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"Leave him alone, Leah." Claud tipped a glass of whiskey back and forth between two fingers, a few seats further down the bar, as if he were teasing a pet to come toward him.
"Who's your girl?" She rose and moved down one stool, so there was an empty space between us. "Is she the one who gave you that bruise?"
She nodded toward my sore jaw, which I fingered absently.
Ben and Will were sitting at a table behind me with a couple of other shifters. I wondered if the others were sympathetic to their cause,or if they were loyal to Stone.
I shook my head, not wanting to engage in any conversation. "That's none of your business," I said, hoping that would be enough to end this conversation.
Leah rolled her eyes, but didn't press the issue further. Instead, she leaned back in her stool and sipped her drink. "You know, I heard a rumor that Stone is getting more and more possessive of Amelia," she said, her voice low. "Jealousy can make a man do crazy things."
I tensed at her words, wondering if this was common knowledge among the pack. Amelia had told me she worried she'd be Stone's undoing, given they all knew she'd run away. And here she was back in the pack, unpunished for disobeying the alpha.
"Go away, Leah." I waved her off.
She rose from her stool and drained her drink. As she walked behind me, her fingers trailed over my shoulder. "But then, you'd know all about jealousy making a man do crazy things, mm?"
"Touch me again, and I'll break your fingers."
She laughed as if I was proving her point.
"Just not in the bar," Claude said wearily. Drunken shifters are a handful.
"I'm loyal to Stone," I told Claude. "I always have been."
Claude nodded sympathetically and cast a quick glance at the tip jar by the register. He didn't get paid enough for all our shit.
"And I don't love her," I added, just to make it clear I was lying. "It's his right to have her. He can have her."
Leah had already left the bar, but her words lingered in my mind. It was one thing to fake hating Stone now so we could lure in the traitors. But I couldn't shake off the feeling that something was off about the way Stone was behaving towards Amelia.
I finished my drink and made my way out of the bar. The night sky was clear, and the stars shone brightly above me. The air was cool and crisp, and I took a deep breath, letting it fill my lungs. I needed to clear my head.
As I walked towards my cottage, footsteps crunched on the gravel road behind me. I turned to see Will and Ben walking towards me.
"Hey, man," Will said, clapping my back. "You good?"
"Stellar."
Ben shot a curious look at me. "We saw what happened earlier. You want to talk about it?"
I shrugged, not wanting to give away too much. "Just some pack business," I said, hoping that would be enough to make them drop it.
But Will and Ben weren't ones to let things go. "Look," Will said, his tone serious. "We both know you've been restless lately. Something's off. You can talk to us, man."
I hesitated for a moment. Everyone knew I never said a word against Stone.
But then, everyone had also seen him cold-cock me and then mock me as I backed down.
"It's Stone," I said finally. "He's been acting weird about Amelia. Possessive. And I don't know if it's just because of her running away or if there's something more going on."
Will and Ben exchanged a look.
"We've noticed it too," Ben said. "But we thought it was just because of what happened with Amelia. You think there's more to it?"
"I don't know," I admitted. "But it's not like Stone to be this… unhinged.”
Will looked sympathetic. "I feel bad about how he treated you. But we need to be careful. Stone is still our alpha."
