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Chase straightens up at the bottom of the crates, looking furious. I inhale deeply then jump by the window. Sanchez almost falls under my weight as he catches me outside. He holds my waist firmly to stabilize me and sets me down on dry land.
“We lost,” I say in his direction. “Amelia went first. There is only one place left.”
Sanchez opens his mouth but no words come out as he bends slightly, still out of breath. That’s when I notice other people, about thirty feet away. At the head of the small group is Tucker, who is waiting, arms at his sides. Head erect, fists closed, he looks implacably in our direction.
I see Amelia first, then I see TJ, all smiles, analyzing me from afar.
“Go ahead,” I tell Sanchez, who hasn’t moved an inch and is waiting for me to recover.
“What?” he asks me, not understanding.
“You wanted to win this trial. I’m here against my will, remember? Come on, go ahead, man.”
He shakes his head as if I’m stupid and pulls me behind him, walking towards them.
“Hey? Did you hear what I just said?” I exclaim, trying to get out of the way.
“We came out together,” he announces to the others while ignoring me.
TJ still has a smile up to his ears. I stare at them one by one and, when I notice Tucker’s dark and possessive look focused on my wrist and Sanchez’s grip on it, I hold back from laughing in his face. How dare he! Then I understand why Sanchez seems so confident and TJ thrilled.
“That’s what you mean about the rules, isn’t it?” I ask, breaking free of Sanchez’s grip. “Don’t be selfish, show that you don’t just think about yourself. It’s not what she did,” I spit out, pointing at Amelia. “But we went out together. So we won.”
TJ turns to Tucker. The latter swallows his saliva and nods with difficulty.
“Yeah, you won.”
Whistles ring out as TJ claps enthusiastically for me. Tucker is still staring at me, and I know he’s holding back from pulling me against him. I can tell by the look on his face. Yet, I’m not giving up on him. Yes, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like the last hour, but he brought me here by force as if I were just an object. And that doesn’t fly. I move closer to him, my heart heavy but my hands free.
As his eyes shine brighter and brighter and as he moves towards me, I raise my fist and punch him.
24. Jealousy
Iris
Tucker shifts at the last moment, and my fist meets his left shoulder violently.
“Asshole,” I spit, furious.
Tucker lets himself be hit as I send my fist into his chest again. His breath catches slightly.
TJ bursts out laughing as the others stare, dumbfounded. I guess they don’t often get to see their big but shitty pack leader gets hit. Tucker intercepts my fist and wraps his fingers around my wrist, trying to calm me down.
Sanchez stares at us from three feet away, as if trying to figure out the sudden closeness between Tucker and me.
“Stop it,” Tucker orders me, his face serious but his voice steady. “You might hurt yourself.”
I stand still, trying to catch my breath.
“Hurt myself?! Is that what you’re thinking about now? Not when you kidnapped me, tied me up and left me in a frozen warehouse?”
“Come on, be happy,” exclaims TJ with a big smile, “you are part of the Pack now. Congratulations, my cubs, that was the last test.”
Sanchez seems thrilled with the news, but I feel like I’m overwhelmed by it all, and mostly wasting my breath. I stare at Tucker, ignoring his cousin, and retort through my teeth, “Fuck you all!”
Then I turn around and walk away, leaving them in the lurch. I hear footsteps at my back. A firm hand lands on my forearm and pulls me back.
“Iris,” Tucker begins.
