Chapter 18 Alpha Big Cock
"And that's a wrap!" Ripley shouted. We were drenched in sweat, our wolves collapsing in the back of our minds from exhaustion.
Ryder and Lorenzo immediately wandered to the side, cracking stupid jokes while grabbing bottled water. Ryder was laughing like he hadn't just butchered half the set five minutes ago.
My attention stayed on Ripley, who was still fuming about the whole "human girl" situation. I knew I was supposed to care, but the emotion simply wasn't there. Still, logic whispered that I should at least try to calm her down; her temper could throw our entire set off later, and we needed to be at our best tonight.
"Rip, I need to talk to you."
She spun around, eyes sharp. "Sure, Alpha," she said with a dramatic bow. "You can have a word with me anytime."
"Don't be like that. I didn't mean to be so hard on you earlier," I said.
"Oh, is that so?" she snapped. "So tell me...now that you've got a new pet, what does that mean for us? I know we were never official, but being with you that way is what kept me sane all these years."
"I know, Rip. And I promise, you'll be the first to know when and if anything changes."
"So, you haven't slept with her yet?" she asked bluntly.
"No."
"But you smell like..." Her eyes narrowed, then widened. "You went down on her?"
"Yes."
"But you've never done that to me."
"Or any other woman," I corrected.
"Until her," Ripley whispered, her eyes filling with unshed tears.
Before I could answer her, a loud crash echoed across the room. Lorenzo had thrown Ryder onto the drink table so hard half the bottles rolled off and exploded on the floor.
Ripley rushed to her brother. "What has gotten into you!?" she barked at Enzo, helping him up while Ryder groaned dramatically, rubbing the back of his head.
"What is the meaning of this, Enzo?" I demanded.
"I'll let Ry tell you what he did," Lorenzo hissed.
Ripley planted her hands on her hips. "Oh Goddess... Ryder Furball, what did you do to piss Enzo off?"
Ryder winced. "Okay, okay—so I sorta... kinda... signed us guys up for a dating site."
"YOU DID WHAT?" I roared.
"Chillax, Niko," Ryder said, raising his hands. "By the time I went back to reply to the only profile you matched with, it said Shelby Stein had deactivated her account."
"Shelby Stein?" I asked. "She was who I matched with?"
"Yes! And you would've liked her too, since I now know you've got a thing for redheads."
I ignored the jab. "And Enzo?"
"Oh, he matched with a wild one. Well... her hobbies weren't wild she liked all the boring shit he likes, but her profile picture had her sitting on a male stripper's face." Ryder blinked. "She also deleted her profile."
"So, Enzo," I said slowly, "why did you attack him?"
"Look at the profiles he made for us," Enzo growled, pointing.
Ripley glanced at the chaos and immediately backed away. "Yeah, no. I'm out of here. Bro, you're on your own." She grabbed her drumsticks. "See you guys on stage later."
Ryder called after her, "Wait, wait—you can't leave me alone like this."
Her middle finger was the only answer.
A few moments later, I had Ryder slammed against the wall with my claws digging into his neck.
Enzo was instantly on me, trying to pry me off. "Let him go, Niko!"
I released Ryder with a shove, pacing like an animal ready to snap. "You had my profile name listed as Alpha Big Cock, and you posted pictures of my nipple rings for the whole damn world to see?"
Ryder straightened his shirt like he hadn't almost died. "Well, I couldn't put your face up," he said defensively. "Girls would recognize you."
"Delete it. Now."
"Okay, okay!" he whined, pulling out his phone. "Ugh, you two are no fun. At least I met a real one on there."
I glared. "I'm sure you did."
"No, seriously," he said, grinning like a lunatic. "I think she might be the one. She isn't afraid to say what's on her mind. I'm meeting her after the show."
Enzo crossed his arms. "Is that why you pulled ten grand from your savings account?"
Ryder immediately stiffened. "It's not what you think."
"Don't tell me," Enzo growled. "You're buying her innocence."
"That's low, even for you, Ryder," I added.
Ryder scoffed. "Will you two give me some credit? I'm not doing anything disgusting like that. You know I'm a gentleman."
There was a beat of silence.
Ryder smiled proudly. "I'm only buying her pussy hair."
A GUTTED silence slammed into the room.
Enzo's soul left his body.
I froze, blinked once, then said, "Oh Goddess, NOPE. I'm out of here." I turned and walked away immediately. "I refuse to breathe the same oxygen as whatever the hell that sentence was."
Behind me, Enzo launched into an aggressive scolding while Ryder kept trying to justify the purchase like it was a perfectly normal life decision.
I didn't stick around.
I headed straight for my trailer.
I had a concert to get ready for. And apparently, Ryder had a... barber appointment with a stranger.
I just want this night to be over so I can see my Wildfire again.