Outliers

Twenty One

"Uh, please!" Nero cried, flinching away from the hand pushing at his face. "I don't know where those hands have been!"

Sandra cackled from the across the room, coyly exclaiming, "We all know exactly where those hands have been."

A throat cleared by the doorway and Nero and I both froze in our assault of one another. Adriel stood with his arms across his chest, eyeing us with amusement.

"How old are you both again?" Adriel drawled, entering the room to claim the large armchair. A step behind him was Thane, expression flat as he fixed me with that familiar hard stare.

The expression threw me for a second, and Nero managed to twist from my grasp and throw me off him. I was laughing as I shifted into a sitting position still leaning against Nero slightly, a little winded from my enthusiastic attack.

Nero scoffed, "Like you're any better. I literally saw you tackle Lorcan to the ground earlier today. You're the biggest child here."

"How dare you, don't talk to your elders that way!" Adriel gaped in mock outrage. He continued to argue with his nephew while my attention was firmly fixed on Thane.

He moved towards the sofa, and I noticed the other enforcer wolves' surprise at his appearance. It was strange seeing Thane around the other wolves in his pack compared to when he was alone with me. Gone was the soft male who was a little too cuddly at times, and in his place stood a stern Alpha wolf.

I tried to catch his eyes, but noticed his attention was instead fixed on Nero beside me. His face was impassive as he watched the younger wolf still arguing with his uncle, and I had to resist the urge to draw his eyes back to me.

I had never felt like this before, like a needy female desperate for a males attention. But here I was, silently begging for it. It was certainly odd to me, that any time he now entered the room I felt so consumed in the strength of his presence. Now that I had finally given in to my physical desires, it seemed perhaps my emotional desires were now free to roam. And the more time I spent with Thane the stronger my desires for him grew.

***

After the other's retired to their rooms or - in Sandra's case - decided to go on a midnight run with Lorcan, I found myself drifting into the kitchen for a late night snack before bed. Mere minutes later Thane had followed me.

"Do you not like Nero?" I asked, the first one to break the silence between us. I was facing away from him, but knew he was there by scent alone.

The thought had been bugging me the entire time we were in the lounge, but I had waited till we were alone to ask my question, not thinking it appropriate to bring up my suspicions in front of anyone else. There was a deep set frown furrowing my brows as I stared at the orange I was peeling on the counter, trying to seem as casual as possible. Nero was my closest friend, and it felt important to me that there was no bad blood between Thane and he.

"I like him a reasonable amount." That made me pause. My eyes narrowed slightly, the expression staying as Thane cleared his throat and drew my gaze towards him.

"You've been glaring at him for the past hour," I stated, leaning against the counter. He only shrugged, seeming unbothered by my observation.

"I don't enjoy how much you like him."

"You're jealous?" I asked incredulously. Again, Thane remained composed, not showing the least bit of embarrassment.

"I don't like the thought of sharing your affections," he explained simply. I crossed my arms, scowling.

"You can't control who I-"

"My jealousy is a reflection of my own insecurities," Thane cut me off quickly. "Not a reflection on you or my opinion of you; I know I can trust you, and I do." He sighed, "It's just... this is new for me, and I'm still unsure where we stand. It will take some adjustment."