Page 74 of UNAwere

I turn my back, unable to stand the look that breaks open on his face when he realises what we’ve just come close to. Again.

We’re both trying to catch our breaths, naked and shivering.

‘Sybbie…’

‘Why did you submit to me?’ I whisper. I know enough from training to know that Weres don’t submit to anyone except their alpha. Only Nolan was able to get it over anyone in the training ring.

There are the kinds of Weres that have alpha “energy”. They’re usually the ones that fight for the title if they think they can lead better. But I am certainly not one of them.

Jude’s silent. I know he doesn’t want to answer, and it makes me want to turn on him and scream. But I know if I look at him now, lying on the ground, breathing hard, I’ll only climb on top of him again. And I won’t stop until we’ve both had our release. Again. And again. And again.

This is bad.

This isn’t normal.

I’m not even in heat.

‘I don’t think I should train you anymore,’ he murmurs finally.

I nod. ‘Sounds good.’ I try to sound cheery – nonchalant – but my throat is tight with tears, and my voice comes out like a pathetic whisper.

I don’t wait for him to answer. I see the car in the distance and move.

I’m not certain of anything.

But the one thing I am certain of is: Jude Briggs does not like me.

What cements this certainty is that the window comes down again. The radio gets turned off and stays off. He requests silence while driving, even when I open my mouth to suggest playing Eye Spy to pass the time. He sticks to the schedule and grunts when I suggest anything remotely out of the way.

It’s like we’re back to square one. And everything that’s transpired between us doesn’t matter to him. It’s as if they never happened.

And, surprisingly, as much as it breaks something deep within me, I think I’m okay with it. I think this is what’s best for us.

An uneasy friendship, where I’m annoying, and he’s… grumbly.

So when Jude tells me he’s leaving the motel room to run an errand for Warner the next night, I give him a thumbs-up and a big grin.

‘I’ll be in here, watching a movie! Getting my party on.’

He stares at me for a second, face impassive, and his eyes trail over my legs, which are already tucked up under the bed’s blankets.

‘Stay put,’ he says.

‘You got it.’

‘I mean it, Red. If you leave this room, I’m not going to be happy.’

‘Mhm.’ I click my tongue, wink, and give him one finger gun – mainly because I don’t believe he’s deserving of two.

He sighs and stays standing in the doorway when I expect him to leave.

‘Promise,’ he says.

‘Promise what?’

‘That you won’t leave.’

‘I won’t.’