Chapter 29

"You're way out of line right now, Felina!" Alysia roars. "There is no line, Alysia. You're old news. Get over it." It's starting to seem more like this gang needs rescuing from Felina and not the other way around. "Enough, both of you," Keagan says with mighty authority. 

"Felina, there is a clear hierarchy here. There is always a line. It's dangerous if you don't know when you're crossing it. You're too immature. Alysia is your leader. She has more skill, more experience, and she's older. You will listen and learn from her. I will not have you try and change our group for your selfish desires." Keagan doesn't raise his voice, but there's no mistaking the seriousness of his words.

Felina picks herself off from the ground and storms out of the door. Alysia takes a breather and goes upstairs. Keagan is about to follow her but stops himself. His face is pained, but he stays where he's at. Nobody says a word. I'm the first to make a move as I head up the stairs. I see a door shut as I reach the top. I gently knock on the door.

"It's Soren," I say lightly. When I don't hear a response, I try to slowly open the door. Shockingly, I find it unlocked. I hear soft cries coming from the direction of a large bed. I sit on the side of the bed, keeping a little bit of distance between us. "You were hoping that Keagan would come after you," I say. "Why are you here?" She asks. Her breath hitches with every sob. "I thought you could use somebody who doesn't know you. Less judgment and opinion. I didn't think you really wanted to be alone."

"You think I want some stranger to see me break down? Yeah, because that doesn't make me look pathetic." Her voice is slightly muffled since her head is in between her hiked knees and the blanket. "Ouch," I playfully say. She releases a barely audible laugh. "I'm sorry, it's been a long day."

"What an understatement," I lean back on the bed, recapping everything I've been through since meeting Jason. Since knowing him outside of Mr. Madden. "I need a fucking drink with a good lay," I groan and run my hands down my face softly to not offset my makeup. "That's supposed to be my line," I can hear the smile in her voice.

"You mind turning on the lights?" I ask. She lifts her face and wipes it before grabbing what I can only assume to be a remote as the light soon turns on without much effort on her part. "What has you so twisted?" She asks me. "Girl, you wouldn't believe me if I told you." Fully grasping her attention, she turns towards me with interest.

"We're going to need a whole lot of snacks and alcohol before we talk about any of this shit. If I have to spill my guts, you have to spill yours." Her eyes slightly widen before an exasperated look falls upon her. "In that case, you're right. We're going to need a lot more alcohol." We both head downstairs after Alysia composes herself. Everybody has settled down, but there is still tension in the air. "Why do you keep her around, Ke? Nobody likes her, and she contributes nothing aside from a little cash flow." May argues. 

Keagan notices us before he responds. "Sia," Kegan calls her by a nickname. She gives him a small smile, letting him know that she's okay. "Soren and I are going to have a bit of a girl's talk. No interruptions." Alysia says sternly. Keith gives me a look. I go up to him and wrap my hands around his neck. He gives me a quick peck before I follow Alysia to the pantry. We grab a few snacks and two wine bottles off the counter. "Two?" Keagan asks. Alysia and I both respond. "Still not enough," We look at each other and then laugh at our similar mindsets.

We scurry up the stairs like two teenagers. It's hard to believe that I'm thirty at times. "No offense, but I'm sure that I'm winning this," Alysia says.

 "I didn't know it was a competition, but if it is, then I'm totally winning." We enter the room again and sit on the bed. "How could you? You and Keith have such a great relationship."

"We do, but there are other things aside from him that are going on in my life. Should I go first, or you?" Alysia sets out her hand in a vertical fist. I set out mine, and we played rock, paper, scissors. I end up winning, so I spill my guts first. It's hard to weave around the major factor of Jason being a werewolf, so I'm vague and tell Alysia that he has a secret. 

"I can't really tell you the full story, but trust there's a lot more, but that's the gist of it anyway," I finish up. "Holy shit, that's a lot. So, to sum it up, your boss is your future brother-in-law. He holds a secret that you can't disclose. You accidentally discover this secret and become closer to him. The sexual tension is off the charts, and you have some type of connection with him. You then sleep with his rival company's boss while being separated from Keith. This stirs some jealousy in your boss. You and your boss go on this little mission to nowhere to find a family friend. There, you discover a few things about his past, but then something happens when you both come back, and you guys are taking a break from each other."

I wish that was all it was. I wish that it was a classic orphan case. "Sure," I chug my wine down. The stinging sensation burns my throat. I soak in the internal heat that the wine provides. "How does Keith feel about this?" She gives me a skeptical look. It's obvious that loyalty is very important to her. "He's actually very supportive. I don't think that Keith and I will last long, and I know that he's also aware of that, but he's always going to be a good friend of mine. I'm grateful for that."

Alysia stares at me for a few seconds as she assesses my words. "If you and Keith are doing so well, why break up?"

"He isn't my person, and I'm not his. We're good together, but that's it." I tell Alysia honestly to not cause any future misconceptions. "It's good that you guys have reached an understanding. That's something that a lot of couples don't have." She says somberly. "Something you and Ke stopped having? It seems like Felina wasn't part of any of your plans." Alysia sardonically chuckles. "A lot of things weren't part of the plan. Us not being us wasn't part of the plan." She takes a swig out of the wine bottle. "Okay, then. Spill."

She gives me a look before straightening herself out. "Well, Ke and I have known each other since high school. It was a classic bad boy and textbook girl love story. Keith had this dream of picking up where his brother left off by creating his own gang. Because of this, he neglected his studies, and his not having a good family or childhood didn't help. To make a really long story short, we ended up dating, and I helped him out. We decided to do this together under legal means. But things started getting out of control with the other gangs we were dealing with after college. Things got illegal really quickly, and crimes were committed.

By this time, we already had quite a few members, so keeping everybody satisfied was hard. Their ideas on how to handle the situation were different from ours. A gang war was on the horizon, and we were still young. Despite this, we came out stronger together. But something was off. There were accusations like some of our members being places they weren't. At first, we thought that they were trying to find an excuse to cause a feud, but even trusted friends started claiming the most bizarre things. Eventually, our members were saying the same. It felt as if the peace was deliberately disrupted. Eventually, these sightings made their way to Ke and I's relationship.

I saw Ke with another woman, and he saw me with another man. Of course, none of it was true, but we couldn't deny what we saw. We were apart for a while because of this. We never reconnected with the ties that we lost. This shut almost all of our operations down. Over time we built more connections, but word had already got out. We trusted some bad people who got us into a bunch of shit. The only people who stuck around or made it out alive are the ones sitting downstairs.

We've all gone through so much. Over the years of running this gang together, Ke and I decided to give us another try. We had gone through too much, and there was so much confusion. But other people had entered our lives. Ke was always going to be my endgame, but then Felina came along. Fuck, he had proposed to me before we temporarily split. Yet, all it took was one bratty young adult to take him away. We came out stronger after being business partners, friends, and then back into a relationship. But when Felina came, he changed completely. He became her bitch. Today was the first time that I saw him check her."

She kept the story vague, but it gave me a good enough idea. Besides, she described the most important part. "Do you want to get rid of Felina?" Alysia gives me a look. "Who doesn't?" I smirk. "Then we're going to be good friends. I have to go, but I'll be back. Can we exchange numbers? I have a feeling that we're going to use them quite often." She gives me a once-over. "Okay," she says a little hesitantly. We exchange numbers and I smile at her before exiting the room. I jog down the stairs and see Keith huddled up with the others. One of the girls that wasn't here before is a bit too close for my liking. 

I come up behind the couch and tap the shoulder of the hussy that's practically halfway on Keith's lap. "Hey, can you move?" I kindly ask her. She turns her head to look at me before dismissing me. I straighten my posture and lift my eyebrows in surprise. "Okay, then. Keith, do you mind moving?" Keith is up in less than a second. "Gladly," he gives me a look that screams for help. He's quickly put off balance and dragged back onto the couch. "We're busy," the girl purrs. My stomach heats in an uncomfortable way. I ignore it and stroll to the front of the couch. "I only ask nicely once and only ask once."

Something comes over me, and it's almost as if I can't control my body. I grab her by the throat and drag her to the front of the door. She kicks and attempts to scream. The others get out of their seats. "Um- Soren, maybe that's…" one of the guys says. He stops, and I don't bother to turn around to see why. I open the door, and with strength I've never felt before, I literally throw her outside by her throat. I shut the door and turned around with a huff. "Well, that's new," I say to myself. "I'm ready to go. What about you?" I ask Keith. His eyes are slightly wider, and his posture is stiff. "I'm afraid that if I say no, you'll also throw me out." His comment drags a few chuckles out of the crowd.

Some look at me with respect, and others with disdain. I guess she is someone that they like. I walk up to Keith and intertwine my hands with his. We walk to the front door and say a quick goodbye. Keagan walks us out. "It was really nice meeting you, Soren. I think you might have done a lot for Alysia. She doesn't usually share her stash with others, so you must be doing something right. And Keith, it's always a pleasure to have you around, man." 

They do a guy hug, and Keagan and I shake hands. "It was great to meet you as well. Hey, um, my personal opinion, you and Alysia are going to be fine." He gives me a small smile, and Keith and I drive out. 

"I'm sending you an address. You can drop me off there." I tell Keith. He cocks a brow. "You're already leaving me for another man after you just dragged a girl for being too close to me? I wonder where she went." I laugh and look at him. I truly look at him. His blonde hair flows in the wind, and his eyes always have a hint of mischief in them. But they also have a feeling of longing and a bit of turmoil.

"You're beautiful," I tell him. He stares at me weirdly. "Beautiful? Not handsome? And where did this come from?"

"Why can't you just take a compliment? And yes, beautiful." He smirks and shakes his head. "You always keep me on my toes, lovely."

"I got Alysia's number and a little bit of back story. I'll fill you in later."

"That's my girl," his grin is genuine and almost creepy in a way. I lean back, turn up the music, and relax.

~~~

"Thank you for the ride,"

"My pleasure. Keep your phone on you. I'll contact you soon for the next meet-up."

"Right," We stand in an awkward silence. Should I hug him bye? Without another word, he smirks and leaves. What did I expect? It's Keith. Oh shit, I need to call Delila. I quickly ring her phone. She picks up within a few rings. "Hey, what's up? Did everything go well?"

"Yeah, things went fine, but one of the girls was telling me something that didn't quite sound right. Are shapeshifters a thing?"

"Shapeshifters? I mean, yes, they're definitely a thing, but they're incredibly rare unless you're talking about Effingolos; similar to shapeshifters, but they can't acquire the magic of the creature they copy, and they use magic to distort the viewer's vision, making them appear as someone or something else. So, they're not really shifting at all. Besides, if either of the two were around, I'd sense them. Effingolos may be able to fool others when they manipulate magic to transform, but the amount of magic they radiate is crazy. But it's completely invisible to the human eye. Where is this coming from?"

"Can you gather a bit more information on them? I think they're a key problem to the gang war that happened a while back. It's also why Ke and Alysia are broken up, which allowed Felina to swoop in to begin with. And Felina is clearly blackmailing Ke with something because it's obvious that he is nowhere near over Alysia."

"Okay, I have no clue who those people are, but if supernaturals are getting involved in human affairs, this is most definitely a huge problem."

"I figured. It seems like whatever I do, something supernatural is always involved."

"I'm going to dig around my books for a while. I'll get back to you."

"Okay, bye," the call ends. I walk up to the door and ring the bell. Sebastian answers the door with loose sweats and a topless chest. "I was wondering when you were going to get your fine ass in here." His lazy smirk is enough to make any girl drop her panties. "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?" I say.

His eyes track me up and down. "You're one to talk. Should I be worried about where you came from?"

"It's not your business to be concerned about where I came from, but I love the concern nonetheless." He pulls me by my waist and into his house. "You're right. All that matters is the now and everything I plan on doing to you." He cups my face and slides his tongue in my mouth. "Fuck, yes, I've been craving this." I moan.

"Happy to know you've been thinking about me."

"I've been thinking about sex. You just happen to come with that."

"Damn, woman. You're more feisty than usual today. Should I be worried?"

"You should be fucking ecstatic because I also have things planned."

"Fuck, in that case…" he lifts me up by my thighs and wraps his hand under my ass. "Let's get started then,"