Betrayal

Wren

“What the fuck!”

The words burst out of my lips as I watched the blurry shadow of my boyfriend dart around the more than ample bedroom of the frat house as he searched for his clothes.

“Shit,” Shane grumbled, tugging down his shirt only to realise he had it on backwards and removed it again.

My gaze settled on my best friend, Rachel, who hadn’t even once bothered to look at me.

I want to say that I saw this act of betrayal from the two most important people in my life coming from a mile away.

But I didn’t.

My best friend. The one person I thought I could trust in this pathetic world was fucking my boyfriend.

“Wren, I—“

I raised my hand, effectively cutting off whatever it was she wanted to say.

Anger bubbled inside me to the point of overflowing, and yet I somehow managed to rein it in and turn around.

I needed to get out of here.

“Wren, wait,” Shane called, but I was already stumbling down the stairs.

To think I came here to celebrate with him.

Tonight was supposed to be a celebration of our college team’s first hockey win of the season, and Shane had been the one to score the winning goal. It was a big night not just for our school but for him too, and I wanted to make it special.

Jokes on me, I guess.

I stumbled through the crowd of sweaty bodies and drunk humans. Usually, supernaturals didn’t party with humans because they felt we weren’t strong enough to keep up, but tonight was an exception.

“Wren, wait.” A hand came around my wrist, but I quickly freed myself.

“Let go of me!” I yelled, shoving the perpetrator away, which unfortunately did nothing because my boyfriend—ex-boyfriend—was extremely sturdy.

“Look, I’m sorry; you weren’t supposed to find out this way.”

“Oh really?” I scoffed. “How else was I supposed to find out that my boyfriend was screwing my best friend?”

The music, which was so loud when I came in that I could barely hear myself think, came to a screeching halt at that, and a few of the people in attendance turned towards us.

Usually I would’ve taken this as my cue to walk away from all the attention, but the anger, which had seemed only to be bubbling, had started to spill over, especially when I caught sight of Rachel coming down the stairs in his shirt.

She stopped beside him, shuffling her feet and chewing her bottom lip, looking every bit the small, timid girl I met during my first year, but instead of the pity I felt then, I felt nothing but disgust that she was still using the same trick.

“Wren, please. Don’t take it out on him.”She pleaded in a well-rehearsed sob that made bile rush up my throat, “I—I didn’t mean for it to happen like this. I was trying to help him celebrate. We both had too much to drink, and… you know how emotional I get. I swear I never wanted to hurt you—”

“Oh, so you mean to tell me this is the first time the two of you hooked up.”

They both went silent.

“Oh, this is just great. So when was it?”

Shane ran a frustrated hand through his hair, guilt etched in his features. “A few weeks ago,” he admitted.

“But we felt so guilty after the first time it happened, and he was going to break up with you.” Rachel interjected, “But it was just never the right ti—“

“Shut up, Rachel,” I snapped, my voice icy enough to freeze the air between us. “You felt so guilty that you slept with him again, am I right?”

“Hey! Don’t talk to her like that!” Shane instantly stepped into my line of vision, shielding her behind his broad frame as if she were the victim here. He glared at me, and I glared right back. All earlier traces of guilt had completely been erased from his features.

“Are you kidding me? I’m the victim here, and you’re defending her feelings?”

“Well, you know what, at least she has feelings.”

I baulked. “What?” I hated how weak my voice sounded, especially since I didn’t want it to.

“Look at you, Wren. Your boyfriend of two years just cheated on you with your best friend, and you’re standing there looking like a damn statue. No tears. No screaming. Nothing.”

“I’m screaming at you right now—”

“No, you’re not!” He sneered. A few voices murmured in agreement, and I felt my heart sink because, as much as I hated to deny it, he was right.

I did feel nothing.

Beyond the initial rage, I didn’t feel hurt or confused. I didn’t feel heartbroken.

“You’re just cold. You’ve always been cold. You’re an unfeeling, heartless woman, Wren, and it’s no wonder everyone calls you an ice queen.”

A collective of oohs rippled through the onlookers.

Every word hit me like a physical blow. He knew how much I hated that stupid nickname, and it stung ten times worse coming from him.

I admit that I might not be the most touchy-feely girl in the universe, but I did try, and up until this moment, it never occurred to me that it wasn’t enough.

“Shane, that’s enough. She’s still my friend.” I heard Rachel say, and I had to resist the urge to slap her.

If she thought we could remain friends after this, then she was sorely mistaken.

After tonight, I never wanted to see their faces.

“No, Rachel, she needs to hear it. She needs to realise why this happened. No man in his right mind is ever going to want you the way you are, Wren. You’re completely unlovable, and trust me, I tried, but it’s just too difficult.“

Hot, blinding rage fills my veins. I curled my fingers into a fist at my side, digging my nails into the flesh of my palm.

Unlovable, he said. No one wants me?

Well, be prepared to be proven wrong.

I spun on my heels, my pulse hammering in my ears.

The double doors leading to the frat house kitchen swung open behind me at that exact moment, and I came face to face with a broad chest.

Truth is, I didn’t care who it was. Human, supernatural, ugly, hot—it didn’t matter to me.

I just needed to tear Shane’s pride to shreds and prove him wrong in front of everyone.

I grabbed the stranger’s jacket by the lapels and yanked him down to my height.

Before I could catch a glimpse of his face, I squeezed my eyes shut. If I looked at him, I would no doubt lose my nerve, and I didn’t want that.

I didn’t want to appear a coward on top of being unlovable, so without sparing another second, I propelled myself towards the stranger and kissed him.