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“Madd, are you even listening?” Roxy whines, stomping her foot like a petulant child.
I’m not.
I haven’t been since she breezed into my office at the squad complex and started going on and on about what to wear to this party tonight. A fuckingparty, as if we don’t have more pressing matters to be focusing our attention on right now.
“Did you hear a word I just said?”
“Yeah, you’ll look great in whatever you wear, babe,” I mumble, waving her off as I continue scanning the list of new patrols that Avery sent over.
Roxy stomps around to my side of the desk, snatching the paper out of my hand.
“You weren’t listening,” she declares, clearly riled up about whatever fashion emergency she’s having. “Ariana went and bought the same dress as I was gonna wear to Andie’s party tonight. Thesame dress!”
I arch a brow. “So?”
She throws her head back, heaving an exasperated sigh. “So, we can’t show up wearing the same thing!”
“Wear something else, problem solved,” I mutter, snatching the paper back from her and setting it on my desk, gaze dropping to it to resume combing through the list of names. In light of the hunter situation, we’re doubling up the patrols, and although this is usually Avery’s wheelhouse, she asked me to look it over to ensure she didn’t push any of the teams’ rotations too close together.
“It’s not that simple,” Roxy huffs. “I picked it out weeks ago. I planned my shoes and jewelry and hair aroundthatdress.”
I go back to ignoring her tirade, scanning the paper to try to find where I left off. Until Roxy realizes I’m ignoring her again and grabs onto the arm of my desk chair, twisting it toward her and planting herself in my lap.
“I know something that would make me feel better,” she purrs, looping her arms around my neck and pushing her tits up into my face.
“I’m not in the mood,” I grumble, grabbing her by the waist and lifting her off me, setting her back on her feet.
Roxy folds her arms over her chest, staring me down with those piercing blue eyes. “It’s because ofher, isn’t it?”
“No,” I snap.
She leans over me, planting her palms on my thighs. “Then what is it?”
“Jesus, Rox, fucking lay off!” I groan, shoving her away.
She stumbles back exaggeratedly, gaping at me. “You can’t treat me like this, Madd! I’m yourgirlfriend.”
“That’s a title you gave yourself.”
She flinches, even though she knows it’s true. The two of us couldn’t have less in common, and I don’t really do the whole relationship thing, at least not in the traditional sense.
Roxy and I have been hanging out for a while. I’m not fucking anyone else, because I’m not a total asshole, but we don’t go on dates or talk about our feelings or any of that other bullshit. Honestly, Roxy probably wouldn’t give a shit about me if I wasn’t an alpha. She likes the perks that come with being attached to someone of my rank.
She may be a social climber, but she’s not a bad person. She’s a hell of a squad fighter, and she gets along well with my sister, which is always a prerequisite for any girl I spend my time with. But both of us know this is just a casual fling with an eventual expiration date, so there’s no point in putting in the effort to turn it into something more.
“I can tell you’re in a bad mood, so I’m gonna go,” she sighs, strutting back around the desk and grabbing her purse off the chair opposite me. “Do you wanna pick me up here at eight, or should I meet you at the packhouse?”
“I don’t care,” I groan, pinching the bridge of my nose between my thumb and forefinger and squeezing my eyes shut in exasperation.
“I’ll just meet you at the packhouse.”
I blink my eyes open to see Roxy heading for the door, and even though I know I should probably say something to clear the air, I just let her go.
She struck a nerve by bringing up Sloane. Any mention of her has always had that effect, but now that she’s actually living here again, fucking haunting me, I’m gonna have to learn to get used to it. Especially because I’ll be forced to see her again in just a few short hours.
It’s Andie Raines’ birthday, and the girls are throwing her a party at the old ski lodge to celebrate her turning twenty-two. We’re not technically supposed to go anywhere near the Cedar Ridge resort since it was shut down a decade ago, but that hasn’t stopped us from bending the rules to use it for the occasional rager. Andie is Alpha Reid’s daughter- Archer and Ares’ sister- so since she’s basically six-pack royalty, this is one of those instances.
I typically look forward to parties at the old lodge, but not tonight. Andie and Sloane are friends, so I have no doubt that she’ll be there. She’s probably over there right now helping Avery get things set up.
