Savage Mates novel Chapter 1

Tillie

Pushing open the door to the club, I tried not to think about what Jake had said to me earlier.

I reject you, Tillie Mason.

I mean, who breaks up with someone like that? Now if he had said something like the normal, ‘I think we should see other people’ or even ‘it’s not you, it’s me.’l wouldn’t have thought anything of it. But just the way that Jake had said it. Like it was all formal, I didn’t get it. I supposed that I had dodged a bullet with him. I mean, sure, things had been great for the past few months with him and sure he spent way too much time with his friends.

They all but lived in his apartment and he loved to spend time hiking and doing outdoors, which wasn’t something that I enjoyed. At least, I didn’t enjoy spending that time with his friends. I wouldn’t have minded camping with Jake or even going on a romantic hike with him. They always seemed to tag along.

Today, things had changed. I had dressed up and headed over to his apartment. Expecting to ask him to go out for drinks and dinner. When a woman had opened the door. Her bright pink hair hung in messy curls that framed her heart-shaped face.

“Who are you?” She asked.

“I’m Jake’s girlfriend,” I answered and she stepped back, letting the door open a little more for me to walk past her.

The apartment had been strangely quiet. Normally it was chaos in the afternoons, with Jake and his friends gaming on the console in the living room. The big television that dominated the room was dark and the controllers were scattered over the floor. The big denim couch that sat in front of the tv was pushed at an odd angle and a blanket was thrown over it. The door clicked closed and I turned back to look at the woman, finally taking in her appearance. She had a black concert t-shirt. The logo of a wolf devouring the moon was one that I knew well.

Cannibal Moon was one of my favorite bands and that was the shirt that Jake had gotten when we had seen them in concert. There was a bleach stain on the left sleeve from when I’d had my first sleepover with Jake. We had been cleaning the kitchen when he’d accidentally caught me on the arm with a bleach rag.

Tilting my head to the side, I looked down her body where the shirt stopped just above her thighs. Thighs which were toned and fit and covered in fingerprints from a rough, wild night.

“Who are you?

. “I’m Jake’s.” She answered, tilting her head to the side to mirror me. Her eyes moved over my straight auburn hair

and the short purple dress that hugged my full figure. I knew that look. She was writing me off as less than her. She shook her hair back away from her face and neck, exposing an angry looking bite mark on the side of her neck. “Well, I’m more than his girlfriend.”

ed hard. It wasn’t like I was in love with him but her words hurt. I cared about him. He was my boyfriend, even if things had been a little tense between us lately. The door to the bathroom swung open and steam swirled in the sunlit hallway. He had a towel wrapped low on his hips. His muscular chest was covered in scratches and there was a strange bite mark on the side of his neck that matched the one on her neck.

“Hey, little mate, are you ready for round-” He trailed off when he caught sight of me. His brown eyes went wide for just a moment before he started walking towards me. “Tillie”

I looked away from him. It felt like the air was sucked out of me. I opened my mouth, trying to think of something that I could say to him. Some way to hurt him like he had hurt me, but nothing came. It was like my mind went blank. I glanced over at Jake’s more than a girlfriend. Her cherry colored lips slid into a slow smirk and she crossed her arms beneath her breasts, making Jake’s shirt ride up her thighs and her breasts look bigger.

“Hey baby, I was just talking to your girlfriend.”

“Tillie,” Jake said, stopping in front of me. “I’m sorry. This wasn’t how I wanted you to find out.”

“Find out what, that you’re a cheater?” I asked. My eyes burned and I looked away from him. How could he be so calm about me catching him cheating?

“Tillie, it’s complicated.” Jake said, bringing his hands up and resting them on the tops of my arms. The more than a girlfriend let out a growl and my eyes widened. Jake tensed for just a moment, letting his hands fall to his sides. He tilted his head down to look at me. “Tillie Mason, I reject you.” ,

“Wh, what?” I stammered, wondering if I had heard him right.

“He rejects you, human.” More than a girlfriend snarled. “Get out.”

“Nicole.” Jake chided her. Before turning back to me. “Tillie, I’m sorry.”

I turned away from him, making my way to the door. I wasn’t going to give Jake and his more than a girlfriend any more time, they weren’t worth it. Hurrying down the stairs from his apartment building, I stomped over to my car, pressing the button on my key fob as I went. The lights flashed on my jeep and I made my way to the door. Opening it and slipping inside. I dragged my fingers through my hair. What an ass. If he had wanted to see other people, he could have told me, I would have let him go. I wasn’t the type of person that holds onto someone who doesn’t want me.

Maybe if I had actually loved Jake, but I didn’t. I knew that he wasn’t my endgame. He was just a distraction until I found my happily ever after.

My phone buzzed from inside my bag. I pulled it out, looking at the screen. I had a new text message. Swiping the screen open, I looked down at the message my best friend had sent me.

Charity: Drinks at Savage are half off. Come look at hot guys with me.

I nodded to myself. Drinks with my best friend sounded like a great plan. I texted her back, letting her know that I was on my way. I would tell her about what had happened with Jake and we could spend the night drinking and looking at pretty guys at the bar. That sounded better than my original plan, anyway.