I didn’t want to share my life with someone else.
And that was why I was the pack loner. Because I didn’t care what anyone else thought of me. Because I liked my life exactly how it was.
“Who’s your family?” one of the girls asked. She looked a lot like Lauren, except her hair was a darker blonde and her eyes were a darker blue.
“My brother is the pack beta,” I replied.
“Oh,” the girl said, smiling. “That’s cool. Is he here?”
I shook my head. “He doesn’t come to a lot of pack functions. He doesn’t really like them.”
“That’s too bad,” Lauren said.
I nodded, taking another sip of my beer. “Yeah, but it’s okay.”
“It is?” the guy asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yeah,” I said, shrugging. “It’s just the way my family is.”
I didn’t say anything else. I didn’t really know what else to say.
I looked around the group again, feeling uneasy. I didn’t belong here. I didn’t fit in with these people.
They were all so beautiful, and they were all so perfect. And they had that air about them that I didn’t. That air of confidence and self-assurance that I would never have.
“Hey, baby. What are you doing over here?” a male voice asked from behind me.
I turned to see one of the guys from the group wrapping his arm around Lauren’s shoulders. She smiled up at him, leaning into his embrace.
“What’s going on?” the guy asked, looking at me.
“Oh, this is Ivy,” Lauren said. “Ivy, this is my mate, Alex.”
I looked up at Alex, my heart racing. He was even more attractive up close, his brown hair messy, his brown eyes bright. He had a strong jawline and full lips, and I couldn’t help the way my eyes roamed over his body.
He wasn’t as tall as Brandon, but he was still tall. And his body was just as muscular.
“Hi,” I said, smiling.
“Hi,” he replied, his eyes roaming over me. “You look really familiar. Have we met before?”
I shook my head. Brandon had been my brother’s friend since they were kids, so I had seen him around a lot growing up. But we had never actually met. I had always kept my distance from him, and he had never really paid any attention to me.
“No. We haven’t met,” I said.
He frowned, his eyes narrowing. “Are you sure?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
He let out a sigh, shrugging. “Oh well. I’ve met a lot of people in my life. I’m sure I’ll figure it out eventually.”
I forced a smile, looking away from him. He made me nervous, and I didn’t like the way he looked at me. Like I was some kind of prey.
“You should come into the lake with us,” Lauren said.
“Yeah, you should,” one of the other girls added.
I shook my head. “No, thank you. I don’t really like swimming.”
“Oh, come on,” Lauren whined, poking her bottom lip out.
“No, thank you,” I repeated, looking away.
“Please, Ivy,” she begged. “It’ll be fun, I promise.”
I shook my head again, taking another sip of my drink. She frowned, looking up at her mate.
“Baby, tell her to come swimming with us. It’ll be fun.”
He looked down at her, a smile twisting his lips. “It would be fun, Ivy. You should come with us.”
I shook my head. I didn’t even know these people, and they were already trying to force me to do things that I didn’t want to do.
“No,” I said again, firmer this time.
Lauren pouted, looking up at Alex again. He shrugged, looking back to me.
“Come on, Ivy,” he said. “Don’t be a party pooper.”
“I’m not being a party pooper,” I snapped. “I just don’t want to go swimming. And that’s my choice.”
He raised an eyebrow, his eyes narrowing. He looked angry, and I swallowed hard. I didn’t want him to be angry at me, but I also wasn’t going to let him force me to do something I didn’t want to.
Lauren reached out, placing her hand on my arm. “Ivy. Just come swimming with us. Please? It’s Brandon’s birthday, and we want to celebrate. Don’t you want to help us celebrate?”
I looked up at her, swallowing hard. I did want to help celebrate Brandon’s birthday.
But I didn’t want to go swimming.
“No,” I said firmly. “I am not going swimming, and that is final.”
Lauren’s eyes narrowed, a growl emitting from her throat. She let go of my arm and stood, Alex following her.
She looked down at me. “If you’re not going to go swimming with us, then you can leave.”
I glared up at her. “What?”
“You can leave,” she repeated. “We don’t want you here if you’re not going to participate.”
I stood, glaring at her. “I don’t want to go swimming.”
“Then you can leave,” Alex said, glaring down at me. “No one asked you to come here anyway.”
“I was invited,” I said through gritted teeth. I had been personally invited by Brandon.
“Whatever,” Lauren said, waving her hand. “Just leave.”
“Fine,” I snapped.
I turned and stomped away, anger pulsing through me. How dare they tell me to leave? I had just as much of a right to be here as they did, and I wasn’t going to let them kick me out.
But as I made it into the trees, I realized that they didn’t care. They didn’t care that they had no right to tell me to leave.
They thought they were better than me.