Chapter 162

When Joseph told me he’d been looking for me, I took that as a threat. I hadn’t forgotten about his text to me, You will regret this, nor his anger when I revealed the secret of my pregnancy.

Nor have I forgotten any of our other, various and terrible encounters.

So I was somewhat startled when Joseph flashed me the same boyish grin he’d mostly used at the start of our knowing each other, when he had convinced me he loved me.

“So you and Lamar, huh?” he said.

I didn’t say anything, just stared at him in confusion. He almost sounded… approving? But that couldn’t be. Joseph had never liked when I dated Asher.

I guessed maybe Joseph wasn’t as hard on Lamar because they used to be friends. Or because they were teammates. Or maybe it had something to do with Lamar not having an Alpha lineage. Joseph had always felt inferior to Asher.

He leaned closer, to speak to me alone without eavesdroppers.

“You’re kidding me. You’ll be secretive about this, but not your baby?” Joseph’s grin turned sharp.

I shook my head at him. He hadn’t changed. “Leave me alone, Joseph.”

“You know, you could have a happier future with Lamar if you just handed over your parental rights,” Joseph said, shrugging like he hadn’t heard me say anything.

Lamar and I hadn’t talked about our future together or where my baby would fit into it. It was way too early for that. But for Lamar to be willing to date me at all, he had to understand that my baby and I were a package deal.

And if he didn’t understand that, then he was free to leave. I wasn’t going to set aside my child for anyone.

“You don’t have to have an abortion to be free,” Joseph continued. “All you have to do is hand over the baby to my parents once it’s born.”

“I told your parents when I met them that I intend to keep the baby.”

“Things have changed since then. You’ve got a new life, a new man.” Joseph glanced across the room at Lamar. “Doesn’t he deserve the chance to have his own family with you? Without having to be tied to some other guy’s kid?”

“He knew I was pregnant before we went out. If that’s not what he wants, he never should have started dating me.”

“Stop being so stubborn, Cynthia. I’m only trying to help you with your burden.”

My anger flared. “Help me? You mean help yourself. Don’t pretend to be a martyr, Joseph. You are just trying to pass off parenthood to your own mom and dad so you can skirt the responsibility.”

Joseph’s brow lowered. His faux smile slipped straight off his face. “Who the hell do you think you are, talking to me like that?”

In a flash, he reached out and gripped my upper arm. His fingers were a clamping vice. I struggled against him, but he wouldn’t let me go.

He leaned in close to me. “You are such a bitch, Cynthia. I’m giving you options, and you won’t listen.” The words came out in a snarl.

Fear twisted in my gut. I knew what Joseph was capable of, and Asher wasn’t here to stop him.

I looked to where I knew Lamar to be. His gaze was on me, eyes wide with surprise.

“Please,” I whispered, begging him to come over and help me.

All too quickly, he turned away. He cracked a joke and the person beside him laughed.

Hadn’t he just been looking at me? Hadn’t he seen my distress?

He must have been looking past me. If he saw me, he would have come over, surely.

“When will you learn that you need to listen to me?” Joseph hissed in my ear.

Lilith began to growl in my mind, as my body trembled.

I wanted Asher. I needed my mate.

He’d keep me safe. I wanted to feel safe.

“Hey, asshole,” said a voice from behind me. Joseph and I both swiveled to face the speaker. It had been the goalie from the hockey team, with a handful of other hockey players behind him.

“The lady doesn’t seem all that happy to talk to you,” the goalie said. “And, as I recall. You are supposed to be staying away from her, as dictated by the terms of a certain challenge. Maybe you should let her go, before someone gets hurt.”

“The only ones who will get hurt are you,” Joseph said, though as close as I was, I could see the trace of fear making his eyes wild. “Get lost.”

“You must think yourself a hell of a fighter if you feel good about your odds,” the goalie said. “One against seven. Or is it eight?” He glanced behind him. “That new guy still in the bathroom? Ah, there he is.” He turned back to Joseph. “One against eight.”

“Who we bruising?” said the new arrival. When he spotted Joseph, he added, “Oh, hell, yes. This guy has it coming.”

Joseph’s hand gripped me tighter, enough to leave a mark, before he shoved me away. “Fine.”

I stumbled, but two hockey players immediately stepped forward and righted me.

I thought Joseph might storm out of the room like the coward he was. Instead, however, he pushed through the crowd and made his way to Lamar.

I couldn’t hear what Joseph was saying to Lamar but he was definitely shouting and pointing.

The goalie approached me, blocking my view. “You okay, Cynthia?”

I sighed in relief. “I am now, thank you.” But then the guilt rushed in once more. “I’m sorry I made Asher leave…”

“Asher’s a big boy.” The goalie shrugged. “He left because he wanted to, not because you made him. Of course, before he left, he asked us to keep an eye on you.”

I didn’t know how to feel about that.

The goalie continued, “You’ve really got to watch out for Joseph. He’s got one hell of a grudge against you.”

“I know…”

“There! It’s them! Tell them to leave!” Joseph’s shouting voice pierced above the music.

We all turned to him as he dragged Lamar closer.

Lamar looked at all the hockey players, passing over me quickly. He was frowning, something I didn’t often see.

“I think you guys had better clear out of here,” Lamar said.

The hockey players straightened to their full heights. They were large and intimidating, and wouldn’t so easily be shoved out of the party.

But then the entire soccer team weaved to the front of the crowd.

With only eight players here, the hockey team was vastly outnumbered.

“How about these odds, asshole?” Joseph snapped.

“We’ve faced worse,” said one of the hockey players, cracking his knuckles.

I inched backwards, not wanting to get caught in a brawl.

Lamar held out his hand, keeping his own team still behind him.

“This is our party, guys. And you are no longer welcome.”

It was a side of Lamar I’d never seen, stern and serious, with a bit of edge.

I watched, amazed and also… disappointed. Was this the real him? Or was he the Lamar I knew? The two pieces didn’t seem to fit.

The goalie met eyes with the rest of his players. They all seemed pretty much indifferent. Stay and fight or leave, made no difference to them.

“We have a game tomorrow,” the goalie said after a moment. “We’ll go.”

As the team filed out, he stopped to look at me. “Be careful, Cynthia.”

I nodded, and then he left.

The soccer team turned back to the party and someone cranked up the music.

In the span of a few brief minutes, it was like nothing had happened at all.

Even Lamar was smiling at me like he hadn’t just been so serious a moment ago. “Lots of excitement, huh?”

I frowned at him. “Did Joseph tell you to make them leave?”

He didn’t bother denying it. “Have to keep the peace somehow.”

He seemed different suddenly, compared how he was before. Or maybe I was just seeing him differently.

Either way, I didn’t particularly like the change.

“I’d like to go home,” I said. “If you don’t mind.”

“Okay.” He winked at me. “Thanks for coming, Cynthia. Have a good night. I’ll call you sometime.”

“Yeah,” I said, surprised when he then walked away from me.

He went right back to his party and left me standing there.