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Another text rolled in from Francine. Isaiah apparently had offered his services as a guard. It made me smile to see that there were people around here willing to accept us and protect us aside from our alphas. Perhaps we weren’t as rejected as I had originally thought.
I set my phone aside, lifted my coffee, and took a sip. Sweet caffeine slithered down my throat. A few more sips set me straight and I cradled my cup while focusing on my kids. “Do you want to go to school today?”
Both of them shot up from their chairs and cried, “YES!”
I cringed at the volume but then started laughing uncontrollably when they zipped off to grab their bags. We had a ten-minute walk ahead of us, but I knew Francine would be lenient. After alerting her through text that I was bringing in the twins, I went to the main bedroom to get ready.
What was a deceptive slut like me supposed to wear while walking her children to school? I’d always been fond of making a statement. Maybe this time, instead of trying to make myself small, I would make myself big, loud, irresistible.
They were going to talk. Might as well give them something to talk about, right?
One of my favorite crimson-red crop tops hung in the closet labeledBikini Kill. Yep, a punk band shirt would definitely look good on me today. And since it was sleeveless, it would show off the bite mark on my shoulder. Loud and proud was my new motto. I was going to do everything I could to live up to it.
With my hair tousled stylishly and leggings hugging my curves, I slid on a pair of sneakers and went to meet my kids in the foyer. Anthony opened the door, splashing light into the house and dissolving the rest of my fear. I had a wonderful mate who was going to stand up for me and I had a family that wanted us to be part of theirs.
What could go wrong today?
The first five minutes of our walk were just fine. Some of our neighbors were out doing yard work. A couple of them waved. The twins excitedly chirped back about having a nice morning. It felt good to be out in the open. We were doing alright so far.
But as we neared the school, my heart started thudding up a storm. There was a group of parents standing around the entrance with Celia as their leader. She had her hands on her hips and her glare cast outward toward us. If I had considered her capable of such a thing, I would have said she was casting me the evil eye.
Maybe this was a bad idea, I thought as I slowed my pace. I got between my kids and took their hands.No, we need to be respected. We won’t earn that respect if we don’t try.
I held my head up as we marched forward. The closer we drew, the quieter the group got. There were only about five of them with Celia. Being able to count them individually made them much less scary. It wasn’t so much a mob as it was a bowling troupe. And there wasn’t a whole lot they could get away with doing once Francine caught them out here.
Unless she already knew and couldn’t break them up.
I sucked air into my lungs, puffed up, and paused about five feet away from the group. We stared at each other for a while. I think the others were waiting for Celia to say something while Celia was waiting for me to say something. It sure was a stalemate if I’d ever experienced one. It would have gone on forever if a huge man with rippling muscle hadn’t stepped up toward the group.
He frowned at Celia. “You’re blocking the entrance.”
“This doesn’t concern you, Isaiah.”
He cracked his knuckles and cleared his throat. “If you don’t move, then I have permission to move you myself.”
“You wouldn’t dare touch me,” Celia barked. “I’m the head of this PTA group and we demand that our children aren’t subjected tothoserejects.”
Isaiah rolled one shoulder and then cracked his neck. Just the sound of him doing so pushed a few parents off the sidewalk and onto the grass. Nobody aside from Celia and one other parent seemed intent on blocking us from entry now.
“We heard about your marriage deal,” the one remaining parent said. “The Silent Pride will come looking for you. We don’t need that mess here.”
Celia nodded curtly. “That’s right, Sara Walsh. Why don’t you take your reject kids and get out of our pack? You don’t belong here.”
“If she doesn’t belong here, then neither do you,” spoke a familiar voice.
Slater appeared just behind Celia, forcing the remaining parent who was sticking by her side to join the others on the lawn. Isaiah smiled proudly while shuffling toward the door to make sure nobody else tried to block us from walking inside.
With a snotty eye roll, Celia turned around and squared up to Slater. “Oh, it’s justyou.” She scoffed. “Why would your opinion matter? It’s not like you’re being logical about any of this.”
“Oh, there doesn’t need to be logic when it comes to my mate,” Slater retorted with a smile. “Especially not from a woman who’s been evading her taxes for the last four years.”
Now I couldn’t see Celia’s face, but I could feel her sinking expression from here. It made me beam.
“I spent the night going through the archives of every established family here in the pack,” Slater explained. “See, my family works in the financial sector. We have records on everybody.” He grinned brightly. “And your family, Celia, has been avoiding your debtors for years.”
“Wait just a second—we’ve been trying to—well, Nathan said that—”
Slater laughed. “If you have a problem with my mate, then you should take it up with the alphas instead of picking on her in your spare time.”
