004

{The Lion's Den}

Ruby Miller really did not like Betty at all.

As she stood in the nice, tiled-floored entrance of their home, she felt a lump in her throat.

She felt that everything about this moment was a nightmare.

Ruby was the kind of girl who was way too fake; she could pretend to be a sweet, caring foster sister in front of

the pack elders, but the second the doors closed, she was a snake.

Now, staring at the Lycan Twins, Ruby rushed to put on her innocent face. Somewhere deep down inside her, she was terrified of Adam and Aiden.

Everyone was.

The way they worked—with a cold, brutal force—scared anyone who was alive. But her desire to be noticed by them, to perhaps one day be a Luna, was stronger than her fear.

"A-Alphas," Ruby stammered, her voice high and shaking. "What an... unexpected honor. What is happened? Why is the stray with you?"

Behind the twins, Betty stood behind them, pulling her big hoodie tighter around her. The heavy, muddy practice bags dangled on her shoulders.

She looked like a spot of dirt on a clean white sheet.

Mrs. Miller appeared at the top of the stairs, her face hardening into a glare directed only at Betty.

"Betty? What have you done now? Have you been bothering our guests?"

"She didn't do anything," Adam said, his silver eyes scanning the room with a look of pure, icy boredom.

He stepped into the house without being invited, his presence instantly making the spacious living room feel small and cramped.

"We're the ones who ruined the gear. We came to settle the debt."

Aiden followed, his golden eyes shining with a dark, eager hunger as he stared at the back of the house. "Where's the boy? Dave? He had a lot to say about these bags in the alley."

From the kitchen, Dave Miller stepped out.

He was still wearing his school jacket, his 6'0" frame tense. When he saw the twins, he froze for a split second, but Dave had a streak of arrogance that was dangerous.

He was a Beta's son, and he spent every day being told he was the future of the pack. Plus, he knew a secret—he knew that Sheryl, the girl these twins were currently dating, would never allow them to side with an outcast like Betty.

"Alphas," Dave said, his voice tense. He didn't bow. Instead, he looked at Betty, then back at the twins. "I didn't realize you were into charity work. Or is she whoring herself out to you now? Is that how she got you to carry her home?"

The air in the room turned freezing. Betty felt her heart drop into her stomach. She looked at the floor, the shame burning like acid in her throat.

Aiden didn't move, but the temperature around him seemed to spike. "Watch your mouth, Miller,"He hissed, his voice deep and threatening.

"We aren't involved' with whatever this thing is." He jerked a thumb toward Betty. "But your scent is all over her. It's pathetic. You're a Beta, and you spend your time bullying a girl who can't even shift?"

Ruby stepped forward, trying to play the peacemaker, She put on a look of fake concern, her eyes welling with prearranged tears.

"Aiden, please don't be mad at Dave. He's just protective of our family name. Betty... she's a disgrace. She's useless. She's a weak wolf who can't even shift! My dad doesn't even like to tell people he has her in the house. She's an embarrassment to us."

She looked at the twins, her face a disguise of sweetness.

"You really shouldn't believe anything she tells you. She's a seasoned liar. She probably told you we're mean to her just to get your attention! She's always trying to take people's attention away from me."

Betty looked up, stunned. "Ruby, I didn't say a word—"

"Shut up, Betty!" Mrs. Miller snapped from the stairs. "Don't speak when the Alphas are here."

Adam let out a dry, mirthless laugh. He looked at Ruby, then at Mrs. Miller. "Do you think we're idiots? Do you think we can't smell the fear on her? Or the way your son's pulse spikes when he looks at her?" He turned his silver gaze to Dave.

"It's not protection I smell on you, Miller. It's obsession. Twisted and pathetic."

Dave's jaw tightened.

He walked closer, his boots loud on the floor. He was trying to act like an equal, but compared to the Lycan Twins, he looked like a child.

"Is that why you're here?" Dave challenged.

"Because you're curious about our little foster-freak? I wonder what Sheryl would say if she knew her boyfriends were standing in my living room, defending the girl she hates most in the world. You know how Sheryl gets when she feels threatened. She's probably throwing a tantrum."

Aiden's golden eyes flashed.

He hated being handled.

He hated being reminded of Sheryl's grip on him. He stepped toward Dave, the power giving off him so strongly that Ruby actually had to take a step back, her innocent act crushing into genuine panic.

"Sheryl doesn't own us," Aiden growled. "And neither do you. We came here to tell you the gear was ruined by us. If I hear that you touched her because of those bags, I won't go to your father. I will come for you myself."

Aiden reached out, his hand moving so fast Dave couldn't even flinch. He grabbed the front of Dave's jacket, pulling him close.

"She's a stain, a freak, a stray—whatever you want to call her. But she's our problem tonight. Not yours."

He shoved Dave back.

Dave stumbled, his face turning a dark, bruised purple with rage and humiliation. He looked over at Betty, who was shaking so hard the practice bags were clinking.

He saw the way the twins stood—not as her protectors, but as her owners for the moment.

Dave realized he had been caught.

He realized that for tonight, he couldn't touch her. But he also saw that the twins didn't actually care about her. They were using her to spite Sheryl and put a Beta in his place.

Dave bowed his head slightly, but the smirk that crept onto his face was wicked, full of the brutality he planned to inflict the second the twins were gone.

He looked at Adam and Aiden, his eyes dark with a promise of future pain.

"I see," Dave said, his voice dripping with mock-submission. "I didn't realize she was a royal plaything now. My mistake."

He looked at Betty, his gaze traveling over her muddy hoodie and her tear-stained face. The disgust was back, but there was something else there—the strange heat Betty feared most.

"Don't worry, Alphas," Dave said, giving them a quick, wicked smirk. "I won't touch your precious little side trash. I will make sure she's kept 'clean' for you."

Betty felt the words hit her hard.

Side trash.

That was all she was. A tool for the twins to use, and a target for Dave to hate.

"Get inside, Betty," Mrs. Miller ordered, her voice cold. "And take those filthy bags to the laundry. Now."

Betty didn't wait.

She didn't look at the twins.

She didn't look at Dave.

She practically flew toward the kitchen, the weight of the bags feeling like a hundred pounds of lead. As she passed Dave, he leaned in, and his strong smell hit her hard.

"Tomorrow," he whispered, so low the twins couldn't hear. "I'm going to make you wish they had killed you whenever they pick you up from."

Betty ducked her head and ran, slamming the kitchen door behind her. She collapsed against the wood, her lungs burning.

Outside, she could hear the footsteps of the twins leaving.

They were gone. Her protection was gone.

The house was quiet for a split second, a deep, suffocating silence. Then, she heard the sound of Dave's boots heading toward the kitchen door.

Ruby's voice drifted in from the entrance, shrill and triumphant. "I can't wait to tell Sheryl about this. She's going to rip that stray's heart out."

Betty looked at the mud on her hands and the ruined gear on the floor.