Denied Mate by Roxie Ray
Liv
“Please, Olivia.” Mom squeezed her eyes shut and inhaled sharply. “Stop making the crystal sing.”
I snatched my finger from the rim of the wine glass and shared an amused grin with Ben as he forked roast chicken onto his plate.
My mother sighed like I’d released a chronic crick in her neck and straightened. “Thank you. How is that job of yours?”
Leave it to Lisa Burns to poke at a fresh wound. Friday night dinner at the family table was a ritual we’d been having since I was a kid, but it had become considerably more tense since Dad had passed away. Despite Mom’s insistence I keep attending them, it felt like she really didn’t want me there. Crystal singing aside, she’d always doted on the men in our life and tolerated me—sometimes barely. I’d been so close with Dad and having one good parental relationship was still more than a lot of people had. I should have been grateful.
“It’s going fine,” I lied with a big smile.
She cracked the swirled top of Duchess potatoes and hummed skeptically. “Fine?”
“No. Not fine.” I glanced at Ben, but he was focused on perfecting his gravy-to-chicken ratio. “I’m looking for something else.”
Mom let out a short noise and a huff of air out of her nose. Her lips tightened almost inscrutably, but I knew what it meant. It was the same look she gave when the PTA at Bridgehaven High proposed updating the sex ed curriculum, the neighbors got a little too creative with the topiary, or her book club accepted a new member. Lisa Burns did not approve.
“You don’t need to work, dear.” She smiled placatingly and passed me green beans.
“I do if I’m going to live in the real world.” I took a few beans and passed the rest to Ben.
His hands shook slightly as he took the plate, and he wouldn’t meet my gaze. It wasn’t like my brother to be so quiet at dinner. The stress of becoming the pack alpha must have been getting to him.
“The real world?” Mom laughed and gazed at Ben. “Why on earth would you want to live there?”
He managed a short snort and continued spooning beans onto his plate.
“Well, I have to live in the real world if I’m not living here.” It was a mistake, and I regretted saying it the moment it came out of my mouth.
“No one threw you out, Olivia. But while you’re here”—she leaned back to look toward the living room— “can you take some more boxes from the craft room?”
She meant my bedroom, which she’d started to redecorate two days after I’d signed the lease on my apartment. Two weeks before I moved out, she’d already wedged a sewing table between my dresser and my bed.
“Sure.” My apartment was already full, but what would some more hurt? Maren had happily taken a few lamps and tapestries I was going to throw out, maybe she’d have use for my old sweaters too.
“Benjamin, darling.” Mom’s voice slipped into genuine affection and she rubbed his arm. “How is everything with the rezoning project?”
He grunted, but his stoic act quickly crumbled under her gaze. The chair barely caught him as he slumped back and growled in frustration. “No one there will listen to me! Fuck, they probably still call me ‘Benny’ when I’m not there to hear it.”
I shot my eyes to the plate, hoping no one noticed how high my eyebrows raised. He was sounding more like a spoiled brat than a pack alpha. But what did I know? I couldn’t imagine Dad being so whiny when he’d first started out, but maybe he’d grown into his confidence over time. At least I had time to mourn our father. Ben had to fill the empty role immediately, or someone else would have.
“You need to command respect.” Mom tapped his hand like she was reminding him what day he had gym class. “Do whatever you need to assert your dominance.”
I cleared my throat. “I mean, maybe not anything.”
I didn’t love the idea of my brother ruling with an iron fist. Dad’s legacy was of peace and civil negotiation with neighboring packs and local witches. He’d managed to quietly escort a traveling band of fae through the territory when he was a young alpha. There was even a rumor about him wrangling a deal with the fae to stay out of our territory and away from the wolves after. But that was all way before I was born; I’d never even met a faerie. I sometimes wondered what it would be like. Were they like rogue wolves? More like witches? Or was the whole thing a story made up just to bolster my dad’s quiet dominance when he was still a new leader? Stories always grew over time; I supposed that wouldn’t surprise me, either.
Mom snapped her head to glare at me. “Olivia. You wouldn’t know the first thing about what it takes to lead a pack. Stay out of it.”
My face burned. Even after a lifetime of coldness from her and rarely a warm moment, it still stung. In some dimension, I was the type of daughter who would make her mother happy. In this one, I had no idea how to.
I gritted my teeth, lowered my eyes, and searched for something to get me through the rest of dinner while they talked strategy on how to force the older members to listen to a thirty-year-old’s idea of what to do with a well-established pack.
I wasn’t much of a daydreamer, but one thing was constantly poised to spring to mind. Calum Meyers. The dream had been so real, it was like he was still kissing my jaw, forcing my legs open, and sliding his fingers—
“Liv?” Ben kicked me under the table.
I hissed and rubbed my shin. “What? God, your alpha powers are coming in. That hurt.”
“How much do you know about your roommate?” His face was drawn.
“Maren? Why?” How long had I been thinking about Cal? Long enough to be completely lost in the conversation. “She was waitressing at the same place I got my first job.” She was one of the few women who were actually nice to me in that shitty diner; most of them took one look at my blonde hair and green eyes and assumed I’d poach all their tips—Spoiler alert, I didn’t. Being pretty only got you so far if you dropped a meal between the kitchen and the customer’s booth. “She started freelancing pretty soon afterwards, but it worked out just fine for us.”
“There’s something off about the girl.” Mom sipped her wine like the tannins would take the taste of Maren’s weirdness off her tongue. I frowned. My mother had seen Maren all of twice while I moved, and only because Maren was nice enough to help me lug some of my stuff from the family home to our apartment.
Ben frowned at me. “Is she from here?”
“Here like Massachusetts? Yeah, she’s from the North Shore.” I glanced between the two of them. “Oh, did you mean here, here? No. Why?”
Ben grunted. “She seemed really strange today. Nosy.”
“Oh.” I blew out a relieved rush of air. “That’s just her. She doesn’t have a filter, says whatever’s on her mind.” I waved a hand. “I think it’s a creative-type thing. One of her artist friends was like that when they came over for a weekend. Don’t take it personally.”
Mom and Ben shared a look I couldn’t read.
“If you’re worried about her finding out we’re wolves, don’t. She might seem nosy but she’s just talkative and curious. She respects boundaries.” I smiled, realizing I could actually call her a friend. “And we’ve been getting closer. She’s been really kind since Dad died.”
Mom squeezed her eyes shut and held her breath high in her chest.
Oh. Right. I’d fucked up, again. Mentioning Dad passing away wasn’t dinner table talk.
“Sorry,” I mumbled as a fist of shame dammed up my throat and a wave of grief swelled with no release.
“What do you think of adjusting the rezoning to take out more of the Westend but incorporate south of the highway?” Ben talked like he hadn’t noticed the tension. Maybe he hadn’t. Maybe he was above it now that he was the alpha. Maybe this was small potatoes to him, now. His life was completely unknowable and unrecognizable to me. I had to adjust to him being my alpha, not just my brother.
I slipped back into my daydream and got through the rest of the meal with thoughts of Cal. We’d built a fort under the dinner table when Mom was out getting groceries one rainy winter day. We must have been ten or eleven, old enough to know it was dorky for us to play with toys, but we were shameless when we were together and dragged my oversized toybox in there with us. It might have been right under my foot where we’d spilled the grape juice. I’d freaked out about how mad Mom would be, and Cal had tried to talk me down. When logic and reason didn’t work, he’d held me. With his gangly, long arms, he held me against his flat chest. I’d stopped hyperventilating and started crying. Grape juice on the rug, snot and tears on his shirt. He didn’t seem to mind. He just hugged me and rubbed my back as I shuddered and sobbed until I was exhausted and quiet. We lay together under the table for what felt like hours, the stain sinking deeper into the weave. The only sounds our breath, his heart, and the heavy thunk of the grandfather clock.
Mom had never noticed the spill.
Now at dinner almost a decade later, I dropped my napkin and ducked under the table to find the stain was still there, faded and hidden. But it was still there, after all this time. Just like the memory.
Fuck, I missed him so much. If only things had been different.
I offeredto pick up the dishes after dinner. Honestly, I could scarcely think of chores I liked less, but the red chrysanthemums sitting in the hallway clearly hadn’t done much to put me in my mother’s good graces. I’m not even sure she thanked me before she swept Ben aside into the sitting room, sipping espresso and sharing a fancy plate of cookies he wasn’t going to eat. He’d been obsessed with his image since he’d hit puberty.
I snorted. Honestly, a man who worked out as often as he did could stand to eat a few chocolate-covered cookies. It would probably do wonders for his mood.
Once the dishes were set in the drying rack, I dragged my feet down the hall. Mom and Ben were still talking. I wanted to get home but interrupting them wasn’t going to do me any good. I stopped to poke at the flowers I’d brought; maybe I hadn’t picked very good ones? They looked sort of crispy, come to think.
I glanced up and realized it was sitting under a photo of me and Dad. I couldn’t have been more than ten years old on that picture. Hell, I still had bangs! I smiled back at my younger self. I was holding up a sunfish like I’d just won the lottery. Dad had one arm around me with his own goofy grin. He’d been a serious man, but he’d never withheld a smile from me. It made my heart jump; it felt like it was beating sideways.
“Hm. I was thinking of redecorating the hallway.”
My mother’s voice made me jump. Apparently, she and Ben had finished their conversation. “Yeah?” I asked, looking around. “What are you going to do with it?”
“I haven’t decided,” she replied primly. “I just don’t need a photo gallery staring me down every time I walk in or out of this house.”
My brows rose. “What does that mean?” I glanced back at the photo. “You’re getting rid of these?”
She shrugged and looked down the hallway. “I have plenty of memories. I do not need constant reminders.”
My guts twisted. I get that she probably missed Dad more than anything. If there was anything worse than being rejected by your mate—and I still wasn’t convinced that there was—than it was losing him. Even if it wasn’t worse, it was still something terrible; something I wished I could only imagine, frankly. I grimaced. “Okay…” I said, mouth twisting. “If you aren’t keeping it, can I have it?”
She looked at the photo and then to me, brow raised. “You want this old thing? Olivia, you… Honestly, you look like a dork.”
“Wow, thanks, Mom.” My expression flattened and I reached out to lift the frame off the wall. “Yeah, I want it.”
She lifted a hand. “Whatever. Your choice,” she told me, and turned towards the kitchen. “Well, go get undressed for the pack run. And do not forget your boxes before you leave for the night, Olivia.”
I exhaled. At least I’d been dismissed, and still had most of my pride left intact.
At the very least,no one had ever tried to exclude me from the pack runs, even after I moved out of the family list. My mother had always been particular about who could join us and when, but her guest list had gotten even more exclusive after my father passed away. Admittedly, the Bridgehaven pack was a healthy average, and we had to be careful about our numbers or some human might actually catch a sight of a dozen wolves dashing through the woods, but still. What were the uninvited members supposed to do?
I flattened my ears as I trailed after my mother and Ben, a respectful length or two. My mother looked like she hadn’t aged a day, honestly, especially when she wore the chestnut brown of her wolf’s fur. She was on the smaller side for a wolf, but my brother absolutely dwarfed her. He used to look like a spitting image of my father, stony gray and lighter at the points; he was bulkier now. His shoulders and hips were wider; he was like a walking table. I wondered idly if that hurt, growing that much, but he’d never answer such a personal question. It was a shame I didn’t know any of the neighboring packs that well. Maybe I should have…
My pondering was interrupted by a cheerful bark. I glanced over and was greeted with a wolfish smile, bright golden eyes and perked ears. Harper! I recognized my high school friend immediately, slapping my paws down in a friendly play bow. Her plush gray tail swayed behind her as she pushed forward, rubbing her cheek against mine. She licked under my chin and I grabbed her jaw in a friendly gesture; it felt like I hadn’t seen her in forever.
Maybe the flowers for my mother had worked? It had been so long since my mom had invited any of my friends. No, that couldn’t be it. Maybe she just saw the benefit in inviting more people? I could hardly finish that thought without a chuff of laughter.
Well, I had no idea how Harper had gotten invited to this run when they were usually dominated by my mother’s nearest and dearest, but I had no real reason to look a gift horse in the mouth. My mother hadn’t asked me for anything, and I was just happy for a friendly face amongst the sea of regulars; several older wolves, graying around muzzles. Pack elders. They’d been elders as long as I’d know them. Jason and Bradley were new additions, but the pair of burly wolves were on the football team with Ben. Given how close they ran with him, I had to assume they’d taken on the roles of his enforcers. I recognized Hayden too; the tawny wolf wasn’t quite as hulking as the pair of enforcers, but he radiated an angry, aggressive sort of energy. I didn’t like how he looked at me, and I really didn’t like how he did anything Ben told him to do. Beta or not, I always thought each wolf should have his or her own mind.
Harper whined softly, bumping our shoulders together. Ben and my mother were already starting off. I’d never hear the end of it if I got left behind. I gave my friend a playful nip and jumped into a lazy jog, following easily as the pack rolled into a relaxed canter, and then broke into a dead run.
The funny thing about those huge burly wolves was that they weren’t very fast. They would need slender, speedy ones like me and Harper (or Lisa, if she ever lifted her own paw) to help them. Fortunately for them, dinner wasn’t on the menu; the deer of Bridgehaven were safe for another night. I didn’t mind. I was happy just to stretch my legs, even if it was no true use of my speed. I was happy to run shoulder to shoulder with someone I hadn’t seen in ages.
I should really keep in better touch with people. The thought followed me for the rest of the run.
“Hey, Liv.”Ben jogged to catch me at my car in the driveway. We had gone back to the family home to shift and redress. I hadn’t realized he followed me. “You okay?”
I stifled a yawn and did a double take, keys in hand. “I’m fine. Are you?”
He half-laughed and slid his hands into his khaki pockets. “Just wanted to make sure Mom didn’t scratch too deep early tonight. I noticed you hanging back during the run.”
I shrugged. If Mom wasn’t going to talk about Dad, I was hardly about to make her. I had enough problems to deal with. “I wanted to run with Harper. I haven’t seen her in a while. Besides, you seemed pretty out of it yourself. Where was my overprotective brother? Some grumpy guy came to the table in his place.”
He frowned and rubbed his neck. “Yeah, I know. I haven’t been myself lately. I’m sorry—”
“Ben. It’s fine.” I put a hand to my heart in oath. “I don’t need you to look after me anymore.”
A tight-lipped smirk told me he thought differently.
I rolled my eyes and slapped his arm. “C’mon, you know I hate how you hover. Go home.”
Ben, of course, hadn’t moved out of the Burns’ mansion entirely. He’d left his childhood bedroom for a self-contained studio at the back of the gardens. For some reason, his room remained a memorial to his youth, completely untouched by Lisa Burns’ redecorating habit, while mine was unrecognizable.
Not that I was bitter about it.
“You’re okay though, right?” He smoothed his hands over my shoulders and looked deep into my eyes. “Do you want to talk about Dad? You could come back to my place, I’ve got a bottle of that Burgundy pinot you like—”
“I promise, pinky swear, I’m totally okay.” I liked things going back to normal—Ben being the helicopter parent my actual guardians never were—but it didn’t do wonders for my self-esteem. I didn’t want to need him, or anyone else.
He squeezed my shoulders and squinted at me, but finally let go with a sigh. “All right. What’re you doing tonight? Making mayhem after hours?”
“Oh, you know me.” I winked as I twirled my car keys around my fingers. “I’ve always got a party to go to.”
Party of one,on my couch in my pajamas, with a tub of ice cream and Grey’s Anatomy. I kicked my feet up onto the ottoman, pulled on a cozy blanket of self-pity, and sank into frustration at the storyline that had truly jumped the shark. Shit, maybe I should have been a television writer. I could totally do that. I was searching for screenwriting courses on my phone when there was a knock on the door.
My wolf perked up. With a groan, I went to let in Maren—notorious forgetter of keys, phones, wallets, dates, and times. But it wasn’t my roommate at the door.
It was… Calum Meyers.
Broad-shouldered, dark-eyed, and out of breath. He could have literally walked straight out of my dream and right to my front door.
Except, he was…covered in blood.
I gripped the door and tried to get my mouth to work, but no words came out.
He grimaced apologetically and ran a hand through his close-cropped curls. It didn’t do much for the blood situation. God, he was more handsome than I’d remembered. I’d seen him across the street a few times, but I’d always made sure to go the other way. I needed as few reminders as possible. Hell, though. He looked divine now that I’d just stopped and looked. His boyishly round face had given way to high-cut cheekbones and a strong jaw, but he’d kept the full lips. Impossibly plump. Incredibly kissable.
Every inch of me sparkled with desire and I fought a deep, instinctual urge to throw my arms around him—or tear his shirt off and make my dream a reality.
“What are you doing here?” My voice came out hoarse and wavering. I grimaced.
He opened his mouth, quickly shut it again, and clenched his jaw. My gaze was locked by his amber eyes and my heart stammered as he sucked his bottom lip between his teeth.
As though deciding it had been a terrible idea to arrive on my doorstep with no warning—which it was, honestly—he turned. My hand shot out on its own and I grabbed him before he could leave. His frame had filled out, too. Like, really filled out. Warmth bolted up my arm and I struggled to stay upright as the world swayed, my whole body hit with a fuzzy feeling I hadn’t felt for… fifteen years.
He stared at my hand and I slowly peeled my fingers from his solid bicep.
“Whose blood is that?” I whispered. He stank. Fear, blood, sweat, adrenaline, testosterone. It wasn’t his blood, though…or not all his blood, at any rate. I could smell that much, at least.
He glanced behind me into the apartment, his eyes skirting over the scene like he was weighing up his options. “Can I come in?”
My wolf yipped and my mind reeled as I stepped back, and Calum Meyers stepped into my home. He seemed to be disoriented as well; he craned his neck to look up at the high ceilings, glanced wide-eyed at the designer furniture in the open-plan living room, and ran a hand over the marble kitchen countertop. I grimaced. I’d have to wash that before Maren showed back up.
He whistled quietly. “Reminds me of what life was like before your family kicked us out of the pack.”
I bit down the sting and rushed to wet a washcloth for him. “Are you injured? Do you need to go for a run?” Admittedly, I wasn’t sure why he’d come here if he needed to shift in order to heal, but I was hardly about to deny an injured wolf.
“No.” He stood beside me at the sink, his shoulder inches from mine. “It’s not my blood.”
“Should I ask?” My hand trembled as I held up the washcloth, ready to wipe the dark brown dried flecks from his cheek. What was I doing? This man had sworn to ruin my life if I bothered him, but here he was, standing in my kitchen and making small talk.
His throat bobbed and his eyes caught mine again in the dim light. “Someone attacked my mom.”
So much for small talk.
I squeezed my eyes shut tight as a chill ran through me. Christine Meyers had always been nice to me, even after Dad had expunged her and Cal from the pack. Despite the bullying, harassment, and loss of income, she’d scraped by and stayed in Central Bridgehaven so Cal could finish school—the heartbreaking years where I’d had to see him every day and actively shun him. At least until he’d dropped out, anyways.
But Christine had always smiled and waved whenever she saw me across the street, even if Cal was scowling.
Now he wrapped his strong hand around mine, snapped me back into the present, and slowly took the washcloth out of my grip. My pulse hammered in my ears.
“Is she okay?” I watched as he washed off most of the blood, then pointed to a spot beside his ear that he’d missed.
He wiped at his cheek, missed again, and I touched his skin just beside his ear to show him where it was. Electricity sparked my fingertip and I pulled back quickly, but he didn’t seem to notice. Or if he did, he didn’t flinch.
“Ma’s in the hospital.” He wiped off the last fleck of blood and rinsed the washcloth out in the sink. “I hate to ask but I need your help.”
“Anything.” The word came out fast, punched out of my throat by remorse. I’d been too young at the time to have any influence over pack politics but maybe I could have done something…
As soon as the thought surfaced, it faded away again. Resisted the word of the pack alpha? Yeah. Right. I couldn’t do that even now.
He let out a heavy breath and leaned back against the counter. “I need you to get your brother to call off whoever attacked my mom.”
I startled. “Ben? You don’t think he had something to do with this?”
He gave me a strange look and shook his head. “Probably not. But someone’s after her and she needs protection.”
“You don’t really think Ben would…” I didn’t want to finish the sentence. My wolf rumbled with concern.
“I don’t know what to think, okay? I don’t know shit about who attacked her or why. Look, she can’t even shift to heal herself. I just... I just want someone to look out for her.” He paused and inhaled slowly, staring at his hands. “I came to you because I’m desperate. She’s all I have.”
I didn’t think my chest could hurt so bad. I wanted to help so fiercely, but I felt like I was thirteen years old again, tiny and helpless and having to follow my dad’s orders to stay away from Cal. Hell, I didn’t owe this man anything. He’d rejected me. Hadn’t given me a second thought, hadn’t checked on me in fifteen years, and here he was, asking for my help again.
My wolf whined, caught somewhere between the old sting of rejection and the possibility of reconnection. She stirred and my head pounded.
Dad was gone now. Cal was standing right there, asking me for help. He came here of his own free will. No one made him, right? And wasn’t I trying to be stronger and more independent? Make a difference?
“I don’t know what I can do.” I wrapped my arms around my middle, shoulders slumping. “I mean, I can try.”
“I just want you to try. I mean, I’ve got contacts, but I can’t get rogue wolves to patrol a hospital in the middle of Bridgehaven without starting a war.” He chuckled, and even though it was short and sarcastic, the sound of it still melted my insides.
I’d missed it so badly.
He waved his hand around like my apartment was a piece of evidence. “You have a say over what happens in Bridgehaven. And we were friends once, weren’t we? Has to count for something. I can’t… I can’t lose her, you know?”
I narrowed my eyes. We were friends once? Yeah, sure, but where the hell had that been in the last fifteen years? And what was it he said to me when we spoke last? We aren’t anything. I knew he was desperate, but… It still stung. “Yes. Of course.” I tried to shake the past out of my head and looked past the false assumption that my apartment meant anything about whether my family listened to me. “Of course, I’ll do whatever I can. I mean, I will make sure she’s looked after. You can count on it.” If nothing else, it would be good to prove I could do something right.
I nodded to myself, and then nodded again. Good. Yes. Something I could use my position in the alpha family for. Putting my privilege to use by protecting someone’s life was exactly what I wanted. And if it helped even the balance of wrongs between the Burns and the Meyers, then even better. My mom might not agree, but Cal’s family had been through enough.
A sudden knock made us both jump. My wolf bolted back to the surface and I barely trapped a surprised yelp in my throat. I really needed to get out of my own head! Cal stood on guard, sniffed the air, and balled his hands into fists.
“It’s okay.” I soothed him with a hand on my shoulder. “It’s late. It’ll be my roommate.”
I sniffed before I opened the door this time and was relieved that I was right. Maren stood in the doorway, her wet hair sticking to her face and her shirt drenched.
“Thanks, Liv. Forgot my keys.” She shrugged and slipped inside. “And it’s raining! Was it forecast? I didn’t see anything on the news this morning and didn’t take an umbrella. Or those cute rain boots I bought, you know, with the flowers all over them? And—”
Maren fell silent and looked Cal over with wide eyes.
“Cal, this is my roommate, Maren.” I swept my hand in introduction. “Maren, this is Cal. My, uh…”
He kept his gaze on Maren but his eye twitched.
“Sorry, Liv, I didn’t realize you had company. Gosh, you’ve had a lot of company today!” Maren pushed her hair behind her ears and smiled brightly at Cal. “Hi. I’m Maren. I guess she just said that. Hah! Well, it’s nice to meet you.”
“Hey.” Cal cleared his throat and ran a hand over the light scruff on his cheek. “I was just leaving.”
Before I could talk him into staying, he was already at the door. I snatched an umbrella from the stand and chased him out into the hall, where he stopped by the elevators.
“I’ll talk to Ben.” I rushed to catch up and offered him the umbrella. “I’ll let you know what he says.”
Our fingers grazed as he took it and I struggled not to think about my dream, the way he’d pressed me open…
“Thanks, Liv.” He finally smiled.
Shit. It was brighter and more charming than I’d expected. Gone were the goofy, teasing grins. Now he was all teeth and crinkles by his eyes. Confident. Fucking sexy.
“I really appreciate it.” He squeezed my shoulder and all sense drained from my brain.
I managed to hum and nod, and he slowly eased away. I blinked, watching his broad shoulder press open the door to the stairwell, and then he was gone. I strained, listening to the fading sound of footsteps. My wolf gave a dramatic sigh and flopped back down, disappointed.
Wow. I blinked again, not entirely certain I wasn’t having another vivid dream about him. But it must have been real. I could smell him in the hallway—his scent had matured from musky preteen wolf to a unique astringent pine sap and deep oak I couldn’t get enough of. I took a deep breath and held it as I slipped back inside.
“So…” Maren sat on the edge of the counter, eating cookie dough out of the tube. “Who is Cal? And would you like to tell me why he looked like he’d just lost a fight?”
I huffed and hurried to grab my ice cream before it completely melted all over the ottoman. “Just a guy I know from back in school.” Damn. I was really glad I’d dabbed that blood from his face before Maren had shown up. And I was also glad that she was just a human. Imagine if she could smell him? Or me?
“Uh huh…” She swung her legs and giggled. “Are you two reconnecting?”
“No. Yes.” I scowled at her. “I don’t know.” At least she wasn’t asking about the fight.
She wiggled her eyebrows wildly as I dumped the melted ice cream into the sink.
“Well, the room was so charged, it could have powered an electric vehicle,” she said with authority.
I groaned and slumped against the counter with a sigh. I rubbed my face as my promise to Cal yanked my mood way, way down. How the hell was I going to make sure Christine was watched over? I was flattered that Cal thought I had much sway over the goings-on in Bridgehaven but I really, truly didn’t. It only showed how out-of-the-loop he was, that he thought my getting involved would be anything but problematic.
Maren held up one of her dainty hands in defense. “Okay, you don’t want to talk about it. I’m just pathologically curious! Let’s go with my other question. Is there a reason his clothes were covered in blood? Costume party? You know I love a reason to dress up, we should go.”
Telling Maren what had gone down was out of the question. To humans, Bridgehaven was just another small town whose local politics were concerned with where the school crosswalks were located and how many people we expected to show up at the Halloween Fete each year—not the life and death, blood and bone dealings of pack life. And she certainly didn’t know I was caught up in it as the sister of the new pack leader.
“Trust me, Maren.” I grabbed my keys and headed for the door. “He’d just lost a fight, like you said. If I had a party to go to, you’d be the first to know.”
