Chapter 4

Xena’s POV

Her openly hostile stare had already rubbed me the wrong way from the moment we met, but this sudden provocation made my blood boil. Without hesitation, I stepped up, locked eyes with her, and said coolly, "Excuse me? You wanna say that again?"

Samuel quickly jumped between us. "Whoa! Whoa! Calm down."

Leonard cut in immediately, "Hey!" he said quickly, nudging his date out of the booth. "Babe, why don't you go get some drinks and order three large pizzas for the group? I'll handle this."

"Yes, please do," I replied, my voice dripping with sarcasm as I stared her down.

The girl huffed but slid out of the booth, shooting me a glare before stalking off toward the counter.

"Seriously, Leonard?" Ama said once she was out of earshot. "Where do you find these humans?"

"She's hot," Leonard defended weakly. "And she doesn't know who you are yet."

"She'll learn," I muttered, standing up. "I'm getting my own drink."

I made my way to the counter, weaving through the night crowd. Someone stepped on my foot.

"What the fu—" I jerked back instinctively.

"I'm sorry—" a deep voice began.

I looked up to find myself staring into the intense green eyes. Ryder. Closer now than we'd been this afternoon, I noticed details I'd missed before. My stomach did a weird flip as I took in the rest of him—light blonde hair cut short, strong jaw, broad shoulders under a black leather jacket. He was gorgeous in a dangerous way that made my skin prickle.

Before he could finish his apology, a girl with dark hair appeared beside him, wrapping her arm possessively around his waist.

"Watch where you're going," she snapped at me, her eyes narrowing.

Tonight really fucking sucks—ran into so many dumb bitches.

I drew myself up to my full height. "He stepped on me."

Ryder’s eyes widened slightly. "Helen," he said quietly, his hand tightening on her waist in warning. "This is Alpha Hank's daughter, Xena."

Helen's demeanor shifted instantly, though the hostility remained in her eyes. Her lips curved into a fake smile. "Oh, how nice to meet you."

"Yeah," I replied flatly, moving past them toward the counter.

Noelle, the cashier who'd been working here since I was a kid, greeted me with a smile. "Hey, Blade! The usual?"

I nodded, leaning against the counter."No, just a Fruit Punch."

"Got it," Noelle replied, punching in the order. "Put it on Logan's tab?"

"Yeah, thanks," I said with a small smile.

"Stupid bitch thinks she owns the place."From behind me, I heard Helen mutter under her breath.

The words were quiet enough that a human wouldn't have caught them, but my wolf hearing picked them up clearly. I felt my patience snap. Turning slowly, I looked directly at her and released a small portion of my aura—just enough to make her feel the weight of who she was dealing with.

"My name is Xena," I said quietly, my voice carrying despite the restaurant noise. "Daughter of Alpha Hank from the Nightcedar Pack. I expect a certain level of respect. If that's too difficult for you to manage, we can always step outside and discuss it further."

Helen paled, her eyes widening as she felt the pressure of my presence. Ryder beside her, placed a restraining hand on her arm.

"I apologize for her disrespect," he said, his voice deep and controlled though his eyes flashed with anger as he gripped her arm. "It won't happen again."

I pulled back my aura, satisfied that my point had been made. "I don't give second chances."

"Understood," he replied, his eyes never leaving mine.

“Xena, your drink’s ready,” Noelle said from behind me.

“Okay, thanks.” I turned around and grabbed the glass from the counter. From the corner of my eye, I saw Ryder dragging that bitch from earlier out the door.

A familiar arm draped over my shoulder. "Everything okay here, X?" Logan asked, his voice casual but his posture protective as he assessed the situation.

"Fine," I replied, leaning slightly into my twin's side. "Just a misunderstanding."

Keira, Logan's girlfriend, appeared on his other side, her pretty face curious as she looked between us and the other pack members.

"What's going on with Alpha Benedict's son?" Logan asked quietly.

"His bitch needs to learn some manners," I replied, keeping my voice low.

Logan's eyebrow raised. "What did she say?"

"Nothing worth repeating," I dismissed. We made our way back to the table, which was now even more crowded with Logan and Keira joining us. I ended up squeezed in next to Samuel, who silently shifted to make room, his arm coming to rest on the back of the booth behind me. It wasn't a romantic gesture—just necessity in the cramped space—but I noticed Leonard's date eyeing us speculatively when we arrived.

Her attitude had done a complete 180. "So, Xena," she said, smiling brightly, "Leonard tells me you run every week. How do you find the motivation?"

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at her obvious attempt to get on my good side. "I'm motivated by not wanting to die when rogues attack," I replied bluntly.

Logan kicked me under the table, but I ignored him.

"How's business at the shop?" Keira asked, clearly trying to steer the conversation to safer ground.

Before I could answer, the waitress arrived with our pizzas, setting them down on the table.

"Not bad—I already passed last year's numbers," I answered her casually.

Keira and I weren't exactly close. Logan had never told me she was his fated mate or true love or anything like that, so I knew whatever they had going on probably wouldn't last.

As everyone dug into the food, I happened to glance toward the entrance. Ryder was standing there, his eyes finding mine across the room. He tilted his head slightly toward the door, clearly wanting me to join him outside.

I hesitated, curiosity warring with caution. What could he possibly want to talk about? I didn't hesitate for long and decided to go meet him.

"I need some air," I announced, sliding out of the booth. "I'll be back in a minute."

Do you want me to come with you? Samuel's voice echoed in my mind through our pack link.

No, I'm good. He probably just wants to make sure I won't kill his girlfriend.

I felt Samuel's displeasure through the link. While we weren't together, we'd had our moments—usually after a few too many drinks. We'd never gone all the way, but the occasional make-out session had blurred the lines of our friendship. Enough that he tended to get possessive when other males showed interest in me.

I can handle myself, I assured him, breaking the connection before he could argue.

The cool night air was a relief after the stuffy restaurant. Ryder was sitting on his motorcycle, one boot planted on the ground for balance.

"Wasn't sure you'd come out," he said, his green eyes gleaming in the parking lot lights.