Or we could dress up as pizza delivery guys. Or missionaries.
PLAGUE
Absolutely not. A hard no to any of that.
WHISKEY
BORING.
Ivy hands the phone back to me, her fingers brushing mine. "They're sweet," she says, returning to her nest-building. "Trying to help."
I watch her for a moment, that twist in my gut settling into something sharper. Not jealousy. Not exactly. But awareness that she'll soon know them better. The entire pack. Her matches.
And then what?
Will she still want the monster who can't speak?
She has to have a better idea of what I look like.
But feeling my face through fabric isn't as terrifying as seeing it. I know this because I can stomach touching it with my mask on, but I can't stomach looking.
And it's my own fucking face.
"What do you think?" she asks, dragging me out of my thoughts.
I look up. Her eyes are bright as she tucks one of my shirts into a corner of the nest. She gestures to her work.
The sight hits me harder than expected. My bed transformed. My shirts and blankets woven together with her few possessions.
A home.
Not just mine anymore.
S-L-E-E-P… T-H-E-R-E?I sign, pointing to the nest.
"With you," she says without hesitation. "If you want to."
Want to?
I've never wanted anything more.
But the thought of Valek downstairs pulls me in two directions. Need to protect her. Keep the threat away.
I pick up my phone again. Find the app for a nearby omega supply store. Download it. Show her the screen.
Her eyes widen. "We can place an order?"
I nod, then start fingerspelling before realizing it would be easier to just type something that complicated.Can send others to pick up. Safer. Thane and me. Or Plague and Whiskey.
"Which would you prefer?" she asks.
I hesitate, then type,Plague and Whiskey. Can stay with you. Protect.
Her gaze softens. She pats the bed and I sit beside her, careful not to disturb her nest. She shifts closer to me, leans against my arm, rests her cheek on my shoulder.
"You think Valek is dangerous," she says. Not a question.
I nod. Then sign what's been weighing on me since she revealed who she was running from.
