Behind the Walls. NOVEL By Claire Darcy.

50. Your Alpha.

ACE.

I sat still at the dinner table, observing Frankie and Josh's conversation.

"So," Frankie asked, "How have you been, Josh?"

"Ace, do you want this bread roll, I can't eat it," Tyler asked me quietly. I shrugged and held out my plate. He threw the roll on my plate. It was common knowledge by now that I actually liked bread and anything else with a lot of carbohydrates. I also gained an appetite when I was nervous.

Meanwhile, Frankie continued to probe Josh with questions and observations. He grew redder by the second.

Frankie: "We haven't talked in a while..."

Josh: "Um, yeah,"

Frankie: "I guess you've just been busy, huh?"

I gave Josh a sideways glance. He pulled his glass to his lips and drank to avoid my gaze. Frankie had wicked mood swings, but this was just weird.

"I... was, yeah I've been busy ," Josh said, his face almost glowing from the blush.

"What are you interrogating him for?" I asked Frankie.

"Gee, I don't know. It's not every day some guy makes out with you and then avoids you like the plague," she scoffed.

I dropped my bread.

"You two made out!?"

Josh was beet red. "Um... y-yeah. At the nominating ball."

"I bloody knew something was going on!" Tyler shrieked, "What the hell, Josh!"

"Hey, she came on to me!" Josh exclaimed

"She has a name, and she is my sister!" Tyler gasped in horror.

"Oh wow, thanks a lot, Joshy," Frankie scoffed, at the same time.

"Guys, chill out," I managed, as shocked as Tyler.

Josh rubbed his eyes, groaning a little. "I didn't mean to, okay? I'm sorry, Frankie, you're really great, but it just wasn't right..."

"Alright," she shrugged, calming down, "Whatever."

"Frankie, you and I need to have a talk," Tyler sighed.

"I think not," Frankie argued, "I can kiss who I want, when I want."

Then Rowan was there, an arm across Josh's shoulders. "What are we talking about?"

"Apparently Josh kissed Frankie," Tyler said tightly.

"She kissed me," Josh whined.

"You liked it," Frankie shrugged.

"Damn, talk about drama," Rowan laughed.

"Who invited him?" I asked, gesturing at Rowan. He rolled his eyes.

"I don't need an invite to my own party, Ace," he shot back. I crossed my arms but didn't argue any further. I couldn't think of anything good to say and hadn't expected his response to be so quick.

As Rowan spoke to his friends, I wondered how I had ever expected to fit in. They hung onto his every word. His dark eyes flitted across the table, his posture tall and confident.

How could they even listen to him? I felt an ungodly amount of loathing toward the boy.

"...Tyler, are you even listening?" Rowan asked, at the end of an impassioned speech that I hadn't been listening to, either. In all honesty, I was actually trying to ignore him. For fear of lunging over the table and doing something violent and drastic.