Chapter 112: Paintball Sunday
I was out on Sunday. I had no choice because I had a job. If I knew it was going to be like this, I wouldn’t have accepted Uncle PP’s offer to work on a Sunday. I would have just given him the 50 dollars and stayed in my bed where it was safe.
So I was in the shop. It wasn’t fully open for customers. I was just there to take care of Kali and keep an eye on things. We were in the inner room, tucked away from the street. I was busy feeding her chocolate as usual, watching her little tongue flick out, when Malo texted me. He wanted me to hang out with him.
I texted him back saying that I couldn’t come to his location because I was working, and I explained the whole Uncle PP situation. A few seconds later, my phone buzzed again. He sent me a picture of him not being happy, then I spotted Princess in the background, standing in some park, playing paintball. That wasn’t even the worst part. She was smiling in the picture. She looked like she didn’t have a single care in the world.
How dare she smile when I am here still thinking about the breakup? How is she just moving on like I was nothing?
I was furious and at the same time jealous. It felt so easy for her to act like everything was normal. I wasn’t going to just sit there and rot while she was out having the time of her life. I grabbed my stuff. I put Kali, into a transparent backpack so she could see out. I packed her chocolate bars in another bag and took all the other necessities I might need for the afternoon.
"You made it... and you brought Kali," Malo said the moment he saw me at the paintball arena. He looked me up and down, clearly not expecting me to actually show up with a reptile on my back.
"I am allowed to have fun, not lock myself in a shop full of flowers and herbs. I should be happy," I said with determination. Even as I spoke, my eyes were already scanning the crowd, looking for a certain ex.
"You are about to be blown with surprise. I have been demoted, thanks to you once again," Malo said. He let out a heavy sigh and handed me a stiff paintball uniform.
"What do you mean by that? Did you do something to Princess?" I asked. I was confused. I thought things were finally settling down for him.
"No, but yesterday when I got to Princess’s club to drop off the car, I saw someone I thought was never coming back. They are back together," Malo said, his voice dripping with bitterness.
My face dropped. My heart felt like it was being squeezed by a cold hand. I remembered Princess saying her last relationship wasn’t like this, that it had its issues but she was always on top. Did she get back with that bitch Kiara? Is that why she was so quick to dump me?
I summoned the courage to ask, even though I didn’t want to hear the answer.
"Princess and Kiara are back together?"
"No," he said, shaking his head.
A massive sigh of relief left me. My knees felt a little weak for a second.
"Beam and Princess are back. They are friends again, and I am just a motherfucking errand boy."
So Princess made peace with Beam the second we broke up. Does this have to do with her wanting to build her empire back? Is she gathering her old soldiers to get her throne back from Antonio?
After going into the changing room to put on my paintball uniform, I couldn’t stop thinking about Princess and her empire. I wondered if I could help her regain her position, even though she’d probably be angry for trying. I’d have to do it without her knowing, because she would just tell me to stay out of her business. But I felt like I owed her. I broke her heart. I didn’t acknowledge her in front of my friends, and I made her feel like she didn’t matter.
I had also invited Sasha to the game. When she showed up, Malo looked incredibly unhappy. He thought it would just be me and him as a team, but Sasha was already part of the group. He has to accept it one way or another. We’re a team now.
I gave Malo the backpack with Kali inside. He didn’t have a choice. He carried her throughout the entire game, the snake watching everything from behind the plastic.
Throughout the whole match, we played against people in our league. We weren’t on Princess’s side at first. She was at the other arena, playing with her newly reunited best friend. I could see the flashes of their team colors in the distance.
The winners of the league were supposed to face the reigning champions. We played hard, diving behind barriers and getting covered in neon splats, and we actually managed to win. That meant Princess and Beam were our final opponents for the day.
It ended quickly. Beam was fast, moving like a sharpshooter. She didn’t hesitate. She eliminated Malo first, catching him right in the chest, and then she started searching for Sasha.
I was at my base, trying to catch my breath, when Princess suddenly tackled me from behind. It happened so fast I didn’t even have time to scream. We landed hard inside a wooden hideout, and before I could scramble away, she pinned me against a bamboo wall. Her weight was heavy and familiar.
"What are you doing here? You are supposed to be at home resting or eating," she said, her voice low and tight.
"Can’t you see? I am playing a game. I am hanging out with my friends. Do you expect me to stay at home just because I am carrying an Alpha’s pups? I am not the first wolf to be pregnant, you know," I snapped back. I was trying to sound tough, but being this close to her was making my head spin.
"Shut up," she said sharply.
"You know you can’t shut me up whenever you feel like it. I have freedom of speech... and I am older than you, bitch," I said, struggling against her. I was trying to loosen her grip on my shoulders.
As much as her breath was close to my face, it felt dangerous. It felt like we would either end up kissing right there in the dirt or I would completely freak out. She was really tempting me with those eyes of hers, looking at me like she wanted to devour me and push me away at the same time.
"We are in the same class, and there is only a three month gap. So we are the same age."
"Princess, will you let go of me? I don’t like the way you are pinning me like this," I said.
I noticed her grip was tightening more and more. She wasn’t just holding me; she was crushing me against the bamboo.
"Princess, you are strangling me," I muttered. My breath was becoming uneven, and a spark of panic started to rise in my chest.
Whenever I am in a position where I can’t defend myself or use my fists to fight back, my fangs come out. It’s my natural defense mode, something I can’t really control when I feel trapped.
I don’t think Princess realized what she was doing or how hard she was pressing. If she had, she would have let go immediately. But she was lost in her own anger.
I couldn’t breathe. I leaned forward and bit Princess hard on her forearm.
Immediately, she jerked away from me, her eyes wide with shock.
"What the fuck!" she shouted, clutching her arm.
"I’m sorry, Princess. You were gripping too tightly, and I went into defense mode," I said, gasping for air and trying to steady my heart.
She didn’t say anything after that. She just stood there, staring at me while holding the spot where my teeth had broken the skin.
Then suddenly, I heard her let out a pained grunt.
She began to gasp for air, her face turning pale. It looked like she couldn’t catch her breath.
Then she dropped to her knees right in front of me. Before I could even reach out to help her, she collapsed completely to the ground.
