Shadow Mate - Jen L. Grey Page 0,37

tugged at me. I glanced to the left. Of course, Liam and his buddies were sitting in the restaurant at the booth right next to the window.

Liam's blue eyes locked onto mine.

I paused in my tracks as if my legs forgot how to move. My body wanted to move toward him and not away. Even though I kept reminding myself, over and over again, that I couldn’t stand him.

"Mia?" Kai's all too comforting voice broke me out of my spell. "Are you okay?" His hand touched my arm, turning me toward him.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I tried to keep my voice level, but I was so damn pissed.

"You don't look okay." He stepped toward me with a small smile on his face. I hadn't even realized that he hadn't let go until his scent overwhelmed me, causing a chill to run down my spine.

"Are you cold? He had on a silver running jacket that he took off and threw over my shoulders.

No, I wasn't. "Yeah, thanks." I glanced down at my sports bra and thin red tank top with silver exercise shorts. "The air is a little cooler than I expected." It was a partial truth even though there was more to it.

"It's the beginning of September, and the weather is changing." Kai's eyes surveyed my body. "But you're dressed appropriately because you'll be sweating within five minutes of class. You’ll need to dress in layers though. You have a locker assigned to you so you can strip down... I mean take off the jacket and other things and then just keep them in there."

"That makes sense." This whole encounter was a little awkward, but I could appreciate his snug shirt and shorts even if he wasn't my mate. He was still an attractive guy.

The restaurant door opened, and Liam's voice interrupted us. "Kai, you should be spending your time and attention on a girl who’s worthy."

Ugh. Of course he was going to try and embarrass me.

Kai's body stiffened and he took in a deep breath. "It's strange that now is when you decide to become concerned about who I hang around. You've never given a fuck before."

"Whoa, somebody is forgetting who they're speaking to." Simon and the other two joined us outside. Simon and Micah were on one side of Liam with Evan on the other.

"No, I haven't forgotten." Kai blew out a breath. "But I'm not held to the same expectations that you four are, and I've never cared about anyone's status before either, so why start now?"

"She has a way of changing people." Evan's eyes narrowed on me.

"Rumor has it she and Tripp had sex yesterday." Micah shook his head. "Apparently, she wasn't very memorable."

Now they were spreading rumors about me. "It's pathetic how you assume your power. You either hide like a child and cover someone's clothes in skunk essence or try to make them out as a slut. It's everything behind someone's back and never right in front of their face."

"Come on, Mia." Kai took my hand and tugged me toward the main entrance of the building. "We're going to be late if we don't get a move on."

Only, it was too late, my words had already hit the mark. Liam and his friends moved almost as one. Liam tugged me from Kai's grip, and the four of them surrounded me.

"I think we've given her enough of a warning." Liam pulled me toward him, his eyes dilating. "You do what we want when we want. Don't forget who's in charge here. Aren't we seeing your brother next month? We wouldn't want something to happen to him now, would we?"

My breath caught in my throat and panic seemed to want to claw its way out.

"You see, that's what we do." Simon smirked and he leaned toward me. "When we can't get through, we know exactly where to hit you where it counts."

The thing was I wasn't trying to be a problem. Except, I obviously couldn't not stand up for myself. That was the issue they had with me. I wouldn’t cower and submit. I wanted to fight and scream. To demand of Liam how he could do this to me, but he was more animal than man. He wanted all the power and to be the most dominant, no matter what the cost. I couldn't live like that. "Fine, I won't be a problem anymore." I couldn't live with myself if something happened to Max.

"Good pup." Liam's eyes darkened to that nearly black color that I was

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