Kiss An Alpha novel Chapter 5

"Alright, let's start," Marcella said, breaking the awkward silence.

"What do you mean, they're the same thing?" I snapped. "They are two very different words-they're not even synonyms!"

"Yeah, but one leads to another!" Mason argued. "Macbeth wanted power, so he became ambitious!"

I scoffed. "Maybe that would be useful if we were looking for two themes! But if you knew what we were doing, you'd realize that we need to first figure out a central theme! 'A' as in one, dumbass."

Forty minutes in, this was the third argument that Mason and I had gotten into, and definitely the most heated.

"Don't call me a dumbass you prick! Just because I don't agree with you doesn't mean you're right! And you hardly know me enough to tell me I'm dumb!"

"Except I am right, and you are dumb. I don't have to know you to realize that!"

"K..." Cella warned, a scolding look on her face.

"Hey, if you won't say it, I will!" I said shamelessly. I turned back to Mason, eyes narrowed in a glare that I knew intimidated him, whether he'd admit it or not. "Anyone will tell you that the main theme in Macbeth is ambition. I learned that in sixth fucking grade! If you weren't such an absolute idiot-"

"You know what?" Mason stood abruptly, his fists clenched at his sides. "I'm so fucking sick of you! What the hell did I do to you, man? You think you know everything but you don't! If you think I'm so wrong about goddamn Macbeth, you could tell me like a mature adult instead of screaming and throwing a temper tantrum like a little fucking girl!"

I rose slowly to my feet, enjoying the way Mason's jaw clenched at my nonchalant demeanor. "Honestly I'm hurt, I really am," I mocked, placing a hand over my heart. "You want me to be a mature adult? I will when you will."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Mason snarled, and I could tell he was about ready to jump me.

"I'm talking about the fact that you can't take the project seriously for two minutes before you're back to batting your eyes at Cella!"

I internally scolded myself for losing my demeanor. Once my cool was gone, so was my control over the situation, and I couldn't win without control. "What, you jealous?" Mason smirked.

"Oh so now we're using middle school remarks, are we?"

Mason's nostrils flared and, for a moment, I thought I'd gotten my control back. Then he said, "You know what, Kieran? I think you're onto something with the whole 'judging someone without knowing them' thing. I've only known you since this morning, and I've already got it figured out that you're nothing but a petty little son of a bitch who thinks he's got the world wrapped around his fingers. News flash-you're not special. You're just another attention seeking coward who can't tell his ass from a hole in the ground."

"Back to the seventh grade comebacks I see?" I scoffed. I tried to maneuver around Mason, but me moved to block my step. "I'm leaving."

"No you're not," Mason insisted. He crossed his arms over his chest and I wished I could wipe the smug look off of his face.

"You wanna try and stop me?" I narrowed my eyes challengingly.

"I'm doing pretty good at it so far, so, yeah," Mason said, smirking.

I'd had enough. I knew I shouldn't, but I shoved him, hard. He stumbled back, out of the doorway, and stared at me in shock. He hadn't been expecting me to be so strong, I could tell.

Instead of celebrating my small victory, I stormed past him into the hall. I jerked back abruptly when a strong hand gripped my wrist, forcing me to a stop. I tried to pull away, but he had an iron grip.

That didn't make any sense. My strength was supposed to be greater than any average mortal's. "What the hell, man?" I snapped to cover up my surprise. "Let go!"

I bit back a gasp when Mason pulled me to him so that we were only inches apart. "Listen here," he growled in that animalistic way of his. I could see a vein popping in his neck and, as if of their own accord, I felt my fangs slide out. That never happened-I'd grown to be able to control them over the years. Yet I couldn't force them back; something about the heartbeat I could hear pounding in his chest and the blood I could sense flowing through his veins was extremely appealing. Suddenly, I realized I was very hungry; I hadn't had a proper drink in days. I found myself focusing more on controlling my urges than listening to what he was saying. "You might not know much about working with others, but you don't back out on your group."