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He grumbled something under his breath but grabbed the beer from me, avoiding making eye-contact.
I’d grown up surrounded by the most powerful males in the pack and I had to learn at far too young an age that if I didn’t stand up for myself, they’d take things too far. Unfortunately, too many bad things happened to me before I learned that lesson. I refused to ever be that scared, abused little girl again.
“Well done,” Jasmine said in my ear.
I nodded in response, then picked back up the screwdriver and stormed toward the bathroom.
I had started out as a much nicer proprietor. But years of getting hit on, and even some rather dangerous situations where I could have been seriously hurt or worse, I learned it was easier to be the cold-hearted bitch than play sweet. It was the only thing these shifters responded to.
It didn’t take long for me to remove the doorknob so I could push open the bathroom door. Water gushed out and the door only opened so wide because someone’s naked ass was blocking it.
Rage bubbled up. I recognized that ass. Of course, of all the shifters to walk in on having sex in the bathroom atmybar. “Gods dammit, Owen. Can’t you keep your penis to yourself ever?” I shoved him aside so I could turn off the faucet.
Owen growled then spun to face me, his eyes widening when he realized who had interrupted him. I didn’t even bother to mask the anger in my expression.
“In my bar, Owen? You could have done this anywhere else and you do it here?”
“I thought you said you two broke up.”
I winced at the grating sound of Suzanne’s voice. Of course it was Suzanne Carter. Because my luck and my distrust of men really couldn’t get any worse.
“We are broken up,” Owen said. “So you have no right to be mad at me, Morgan.”
“Out. Now.” I was seething. My face hot, my hands balled into fists. It was one thing to flood my bathroom, it was another to fuck my childhood bully a week after we decided to take a break.
“Fuck, Morgan. Aren’t you at least a little jealous?” Owen stood naked in all his six-five, muscled glory.
When he’d asked me out, I’d been flattered. He was the most desirable single male in the pack. I turned him down several times before finally giving in and going on a date. Somehow, that obligatory date had turned into six months of bad sex and half-assed attempts at an actual relationship.
I’d tried so hard to play along. So hard to fall into step with the pack’s expectations. I’d even gone off my potion for a month and shifted during the full moon with the rest of the pack.
But it wasn’t right. None of it felt right. It never did.
Last week, I told him I was done. It didn’t feel right to keep faking things with him. He’d begged me to reconsider. Told me he loved me, which scared the shit out of me. Sex with him wasn’t great, but at least he’d never hurt me. Well, not physically.
When I’d hesitated, he suggested a break for a month to see if we missed each other. Reluctantly, I’d agreed.
I should have seen this coming. But I had started to wonder if maybe he was one of the good ones. Secretly, that was probably why I’d risked not taking my potion for a month. If there was a bond between us, it would have surfaced in that time. It didn’t show. We weren’t mates, but I had wondered if being with him would be better than being alone.
I was wrong.
“I thought this might get a rise out of you,” he said. “Show you what you’re missing out on.”
Suzanne scoffed and picked a sopping wet dress off the floor. “Don’t call me, Owen.” She tugged the soaked garment over her head, then shoved past him without looking at me once.
“That was your plan?” I said. “Flood my bar and have sex with the girl who made high school a living hell for me? To make me jealous?”
He was even more stupid than I thought. I regretted every single time I ever fucked him.
“You have to know what a mistake you made,” he said. “Every female in this pack wants me. You walk away from now and there are no second chances.”
I rolled my eyes then turned away from him. I was so done. He was the one who begged for abreakinstead of a break-up. He made the decision so much easier. “You better clean up my bathroom or I’m filing a formal complaint with the alpha.”
“Oh, yes, run to daddy,” he said.
Without turning around, I flipped him off, then went back to the bar. I didn’t owe him an explanation. He, and every other member of this pack, knew my dad might be the alpha, but I was his least favorite shifter. In fact, I think the only time he might have tolerated me was the one time I’d shown up to run on the full moon with Owen in tow.
My dad would be more upset about this breakup than I was. Now, my relationship history was limited, but I’m guessing the person in the actual relationship should be more upset than their parents. But maybe that’s just wishful thinking.
