I was still fuming with anger and felt vengeance coursing through my veins as I walked through a restaurant the next day with an inappropriately short dress and heels. My outfit made the heads of various customers turn—especially the males—so I would see just how much Mr. Alpha decided he didn't want me now.

"Alicia! I'm glad you came," Carina greeted with a smile since I had rejected her invitation for the dinner she wanted to have for her brother. I smiled back and gave her a hug before taking the empty seat between her and Jasmine. As expected, everyone I assumed would be here but the man-of-the-day was present. I just had to do my best to avoid the glare Wes was sending me from the end of the table.

"Where's the birthday boy?" Jasmine asked, mocking the exact thought I had as she sat to my left.

"Yeah. He's been in the bathroom for a while," Tommy commented.

"I'll go get him," Eli offered before getting up and walking swiftly through the restaurant.

"So did everyone enjoy the party last night?" Carina asked to cut through the obvious tension going on with my attendance. I hadn't seen them all as a group since Jaylen's funeral, which wasn't exactly pleasant. The last civil interaction we had altogether was months ago and I was sure there was more suspicion given my attire and the crazy look in my eye.

"I loved it. I met some pretty interesting people there," I commented, playing up the fact that I was actually probably insane at this point.

"Yeah...I saw you enjoy it really well," Wes commented. I finally looked over to him as he suspiciously looked at me. He raised an eyebrow and I saw a glint sparkle off his dark eyes even from here. He was inaudibly calling me on my shit. I shrugged and let the conversation take over the table without allowing Wes' persecution to eat up at my guilt since tonight I was justified.

I flashed him a look and then texted back:

I gave him a raised eyebrow and a smile as he only glared over to me with narrowed eyes.

"There's our new adult," Carina suddenly addressed as Chase walked in behind Eli. He wore a leather jacket and white dress shirt with some nice jeans. His eyes looked over everyone before then landed on me. He gave a light smile, but I returned his greeting with no expression at all while I looked down at my menu. I only glanced up to see him wince into a quick frown before thanking the others for being there as a cover for his utter confusion because to him, we had been on at least neutral terms last night when he left.

But that wasn't the case for me anymore. I was led to believe my mate didn't want to be with me, but I wasn't stupid enough to overlook that Chase was a jealous asshole because he really did have feelings for me this whole time. Feelings only came around when you wanted to be with someone, so which was it? If he wanted to act like a "friend" who was somehow "allowed" to be jealous over any guy that wasn't him, yet completely dissociate from his alpha persona that claimed he didn't want me, then I would test it and milk my new found knowledge for all it was worth.

***

"Can I cut in?" a familiar voice asked as my arms were around a stranger's neck as we danced on the small dance floor at the fancy restaurant. The boy was very attractive and asked me to dance so who was I to say no? It's not like I had a boyfriend or mate to stop me. I only had a confused Chase interrupting yet again.

"No," I decided. I looked back up to the boy I danced with and tried to carry on our conversation. Chase cleared his throat and tapped on my partner's shoulder to direct his attention. I didn't exactly know my stranger's sensitivity to violence, but I knew the look in Chase's eyes mimicked every battle he made with Wes. I realized that it was just his authority putting Wes in his place and this was an innocent human who owed him nothing, but I wasn't going to risk someone else's health for my games.

"Chase," I warned.

"Alicia," he said back in the same tone.

"Look. If this is a problem..." my partner said.

"No—"

"Yes," Chase said as the same time I said no. I sighed in stress and looked up to my partner before reluctantly agreeing to dance with Chase in order to avoid an actual scene in this expensive looking foyer. He left with another challenging glare to Chase, but Chase contained his laugh for his success. I only stood with my arms crossed over my chest and glared. Chase only offered his hand. "One dance. That's all I request.".

I rolled my eyes and took his hand to dance with him. I couldn't believe him. After all his accusations towards Wes, he was the only playing me this whole time. When he wasn't being a moody asshole, he was a gentleman who acted as if he liked me back and didn't know how to express it. Yet he still had an Alpha façade that insisted he didn't actually want to be with me for whatever caution he had towards putting me in danger which was stupid because this whole time, I was sure I had been attached to him the most no matter how much he insisted he wanted to be no romantic ties. Considering how he was with Zoey and Kayla, I didn't exactly want one with him either, but I was offended he didn't want to admit to be mated with me.

"What's wrong?" he asked me half way into the song when he could probably see the wheels turning in my head or the anger escaping my ears as steam.

"You pulled me away from the one chance I had with another guy outside of this stupid pack," I lied because it was reasonable at the moment and I wanted to see just how committed he was to being in the fine line of not wanting to be with me but also not wanting me to be with anyone else.

"So you can't just find someone at school, rather than dressing like this and meeting some stranger?" he asked as if he cared.

"No. I can't," I said, "because if he went to our school, you guys would just continue your habit of interrupting things." Not to mention, I had overheard the jokes about how even though I wasn't dating Wes anymore, I was still exclusive property of the clique the boys had created. Zoey had escaped its grasp after her breakup with Chase, but I was still tethered for some reason and I guess now I knew why.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," he commented in a laugh.

"It is a bad thing," I agreed.

"Not always," he shrugged. I scoffed at the arrogance and spun out of his grasp in order to leave through the doors to the terrace. I didn't understand how he could act like he cared enough to want to be protective over me, but not enough to want to rightfully possess me as a mate or a girlfriend. I sat down on a metal chair that was outside and sighed while I heard him follow me. "What did I do now?"

I sighed as my hand covered my mouth and my hair covered my face. I wanted him to guess. "Is it because I told that guy to go away?" he asked. "You can find another guy, Alicia." I rolled my eyes.

"Obviously not," I said beneath my breath. I knew he heard me though. He sat down next to me.

"Any guy would be lucky to be with you," he whispered to me while looking in both of my eyes. I pushed him away from me and stood in order to stand. He gave me a questioning look like I was overreacting in objection to the comment. "I'm not just saying that—"

I interrupted that with a laugh and now he looked at me as crazy as I internally felt with everything I had pieced together. It was now or never. "I don't need you stealing me away from dances or telling me that any guy would be lucky to be with me," I instructed, "because at the end of the day, we both know that you don't think that's true because you don't actually want me to be with anybody—"

"Hey—"

"—and I can't believe it's true because the one guy that I thought would want to be with me doesn't actually want to be with me," I finished in a shout over him, even as he stood up to deny everything I had already said or maybe apologize for his transgressions. "So I guess it's really just me hoping any guy would want to be with me considering my own mate rather act like a manic jerk who lies to my face and sugar coats shit like 'any guy would be lucky to be with you' even though I'm supposed to be with him."

His lips parted and his eyes widened because he realized I knew it was him.

***

"Who told her!?" Chase shouted after slamming his hands on the restaurant table. I had noticed Alicia's chair was empty between me and Jasmine for a long time before Chase finally got up to find her. I didn't think he'd return alone or angry, but the outburst caused me and Jasmine to share a look of concern while he asked once more.

"Told what?" Mason asked with a frown and looked briefly to Tori since she had been the one to spill the werewolf secret.

"Told who?" Tommy asked more importantly.

"Alicia, dumbass," Wes scoffed at him.

"Alicia?" Jasmine asked, looking between Chase, Wes and Eli. "Is she okay?"

"Told her what?" Eli now asked even though he added a hand to Jasmine's lap to at least calm her down a touch before she overreacted.

"That I'm Alpha," Chase answered. I slid down in my seat, not knowing that was even a secret to be told. I found it odd Alicia asked me, but what did her knowing change?

"Well what the hell happened?" Wes asked within a stressed sigh because everything was so mellow before he entered and began shouting. I was just glad I booked a private room for us.

"I don't know. She found out that I'm the alpha and now she hates me," Chase said even though it didn't make sense to me. Chase calling the shots wasn't of any importance to Alicia so I didn't exactly believe it was the only reason she would hate him.

"Serves you right," Nathaniel suddenly commented, causing me to frown at the comment towards my brother. I was confused, but I didn't think he deserved to be in turmoil thinking that Alicia hated him.

"Shut the f*ck up," Chase retorted.

"No, Nate's right," Wes commented as he stood up. It didn't matter that April was sitting by him. He was already in defense mode over Alicia. "It serves you right. Don't say you don't know what happened. You know what happened. You put off telling her who her mate was by saying it was the alpha and that he didn't want her. Of course she hates you. You've been lying to her face and you've been embarrassing her. You're only mad because she found out the alpha was you this whole time."

The emotions on my Chase's face were hard to read. If we were at home, I had no doubt that he'd lunge over the table as a wolf and battle Wes for his disrespect, but it wasn't just that. Chase also had to admit that Wes was right so he had to battle himself for the mess that he caused. But if I knew my brother well enough, I knew that he wasn't going to easily admit it all to himself...at least not in front of all these people.

"I can't believe you would do that to her," Tori commented to Chase. I think she spoke for most of us who didn't know he did that...me included. I knew they were complicated and I thought it was because maybe she was rejecting the bond this whole time and just happened to fall into Wes' path. I didn't know she was completely clueless about it.

"You're an asshole," Jasmine suddenly said because she was really the only person who wasn't too scared of Chase's wolf to say it. She looked up at him. "You've done a lot of shady shit with her that I've had to sit through and let her battle for herself, but you're telling me that all could've been avoided?" She looked to Eli. "Which means you lied to me too and didn't say anything." She looked around the table at all the guys. "It's been six months and you all just let this happen for what—"

"It didn't just happen," Chase interrupted. "And it's not all on me, okay."

"You're right, it isn't," Jasmine agreed and looked between him and Wes. "I don't know exactly what you two set up involving her, but you can't sit here and reason it was because it was the only option." She preached and looked directly at Chase. "You should've told her it was you," she said in a kinder voice. "I think part of her always knew. Oh my God, come on. She trusted you time and time again after every single fight. She was always comfortable around you. She freaking got in a fight with her sister because of you. She can't even stay mad at you no matter how many times she tries separating herself. You had to think some part of her knew before she actually found out, Chase," she said while getting up from her seat and flinching away from Eli's attempt at explaining. She looked down at him with warning eyes and he lowered his gaze so she could successfully leave us and chase after her best friend. Before she left the room, she actually started to pathetically laugh. "I'm actually mad that I didn't catch on and tell her it was you myself and saved you all this trouble," she added before finally leaving.

Chase's jaw tensed and he looked away with mad and depressed dark eyes. I was sure more than anything that her words were true and sharp enough to pierce his hard exterior and resonate within him. But I was still seeing a hue around him indicating the room that even though he couldn't lash out on Jasmine, he could still attack the rest of them.

"I just want to know who the f*ck told her it was me," he muttered after a moment of silence in Jasmine's and eventually Eli's exit. I knew the boys were just waiting for Chase to command them to tell him who spilled the secret and the girls were disgusted with how he was handling the most sacred bond in the werewolf world, but I was writhing in guilt for telling Alicia the truth.

"It doesn't matter," Nathaniel suddenly mumbled while retreating back into his usual sulk and knocking over one of the glasses of water.

"Shouldn't you be concerned with actually following her and explaining yourself?" April suggested diplomatically. I admired April more in this moment. She knew that her mate was once in love with Chase's and even though she could hate every fiber of Alicia's being, she inevitably wanted the best for her and maybe even for Chase.

"I'll go find her when I know who the hell told her," Chase informed in a weaker tone towards her because she wasn't exactly in his jurisdiction. He looked to Wes. "It was you wasn't it?"

"Chase—"

"Why should I be surprised? It's not like this is the first time you've stabbed me in the back when it comes to her!"

"No, no, no," Wes denied with a scowl. "She asked me who the Alpha was and I didn't answer her, so you can stop acting like some selfish douche bag and go find her already before trying to bring me into all that guilt you have going on."

We all saw Chase's eyes glow gold a second before all the boys hopped up. Mason shielded Tori while Wes simply pulled April behind him, but the others were focused on making their way over to Chase in order to put hands on his chest and cajole him to calm down.

"I told her," I finally squeaked before their pleading was commanded to a stop and Chase would phase to fight Wes. The room instantly calmed down as everyone looked at me. I figured Chase arguing with me was better than him hurting the members of his pack, but that was begore I saw the golden daggers of his eyes pointing towards me.

***

"How could you?" Chase asked once we got home and I plopped myself in the recliner. "I told everyone to keep their mouths shut and then my own sister goes behind my back?!"

"I just want what's best for you!" I informed. "You already know that I don't care about whatever alpha arrogance that makes you think you know everything. I know what's best for you and that's Alicia. I knew it as soon as you were talking to me about her after I got back. You never said anything about being mates because I thought it was implied and she didn't want it and you just weren't doing enough to prove it to her. I didn't know she didn't know and I didn't know she didn't know you were Alpha, okay."

"It wasn't your shit to tell, Carina," he reasoned with an addition of "these goddamn girls are gonna kill me" as an allusion to maybe Tori telling Alicia about the secret as a whole or maybe us girls getting kidnapped or any of the added drama we caused by being here—not that we were here by option. "So congrats. It doesn't matter how much you wanted us together because you ruined it and now she hates me—"

"I ruined it?" I asked. "If you told her in the beginning—"

"I didn't want to tell her at all!" he shouted.

"Why? She's your mate," I told him just in case he forgot since that's how he was acting. "You should want to be with her—"

"And I thought I made it clear that I don't want to be," he interrupted. "It's too dangerous."

"And it would be less dangerous to both of you if you were together," I reasoned. Chase was complicated, but he wasn't stupid. Everyone knew that wolves were more powerful with their mates rather than without.

"Why the f*ck do you even care?" he asked as if it were a crime to care about my other brother and his destined love life. I stood up as he shouted at me.

"I don't want you to turn out like Dane," I whispered under his shouting which was enough for him to stop yelling at me because what I said was essentially a shared goal. He wasn't just worried about the physical danger Alicia could be in. He was scared that if she got into the same trouble as Jaylen, he would be destroyed just like Dane was. I left him to think about that and retired to my room.

Minutes passed and she didn't reply, but I wasn't surprised. She probably didn't want anything to do with any of us anymore than she did for the last month. I changed out of my formal wear and into pajamas so I could fall asleep and forget the fact that this was the second time one of my brothers hated me. With Dane, it was because my return confirmed the death of his mate. With Chase, my return collapsed the fairytale world he was living in to think it was okay to lie to mates and act like it was fine that Wes had dated her.

There was a knock on the door, but I remained in my sleeping position.

"Do you really think I should be with her?" Chase whispered after I heard the door open. He came over and sat on the other side of my bed as I faced away from him. "Car, I know you're up." I didn't answer or move. "If I try to explain to her, you think she'll take me back?" he asked. Now, I rolled over to face him and his ridiculous question.

"'Take you back'? You'll be lucky if she talks to you at all," I answered. He sighed. "She really liked you and you screwed it up."

"No thanks to you," he mumbled. I smacked his shoulder.

"I told her because it was right and she should've already known."

"Obviously..."