I sniffle, wiping my eyes. I remind myself of what Damon did and why I’ll never be part of the Silverwood Pack, filling with shame that I sought comfort in their scent. I need to shower their scent off. I have to treat it like any other addiction.
“Faye?” I’m drying off after a long soak when Sabs calls from the other side of my bedroom door. “I’m going out for food, and you’re coming with me. I’m not taking no for an answer.”
I groan and pad to the door, opening it an inch. “I really don’t feel up to it.”
“You haven’t eaten properly for days. After a heat, it’s important that you keep your strength up. You can’t live on Delilah’s desserts forever. We’re going out. My treat.”
Sensing she won’t give up, I look down at my loose gray hoodie with holey sleeves. “Should I change?”
“You’re fine as you are.” She flaps her hand. “Just throw on a pair of sneakers, and we’ll be off.”
I do as she asks then pop on my sunglasses to cover my puffy eyes. “Are Delilah and Kady joining us?”
“They have other plans.” I’m surprised by Sabs’s reply since neither of them mentioned anything to me earlier. “It’s just the two of us. Now come on. Get your tush in the cart!”
She practically drags me out of the house and into the waiting golf cart. As soon as I clip on my seat belt, she hurtles off at full speed.
“Where are we heading?”
Her usual sweet cherry smell is tarter than usual. “Just a little place I know. Oh, come on!” She beeps incessantly at a stop light. “Change already! There’s no one here!”
“Are you okay?” I eye her. “You seem on edge.”
“Oh, don’t worry about me.” She honks the horn again. “I’m just dandy!”
I hang onto my seat as she swerves around the next bend. As we drive along the road next to the lake, my gaze strays to the other side, to the beach houses where the bonded packs live. Stupidly, I find myself romanticizing what it would be like to live there with the Silverwoods. I can visualize it so clearly: Laz playing ball on the beach, Ren reading underneath an umbrella, Cole managing to look sexy as hell while donning an apron and flipping burgers on the barbecue, and Damon… Thwack! Sabs’s red hair catches the wind and slaps me in the face. If that isn’t a sign from the universe to pull myself together, I don’t know what is.
We drive in silence down the main street, passing all the usual bars and restaurants, continuing until we’re right on the edge of campus. Fields I remember seeing on my bus ride in stretch out ahead.
“Is it a food festival or something?” I squint to get a better look at a lone giant tent in the middle of a field. It’s eerily quiet, the road completely dead. “Maybe you got the wrong day?”
Sabs pulls to a stop next to a gate adjacent to the structure. “So I have a confession?—”
Before she can explain, I spot Laz standing in the tent’s entrance. His scent carries on the breeze, making my chest tighten.
“What’s he doing here?”
“I know you’re mad at the Silverwoods, and you have every right to be,” she babbles. “All they want is for you to hear them out. If you listen to them and want to walk away, they’ll respect it. But I really think you should listen. I’ll be waiting right here.”
“But you know what Damon did.”
The guys betrayed me, and now Sabs? I thought being an omega herself that she’d understand.
“It’s not what you think, Faye.” She must see the panic in my eyes. “Do you really think I’d have brought you here if I thought you were in danger? You need to hear the full story, the parts Damon didn’t tell you.”
When I dare to glance at Laz again, he waves sheepishly, his lopsided grin making my heart flip.
“I guess I’m here now,” I mumble. “I may as well hear them out. But if I want to go?—”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Sabs promises, squeezing my arm in encouragement. “I’ll be right here the whole time.”
I gulp and nod, shakily getting out of the cart. The walk seems to take forever, my legs turning to jelly with each step.
“Thank you for agreeing to talk,” Laz says when I finally reach him. “We’ve missed you.”
“I didn’t know exactly what I was signing up for.” I don’t meet his gaze. “I can’t stay long.”
When he doesn’t reply, I look up, taken aback by how sad he looks. My gut reaction is to apologize until I remember that they’re in the wrong. They lied to me.
