Not Jealous

Sebastián 

"Is your tooth okay?" Killian said with mockery laced in his tone.

"If you've got nothing nice to say, then shut up," I grumbled, holding onto my left cheek. Thanks to my fast healing, the swelling had died down, but the area still throbbed with a dull ache. Sensitive teeth as a kid were clearly a curse that hadn't let up, and Zoey, my sister-in-law, knew exactly where to hit to make it count.

That's right—Zoey punched me. Again. Not the first time, though. Usually, she made a joke out of it, given that I'm younger than her mate, my brother. She's gotten used to having me around, even though I'm two years older than her. The punch itself wasn't that bad; it's the damn swelling after that got me. Not that I'm complaining—she did save me from Kai's wrath for drinking on duty and, let's face it, skipping out when he called me from the bar.

And no, I didn't plan that little rebellion. Fiona's touch had left me feeling disgusted. Like, really disgusted. So, I had to test a theory: was it just Fiona or all women in general? Against Killian's constant bitching, I headed out in the early hours of the morning, looking for a hook-up.

I found a cute dirty blonde at the bar. She was flirty, and things escalated quickly. We ended up booking a room at a motel.

And within seconds of kissing her, I felt it again—revulsion. The kind that made my stomach turn and my skin crawl. I stopped, pulled away, and wiped my mouth, probably more aggressively than necessary. She looked at me like I'd just shot her puppy, hurt flashing in her eyes before she bolted out the door.

Yeah, not my finest moment. Guilt gnawed at me, but there was no time to chase after her. The next thing I knew, Kai and his third, Morris, were pounding on my motel door. Kai looked fucking livid, so I didn't resist when they dragged me back home.

The welcome party? A punch to the face from Zoey.

"Apologize," Zoey demanded, her narrowed eyes blazing.

"For what?" I snapped, offended.

"You left Isabella in the woods! And you strangled her? Do you even know what happened? She failed her first shift, Sebastián! That could've been avoided if you hadn't ditched her!" Zoey shouted, throwing her hands in the air like she was trying to summon lightning.

I glanced at Kai and Morris, who both seemed to agree with her. Traitors.

Scoffing, I replied, "First of all, I found her in the woods. Second, her weak ass failing to shift has nothing to do with me. I didn't tell her to be born a weak omega."

Kai's face twisted in shock. "She's an omega?"

"A weak omega," I corrected. Zoey might be an omega too, but she could drop a grown man and still look elegant doing it.

"So, Kai, Morris, and my favorite sister-in-law," I continued, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Yes, I screwed up by leaving the pack during work hours, but I don't owe that girl anything—not even an apology."

Zoey's nostrils flared. "Kai! Talk to your brother! Poor Isabella fainted in the woods where he left her for dead, and he thinks he has nothing to apologize for? How many times are we going to have this argument?"

Before I could snap back, Morris closed the distance between us, grabbing me by the arms.

"Unhand me," I ordered, glaring at him.

He shook his head. "Beta, I don't care what you do on your own time, but when it comes to pack business, you'd better pull up your socks."

I knew what was coming, and I didn't like it.

"The marriage alliance is pack business," Morris said. "Leaving the northern princess in the woods alone could've jeopardized the pack's position. That's punishable by pack law."

Pack law. Fuck me. I've spent years enforcing it, not being on the receiving end.

"Morris," I started, hoping to reason with him, but he cut me off.

"Choose, Beta. And address me formally in front of the alpha and luna," he said, voice annoyingly smug.

"Fine," I spat. "Alpha's Thirdman, if I apologize to Isabella like Zoey—sorry, the luna—suggests, will it cancel everything?"

Instead of answering, he let me go and stepped back, his expression unreadable.

Suspicious, I turned to Kai. "Were you in on this?"

"No," he squeaked, not sounding convincing in the slightest.

"Brother—"

If you whine right now, I'll tell Zoey where I found you, Kai mindlinked. And don't forget, you lied to that girl using my name.

Fine. Whatever. I won't complain. Don't say a word. I'll explain later. Let me deal with this now.

And that's how I ended up in the woods, staring at my mate in someone else's arms. They were spinning around like a couple in a goddamn musical.

"Oh no, don't let me stop you. Continue," I said, voice sharp as the man holding Isabella froze.

My blood boiled. Claws threatened to break through my skin, but I reined it in. She wasn't worth it. She was Lucian's daughter, and I wasn't about to lose my shit over her.

I was definitely not jealous.