witness protection program?”

I kept writing.

“Pretty sure harassment isn’t part of the program.”

“Ouch.” He pressed a hand to his chest. “You wound me.”

I closed my notebook and turned toward him.

“Let me guess. You tracked me down just to recycle airport jokes.”

“No,” he said easily. “Those will last the whole semester.”

“Fantastic.”

He flashed that lazy, troublemaking smile.

“Lunch.”

I stared at him.

“Why would I voluntarily spend time with you?”

He shrugged.

“Because I’m charming.”

He leaned back in the chair, stretching his arms.

“Come on. Ten minutes.”

I studied him.

Then I sighed.

“Ten minutes max and I’ll bounce,” I told him.

“Copy that.” Ziah gave a mock salute, his grin widening.

Lectures began and ended. Before I made it to the door, Ziah joined me. We headed toward the walkway when two figures stepped into the path ahead.

Kai and Zeke blocked the walkway like a human barricade.

“Where are you taking her?” Kai demanded, his tone sharp with the same arrogance he’d shown the day before.

Was he always this insufferable?

“None of your business,” Ziah replied. “We’re going to grab lunch. What’s wrong with that?”

“Everything,” Zeke said calmly, pushing his hair back from his face. “You can’t go out with her.”

“Why not?”

“Because I said so.”

Ziah stepped forward, but Kai moved closer too. The three of them squared off like rival dogs over the same bone.

I stood there watching the ridiculous standoff.

“You know what?” I raised my hands. “I’m turning around and walking in the opposite direction. Please don’t follow me.”

“Fuck off, Kai!” Ziah snapped at his brother. “And you too, Zeke. Happy now? You scared her off.”

I almost laughed.

Did he really think I didn’t see through this? Three brothers circling the same girl like vultures didn’t exactly scream coincidence. They probably made a hobby out of running a train on girls. Unfortunately for them, sex was the last thing on my mind.

They are hot though, my brain pointed out, unhelpfully.

Even if I were the kind of girl who collected attention from men, it still made no sense for three brothers to want the same woman.

And even if it did, werewolves were off limits now.

I would rather stay single.

The brothers kept arguing. Ziah suddenly bounded forward and stopped in front of me again.

“Ignore my brothers,” he said with a grin. “They’re idiots.”

“I don’t care about you or your brothers,” I replied. “And I’m not interested in this little performance.”

“Fair enough,” he said easily. “We were heading to the restaurant before they interrupted us. Can we go now?”

“I believe I spoke in plain English. Stay away from me.”

“Not so fast.”

Behind him his brothers glared like they wanted to set him on fire.

Ziah ignored them.

“Fine,” he said after a moment. “How about we all have lunch together?”

Zeke stepped forward. Kai folded his arms across his chest. The three of them stepped aside at the same time, clearing a path.

I walked past them.The idea of three brothers circling one woman felt less romantic and more like walking into a trap.

Ziah kept throwing flirty glances at me as we walked.

I stayed beside Zeke. He seemed like the least unstable option. He smiled and opened the restaurant door for me.

Inside, the smell of grilled meat filled the air.

People looked up when we entered. I suddenly felt like I had arrived with a personal security detail.

We took a booth in the back. All three of them tried to pull out a chair for me.

Not again.

I dropped into the first empty seat before they could start another competition. Kai watched me from across the table with a dark expression. 

I forced my attention back to the table.

The attention from three men at once felt overwhelming.

Growing up, I had gotten used to cold shoulders and criticism from my mother.

Three gorgeous men watching me felt… different.

Nice.

Which was exactly why I didn’t trust it.

“Are you always this competitive with each other?” I asked. “Or is there something else going on?”

“They’re cockblocking me because they’re jealous,” Ziah said, dragging a chair out on the far side of the table. “But don’t worry, pumpkin. I won't let them win.”

“I prefer you focus on yourself,” I replied. “And drop the pet names.”

Ziah ordered steaks and burgers after asking what I wanted. Kai leaned across the table to grab a menu and his hand brushed mine.

Zeke watched everything in silence. It felt like standing inside the middle of a game I didn’t understand.

We started eating. I pushed fries around my plate and studied them.

“What exactly do you want from me?” I finally asked. “Your cousin stole my boyfriend, and now the three of you are following me around. Is this some kind of revenge tour?”

The brothers focused very hard on their food.

“We’re not on a mission,” Ziah said. “My brothers are just jealous.”

“Jealous of a walking ego?” Kai muttered.

“I’m not a prize to be won,” I said flatly.

Zeke cleared his throat.

“Let’s just eat and drop the subject.”

“But it is a subject,” I replied. “You’re circling me like vultures.”

“Because of Donovan?” Kai scoffed. “You should thank fate that the relationship ended. That idiot is trouble.”

“Plus he has a carrot-sized dick,” Ziah added cheerfully.

I tightened my grip on my milkshake.

“That carrot-sized dick got your cousin pregnant.”

Kai shrugged.

“Not our problem.”

“In that case,” I said, “you might want to retire the knight-in-shining-armor routine.”

Zeke and Ziah laughed.

Kai did not.

The restaurant door burst open.

Nebula stormed toward our table.

“Zeke? Ziah? Kai? Why are you having lunch with her?”

“Because we want to,” Ziah said flatly. “You should leave.”

Nebula laughed.

“Sleeping with the same girl now? Is that your new hobby?”

My brain stalled.

Was this the punchline?

Had the entire lunch been a setup?

“Watch your mouth, Nebula,” Kai said coldly.

Her smile disappeared.

“You’re choosing this pathetic viral joke over your cousin?”

I opened my mouth.

Nothing came out.

She wasn’t completely wrong.

I shouldn’t be here.

“Behave,” Ziah snapped. “We invited her. Not you.”

Nebula rested a hand on her stomach.

“I’m pregnant. Grandma told you to look after me.”

“Then stay with your boyfriend,” Kai said. “He’s the one who knocked you up.”

That was enough.

I grabbed my bag.

Ziah jumped up and blocked my path.

“Let me pass.”

He caught my arm.

I pulled free.

Kai stood.

“Sit.”

His voice carried a command that irritated every nerve in my body.

“You’ll watch me walk out of here,” I said, flipping him off. “I don’t take orders from lousy werewolves.”

“But you got on yo

ur knees for one,” Nebula laughed.

“Stay away from me,” I said to all of them. “Your time is up.”

I shoved past Zeke and headed outside.

Cool air hit my face.

Finally.

Peace.

Then my phone buzzed.

A message from Donovan appeared on the screen.

/Vespa, we need to talk./