Chapter 25

Landon and I got to the pack house at around 6:30 and I was dreaming of jumping into my warm bed and sleeping until the afternoon tomorrow. I parked Knox's car in the garage and Landon and I entered the pack house, the smell of chicken overcoming our sense of smell.

"I guess Steve is cooking dinner tonight." Landon said his arm linked through mine.

"Steve Orth?" I questioned with disbelief, remembering the middle aged man that was shy and unsocial.

"Yea. About a year after you left, he finally stepped out of his shell and offered to cook a meal for the pack. Little did everyone know that he was an amazing cook!" Landon said as we walked toward the kitchen.

I shook my head in disbelief. I guess a lot has changed here since I left.

Porter was standing right by the entrance of the kitchen, leaning against the wood.

"Hey Porter" I pulled him into a hug as Landon walked off.

"Hey Hazel, where were you today?" Porter said, looking at me.

"Just visiting family and friends, I'm soo exhausted!" I made my words so very dramatic, making Porter chuckle. "What did you do today?" I said, bringing the attention to him.

"I trained, watched TV, and found my mate." Porter said nonchalantly

"YOU FOUND YOUR MATE!" I yelled jumping up and down.

"Shhh!" Porter said laughing.

"That is so exciting! Who is she?" I asked, giving him a hug out of excitement.

"Her name is Courtney and she is the most beautiful woman on Earth." Porter said with stars in his eyes, his smile up to his ears.

Courtney. Oh shit.

"You don't mean Courtney Martin, do you?" I asked, feeling my stomach drop.

"Yes, have you met her?" Porter asked looking down at me with glee.

Oh jeez. To hear anyone call Courtney the most beautiful on Earth made me want to barf.

"Hell yeah I know her! Not to be a horrible friend of anything, but she is a disgusting human being!" I said without thinking. I clamped my hands over my mouth, widening my eyes.

Porter laughed, which caught me off guard as I slowly lowered my hands. "Come on Hazel! It's been two years, people do change you know? Come with me, I will bring you to her." He grabbed onto my arm and started pulling me.

I stood my ground and made it incredibly hard for him to pull me. He looked at me with annoyed amusement.

"I don't want to go see her." I stated.

"Please Hazel. I just want you to see her, she's a kind person." He tried to reassure me.

It didn't work, but I wanted to be there for one of my best friends. I just nodded stiffly and followed him through the group of people.

I saw many familiar faces, but didn't stop to say hello.

Then I saw Courtney.

She was wearing high heels, a mini skirt, and a very tight tank top. It was the most cliché outfit that she could have picked.

I scoffed, earning a glare from Porter. I rolled my eyes and smiled at him.

As we got closer Porter let go of me and walked toward Courtney, who had her back to us.

He went behind her and kissed her on the cheek. A high pitched squeal came from Courtney, I just about ran away after that.

"Sweetie, I want to re-introduce you to someone." I heard him whisper.

She turned around and we caught sight of each other.

We both just looked at each other, my face probably being more bored and hers was definitely more shocked.

I saw her face twitch a little bit, but then she pulled herself together and put an overly fake smile on her face.

"Hazel! Oh my god!!!" She yelled shuffling towards me.

She tried to hug me, but I quickly took a step back.

"Don't touch me Courtney." I said, low enough for only her to hear.

She looked stunned for a split second but quickly tried to hide her embarrassment. "Don't you remember me Hazel?" She asked through her teeth, looking at me sternly, obviously not wanting me to make her look bad in front of Porter.

I looked at Porter and saw the love in his eyes as he was looking at Courtney. I didn't understand it, but they were mates and I guess that was a good enough reason for me to fake forgive and try to forget.

"Of course I remember you Courtney." I replied with sarcastic sweetness, an innocent smile on my face.

"Fantabulous! I missed you sooooo much." Courtney replied with the same tone that I had used.

Yeah, she had definitely not changed over the years. I forced myself not to roll my eyes and try to be civil.

"That's great Courtney." I said as Porter came up behind Courtney and hugged her from behind.

"Isn't she just great?" Porter said leaning Courtney's head toward him and kissing her on the lips. After they stopped kissing Courtney looked, dare I say it, happy and fully in love with Porter.

Even the most evil person on the planet gets a happy ever after.

"I'm very happy for you both, but I better go see other people." I smiled, mostly to the fact that I had found a way out of this horrible meeting.

I walked away and searched for anyone else.

I found my way to the kitchen and saw Steve hovering over the stove.

His deep grey hair was a bit longer and curlier than I remembered and he had thick scruff on his face.

"Hi Steve" I grabbed his attention. "Remember me?"

He looked up and I caught his brown eyes.

"Is that you Hazel?" He asked with a grin forming.

Although he was an "outsider" to the pack, I had a couple conversations with him because he was friends with my dad.

I laughed and gave him a hug. "I hear that you are quite the cook." I said smiling and looking down at the food on the stove.

"I guess..." Steve said shyly. He was a very humble person.

"I am very excited to see what you have prepared. Who's coming?" I asked

"Only the people that stay in the pack house. If any more people came, there would be no food left." He chuckled at his joke, I chuckled along.

"So you didn't advertise this meal?" I joked along.

He just shook his head and laughed.

"When's it going to be ready?" I questioned, standing by the door.

"Right now, actually. Could you go tell everyone?" He stirred one of his huge pots.

"Sure" I said, and then walked out.

I headed toward the living room, which was where everyone was socializing. But soon felt the presence of Knox on my left side.

I looked over to see Knox looking really handsome with a tight black t-shirt that showed off his muscles, and khaki shorts.

"Hi Hazel. How was your day today?" Knox asked, surprisingly kind.

"It went well." I said with suspicion. "How was yours?"

"Great. Did you like my car?" He looked into my eyes and I got lost in his deep blue eyes.

Next thing I knew, I was being shoved lightly and heard Knox's laughter.

"What the hell Knox?" I yelled, watching him laugh at me.

"You were zoned out! I was just trying to help." He laughed out.

I turned around to leave, since he was annoying me, but he grabbed my arm, shooting sparks through my arm.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to make fun of you." Knox said, chuckling a bit.

I just pursed my lips and looked at him.

"So tell me how you liked my car!" Knox said putting his hand on my lower back and leading me toward the living room.

I tried to focus on what he was asking me but his hand was spreading warmth all throughout my back. I took a moment to think before I replied, feeling his gaze down on me.

"Oh, I loved it! Aston Martin Vanquishes are one of my favorite cars of all time!" I got excited just talking about it.

Knox didn't reply so I looked up at him to see a shocked expression.

"What?" I raised an eyebrow.

"I just didn't think that you'd know that much about cars." Amusement in Knox's expression

"Well you don't know me that well." I stated as we got into the living room

"I wish I did." Knox said looking at me.

I just stared at him as he stared at me. I decided to ignore what he said.

"Steve said that dinner is ready." I said and walked away.

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So what do you think about Porter and Courtney? Especially after what happened with Courtney and Knox during his POV???