Forged in Fire (Forgotten Series, #2)

Chapter Twenty-One

I lay back on the blanket as Ainsley sat beside me. I could hear her ripping grass out of the ground in boredom. If she hadn't kept accusing me of cheating we could have been playing cards but she was a poor loser. So now we had to sit and be bored all because she was seeing things.

Her stomach grumbled and I opened my eyes and sat up quickly. "That's our cue to head to the house." I looked at her and her eyes went wide as she pressed a hand to her stomach as if horrified it had let its hunger be known.

"It's alright." She stared at the blanket intently as if it would solve all of her problems. I really didn't have the patience in dealing with someone so painfully shy and timid. I knew it was due to my personality. I was outgoing, brash, and even bold on occasion. Shyness was foreign to me and a timid shifter was even more so.

"You're hungry. It's time to go to the house for lunch. Actually everyone will probably be heading for lunch." I looked at the sparring and tried to keep from searching out Sterling. My hands still tingled from touching his skin and the bond had a feeling coursing through it that reminded me of smugness but I tried not to bare my teeth at the thought. I was trying.

"It's-"

"If you say 'it's okay', I'm going to tell Michael to shift so you have to look at him naked." I watched as her face turned bright red. She almost reminded me of a tomato with her red hair and red face. I stood up and brushed my pants off before holding out my hands for Ainsley to grab. I wasn't sure if she actually ate anything yesterday, I had fallen asleep shortly after jumping on her bed in my escape of Sterling. All I had to say was the sleep did me good because I was feeling a lot better then I had yesterday. "No comment from the peanut gallery? Now come on, we need to get there before all these hungry shifters eat it all." I jerked my head to the sweaty and sparring shifters.

I tried to ignore the sneaky images of Sterling that the bond was slipping into my thoughts. Shirtless Sterling with sweatpants hanging low on his hips, proudly displaying his musculature that was accentuated by the sweat that coated his skin in a light sheen. My hand twitched with the need to slap myself to remove the images but I refrained as Ainsley grabbed my hands and I pulled her to her feet. I wasn't disgusted by the thoughts because the images the bond had created for a shirtless, sweaty Sterling held nothing to the reality of seeing it for real, or touching it. I felt a flush crawl up my cheeks as my hands tingly at the memory of his warm skin underneath them.

I let Ainsley's hands go and bent down to grab the blanket. "Alpha, you can leave the blanket. I will deal with it." Benji said it casually and I turned my head to glower at him darkly. I wasn't his Alpha nor was I an invalid. I could clean up my own messes as Gamgam was so fond of reminding me.

"Its Pisică, not Alpha and I am perfectly content cleaning up my own shit." I gestured to the blanket and deck of cards that Ainsley was tucking into its box.

"The platform duals as a storage box. The blanket and your cards can go inside. I suspect you will be coming down here more often." He nodded at me and I glanced down at the platform he stood on. I grimaced before reaching down and grabbing the blanket anyway. Ainsley rushed to get off of it as I lifted it off the ground and shook it vigorously, getting the grass off of it. "Pisică, you can leave it." Benji sounded exasperated and I winked at Ainsley as I ignored him and carefully folded the blanket. It wasn't a neat fold like I had seen some people accomplish but it was good enough for me. I moved over and set the blanket by the platform and Ainsley set the deck of cards on top of it.

"You are difficult." Benji smiled at me and I smiled at him brightly.

"I wouldn't be any fun if I wasn't." I would continue to be difficult because I was a firstborn Alpha and no one told me what to do. It was in my nature to be contrary, as it was for everyone of Alpha blood.