Chapter 4 Episode 4

Skylar's Pov

"What are you doing, Skylar?" Astrid growls almost like she's been suffocated, her voice strained and panicked inside my head.

"Fixing you up." I answer through our mind link as we carefully follow the guy through the alley he's walks into, our footsteps light and measured against the cracked pavement.

"Fixing me up?" She repeats, her disbelief bleeding through the connection.

"You've been acting weird all day, it's only fair." I mutter back, my eyes locked on his broad shoulders ahead of us.

"Don't do this, Skylar. Don't." She pleads, but there's something else in her voice too, something I can't quite place.

I ignore her, the anger in my chest speaking far more louder than her protests, drowning out her warnings with the familiar burn of rage that's been simmering all day. Mira nudges at Dante and Grayson, they pick up her signal, their eyes meeting in silent understanding, and take another quick route through a side passage. In a brisk minute, the man is surrounded, my crew cutting off every possible escape route like we've done a hundred times before.

He doesn't stop walking, it's almost annoying how he thinks this is normal, still focused on his steps with his bag in hand, his head down like he hasn't even noticed the four wolves closing in on him. That confidence, that complete lack of awareness, it grates on my nerves.

"Hey, twerp!" Dante growls, shoving at him when he tries to walk past the two of them, his hand connecting with the man's shoulder hard enough to make him stumble. "How do you like that now?"

"Excuse me?" He raises a brow in a deep velvet tone that causes Astrid to purr, a sound that vibrates through my entire body and makes my stomach flip in a way I absolutely hate.

I take a step forward, glaring at him with all the fury I can muster, my hands clenched at my sides. "Such an audacity for a human."

He turns then, scanning me from head to toe, his eyes traveling slowly up my body like he's taking inventory, cataloging every detail. His eyes finally stopping at mine in a way that catches my breath, that makes the air in my lungs feel too thick to move.

His gaze is so intense like he's unraveling me like an onion, peeling back every layer I've carefully constructed, and I almost can't breathe and it's annoying me more than anything else today. "I'm sorry if I crossed the wrong path, kids. I just need to head somewhere, was informed it's a shortcut."

"Kids?" Fatima scoffs, glaring at him with narrow eyes. "How rude."

"My apologies..." He says, moving a step forward but Dante blocks him again, his massive frame cutting off the path.

I'm trying to sense some ounce of fear from him, something to hold on to and make my move, some flicker of terror that would justify this whole thing. But it's almost like there's nothing there, just calm composure and the desire to leave. He just wants to walk away from us like we're nothing, like we're beneath his notice.

"How about we shut that mouth up, yeah?" Jerry huffs, shoving him to the ground with all his strength, the bag of food and medications cutting loose on the pavement, spilling contents across the dirty concrete.

We take that as our cue to attack him now he's down, our bodies tensing to move forward, but when Jerry tries again, reaching down to grab him, he holds his hand back instead, in a very tight grip twisting his arm behind him as Jerry hisses in pain, his face contorting. He's shoved away in a brisk motion, landing on a trash can nearby with a loud clatter of metal and garbage.

"Who the fuck is this guy?" Mira hisses under her breath, her eyes wide with shock.

"I don't care, I'm going to beat his ass." When I make a move at him, my fists raised, Mira holds me back immediately, her arms wrapping around my waist to stop me. Only then do I hear him making a very loud call with a voice that hits me like a bucket of ice water. The commissioner.

"A group of local delinquents are trying to harass me, Sir. Down the alley from 12:67 eatery." He says into his phone, his voice calm and measured like he's ordering takeout.

"In a moment, there's an officer down there." The voice crackles through the speaker.

My blood runs cold, freezing in my veins. My dad's going to kill me if I get arrested, actually and brutally kill me, and that's if he doesn't disown me first for bringing shame to the pack.

"You fucker, you're calling the police?" I snap, heading to him, my vision going red at the edges. My crew were already ridden with fear, their faces pale, their eyes darting towards the exits.

"We should go, now." Mira says under her teeth, her grip on my arm tightening, but I'm too angry to think, too far gone to listen to reason.

"You think I'd be scared? My dad runs this city." I spit at him, my voice shaking with rage.

"Yeah, impressive." He says in a bored tone, bending down to pick the items scattered on the ground, his movements unhurried and deliberate. I kick a tablet pack down the hall, watching his face freeze into a frown, his jaw tightening. "Shouldn't you be in school or something? Finding purpose other than harassing locals."

"Why don't you say that for yourself?" I shove his chest, my hands connecting with the firm muscle beneath his shirt, my heart splitting for a second as everywhere comes to a stop. My body going cold as my chest clogs, like something's lodged itself behind my ribs. Everywhere is silent enough for me to hear the brutal words echoing through my skull, "Mate."

I'm pulled to my current reality by the sound of sirens, the wailing cutting through the fog in my head, reminding me that I don't have time to think or stall, that I need to move right now. When I look around, my crew already left, their figures disappearing around the corner, abandoning me in the alley. Bunch of losers.

"Fuck." I curse, hitting the road with my goal to run as far as I can from this place, my feet pounding against the asphalt.

I run out so fast, away from the alley and right at the middle of the streets that I don't see the car that pulls so fast around the corner, its headlights blinding me for a split second.

My knees give out and I'm on the floor, barely breathing as my head bangs in pain, the world spinning around me in sickening circles. My vision going black at the edges, the sounds of the city fading into a dull roar as everything slips away.