SharpTongue

Chapter 4 - Sharp Tongue

Paige

If looks could kill, Zane would be dead a thousand times over. I was tempted to break his nose the next time we were in the ring together for this. The smug grin he plastered on his face every time he looked at me only solidified that desire.

I could feel Thomas's eyes burning into the side of my head, but I was determined to ignore him for however long this dinner took. The only reason I didn't leave the second I caught the scent of that snake Irene or after my encounter with Thomas was because of the girl sitting right across from me.

Colette gave me a nervous smile, clearly picking up on the irritation I was radiating, but didn't comment on it. Colette was never one to push questions on me about anything. It was one of the things I loved most about her. Honestly, after the shit cards fate dealt her, I didn't blame her for keeping to herself.

But that didn't mean she was weak or incompetent. It meant quite the opposite. Lettie was the most badass woman I knew, tough as nails and ready to fight when needed. With a mate like Zane, she has to be. I don't think I have ever met a mated pair so perfect for one another in my life.

Both came from horrid pasts that hardened them into the people they needed to be, and I was happy to be one of the people they allowed in their circle and loved wholeheartedly. Because I knew without a doubt that they would move mountains to protect the ones they cared about.

So maybe I was being an asshole for not trusting Thomas or his little human friend Irene. Even though I could tell how thrilled Thomas was to be back in his sister's life after spending years believing she was dead. He came from an even darker past than we had ever endured, and that kind of trauma didn't go away because it was over. As much as Colette loved me, I loved her more, and I would protect her with my life.

And that little hunter friend who seemed to be stuck to Thomas like a wart that wouldn't go away rubbed me the wrong way. Something was off about her, and until I figured it out, they were both on my shit list until further notice. And if you asked anyone about my shit list, they would tell you it's the last place you want to be.

I could feel my wolf pressing against my skin. The urge to constantly shift and go for a run since Thomas moved in had only seemed to grow the longer he was around.

'We could use a good fight.' Odessa purred.

I stabbed my fork into my piece of steak with too much force. The screeching sound the metal made against the plate made me want to grind my teeth together, but I forced myself to ignore it, shoving the food in my mouth instead. A full mouth was a quiet mouth.

'Don't even get me started, Des.'

"You excited for patrol duty tonight, Paige?" Zane asked, wiping the corner of his mouth and hiding that cocky smirk from his mate.

Bastard.

Colette frowned, her brows pinching together as she stared between Zane and me. The warning look Zane shot me told me to behave. The sneaky asshole knew I hadn't mentioned our last conversation and was ensuring it stayed that way.

As much as I hated keeping secrets from my best friend and Luna, I didn't want her to have another thing to worry about. But if Zane thought he was going to get out scots-free from this little game, oh boy, was he sadly mistaken.

I plastered on my best smile, clearing my throat." I'm actually pretty stoked about it. I think the new schedule will be nice for the pack." Zane's shoulders tensed as I kept going.

"Plus, I think that everyone will love having the both of us out with them this week to really set things in motion."

Colette tilted her head. I swore Thomas let out a small laugh, but I was determined to ignore him, so I would keep pretending he didn't. Because thinking that I made Thomas laugh, despite how much I didn't fully trust him, did weird shit to my stomach that I didn't like.

"You didn't tell me you were doing border patrol this week," Colette questioned. Zane opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off before he could make up some kind of excuse.

"That's because it wasn't something we were sure we would do until this afternoon. Since we have joined forces with the Bloodstone pack and the others, we wanted to increase our patrol sizes and ensure we have unpredictability on our side. Honestly, it's a win-win since there are a lot of freshly shifted pups out there now they get to know more about their leaders, and we get to see how their training is going."

Colette's eyes lit up like Christmas lights, excitement filling her face, and no matter how mad Zane would be with me for this, he couldn't get out of it. It may be a lie, but in all honesty, it was probably something we should start doing.

"Oh, that's so clever. Would it be okay if I tagged along, too? You know, help boost morale."

Checkmate, fuck face.

"Of course, I'd love that," Zane responded, his voice a little too tight as he tried his best to suppress his irritation.

"You guys are close with the Bloodstone?" Irene asked, her western drawl instantly killing any ounce of victory I felt.

Of course, she would pick out the alliance between our neighbouring pack out of the entire conversation —another thing to add to the growing list of reasons why I didn't trust her.

Zane's eyes found mine once again, all the irritation and rage replaced with the same amount of suspicion mine were surely showing.

"Yeah, some of our interests aligned a few months back, and it made sense to help each other out rather than fight enemies from both fronts," Colette answered, and Irene nodded, giving a fake-ass smile.

"That's so amazing. Did you know that it was their pack leader who helped take down Ivan Killian?" It took everything in me to stop my eyes from rolling. Sadly all my willpower went into stopping that instead of keeping my mouth shut, but in all honesty, it was Zane's fault for forcing me to sit at the same table as a two-faced bitch. So whatever came out of this pretty mouth was all on him.

"Tell us again how you became a hunter, Irene. Because unwilling participant doesn't really seem like your style."

Her lips parted slightly, her eyes widening in surprise. I almost felt bad for saying it, but after the shit we had to deal with after the whole Silvermoon pack, I couldn't allow myself to.

I expected Zane to snap. I even expected Colette to give me that disappointed look she gave me from time to time, but what I didn't expect was for the mammoth of the male beside me to snap.

Rookie mistake, honestly. I had momentarily forgotten about the monster beneath the mask.

Thomas's fist came crashing down onto the tabletop, the entire thing shaking from the shire force behind that one hit, making our drinks spill everywhere.

My eyes flickered to the ring on his hand; the sapphire stone burned brightly as whatever magic Balor used on that thing forced his wolf to stay put.

My eyes slowly slid to his, the brown so dark they almost looked black. Anyone else would have pissed themselves being stared at with so much anger and disgust, but I was just anyone. And if he thought he could use his size and anger issues to intimidate me, he had another thing coming.

His jaw ticked from him pressing his teeth so tightly together. The movement only accentuated his stubborn jaw, which was covered in a thin layer of stubble.

I hated how those were the things I noticed about him, second to how he smelled, the pure male smell of earth and motor oil.

His words became more like a snarl, sending a shiver up my spine.

"You can come for me with your attitude all you want. You can hound me, question me, hate me. But don't ever insinuate that Irene is anything like those people we ran from. This is your only warning. She has her monsters, too. She is just better at hiding them than I am. Do that again, push the wrong buttons, Paige, and you won't like what happens."

I didn't even get a chance to open my mouth before Thomas stood from the table and stormed out of the greenhouse.

Irene quickly stood from her seat, muttering a quiet apology and chasing after him, leaving me alone with two very pissed-off friends.

Yeah, I could admit I really went overboard there. It was one of the many flaws my parents always tried to correct in me. I had a short temper and a sharp tongue, which got me into trouble as a kid. And even more problems as I got older.

My skin itched, and the need to run was making me antsy. Odessa pushed against my skin, feeding off my emotions.

"Seriously, Paige?" Colette muttered, hurt filling her delicate voice. Nothing stung more than hearing how much I upset her. I forced my eyes to her sage green ones.

"I'm sorry it slipped out."

"You aren't a kid anymore, Paige. Those excuses only go so far, and as the Beta to this pack, you can't say shit like that. I don't care how warranted you feel your questions are. We had this discussion already. It's what got you on patrol duty in the first place."

"What?" Colette gasped, and I flinched at the sound.

"So you lied to me about the whole border thing. Both of you?"

When we both said nothing, Colette stood from the table, throwing her napkin down.

"Unbelievable. I can't believe you both lied to me. And I can't believe you both didn't think I was strong enough to be brought into whatever debate you had before all of this. You, Zane Hendrix, are now on patrol duty for the next week for lying to your Luna and mate. And you-" Colette said, pointing her finger at me. "-are going to apologize to both Irene and my brother for your attitude. Whatever you think is going on, you know that doing what you just did was not the way to go about it."

I swallowed my words, nodding in answer, not trusting myself to speak. Colette left Zane and me at the table, going to find her brother and Irene, most likely.

"I told you to leave it alone, Paige," Zane growled. I was really starting to hate the sound of my own name.

I huffed a laugh, shaking my head.

"No, what you did was try to punish me for having real concerns and then force me to sit through a dinner with two people I don't trust, not yet," I argued.

"So this is my fault? You not being able to keep your tongue from slipping is my fault? I told you I would handle it, Paige. I am working on it, and what I needed from you was to do your job as Beta and fucking trust me."

Now it was my turn to stand, my voice raising just as much as his as I yelled back at him.

"When it comes to your mate, to love, it's easy to turn a blind eye to the dangers surrounding you, Zane. I do trust you with my life, with our pack, with your mate. But I don't trust what your heart is telling you when everything else is telling you to fucking pay attention. I am living proof of what happens when you do just that." My voice cracked, and Zane's eyes softened.

The memories of that night flashed in my mind. Everything was too loud, too bright. My chest felt like it was being crushed. I couldn't breathe, and my skin felt like it was on fire.

"Paige, look at me." I shook my head, turning away from him.

"Paige!" Zane shouted as I ran from the greenhouse and out into the forest.

I needed to run.

I needed to forget.