I glanced out the window and realized Archer and Joy were still sitting in the truck.
Noah shut the front door with a dramatic slam and shouted a few profanities at them.
Ashamed of his behavior, I gave a disheartened wave through the window before opening the fridge, straightening the contents, and preparing a feast.
Chapter 13
After Archer and Joy left, I served a delicious dinner. Noah preferred his steak medium-rare, and I cooked his meal to perfection. All of that, of course, was not to pretend we didn’t have a dysfunctional relationship. It was a matter of survival. The best way to avoid a fight was to do the things he liked.
Not saying a word, for one.
I smiled apologetically and let him do all the talking while internally mortified that Archer and Joy had witnessed everything. It was akin to someone seeing your dirty laundry on the floor or discovering you were a hoarder. Wolves were confident and strong, and they were undoubtedly shaking their heads and gossiping about me. Archer was probably saying how foolish I was to have spent all that money without permission.
“I’m glad we’re getting out of this town,” Noah said, reiterating my fear that we really were actually moving. “That other job offer fell through, but I’ve got something else lined up. It won’t pay as much, but it’s just temporary. Now I can keep my eye on you.” After swallowing another bite, he said, “Your friend showed up at my job last night. Did he tell you that? He tried to maul me.He’s lucky I didn’t shift. My tiger would have ripped through that soft neck and killed him instantly.” Noah finished his second steak, which he’d taken from my plate to teach me a lesson. “I don’t want you seeing those people again. Do you hear me?”
After that, I didn’t speak the rest of the night. I wondered how I could get out of this. It wasn’t the first time I’d thought about leaving, but I kept trying to make it work. Time and time again, he would convince me that things would be different. And they were… for a while.
But my circumstances had changed. Before, I didn’t have a cent to my name. Now that my father’s books were selling, I had options. Or I did… until Noah insisted I hand over all the money.
The next morning, Noah instructed me to get everything out of the house and refunded before he got home. When I argued I didn’t have a car, he pointed out that I didn’t have any problem getting all that shit in the house to start with, so I could figure it out.
At work, the hours blurred by as I sold books, greeted customers, and struggled with a pounding headache for most of the day. The uncertainty of what to do about the gifts loomed like an ominous cloud, especially after he’d spent all morning convincing me that I had no loyalty or respect for him.
Was he right? What did people do in relationships? My father had never been in one, so what did I have to go by? A romance novel? A television show? And those were fictional human experiences, not Breed.
And certainly not Shifter.
No one from the Arrowhead pack came by the store. Maybe Joy didn’t want to associate with me anymore. Even more plausible, she might not have wanted to get involved with a woman whose boyfriend had an explosive temper. What if I had gotten her in trouble with her Packmaster for being the one who encouraged me to spend?
Noah planned to pick me up at eight, and I’d procrastinated myself into a corner. None of the retail stores did pickups. Hopefully after cooling off, Noah would see the light and change his mind about the gifts.
When it was near closing time, I jumped at a figure looming outside the door. Archer touched his palm to the glass.
After unlocking the door, I asked, “What are you doing here?”
“We’re all up at the Rabbit Lounge. I walked over to check on you.”
Stepping back, I let him in. Coconut wafted from his skin as he breezed by. Archer had on a black tee and sweatpants. His hair was styled forward and swished upward. I liked how his undercut allowed me to see his face. Archer had a genuine smile and warm demeanor, but behind his eyes, I sensed pain. It was as if I could see the light and the dark in a single glance.
“I’m sorry about last night. Noah doesn’t like surprises. He didn’t mean any of those things he said to you. That was my fault.”
“You didn’t do a damn thing.”
I tilted my head to the side, eyes closing for a moment.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“My head is killing me. Probably from sleep deprivation.”
He placed his fingertips on my temple. Then in a circular motion, he massaged. “Feels like a lot of tension. Have you been clenching your jaw? Relax. Open your mouth.”
“What?”
“Just do it. Relax your jaw.”
When I complied, he moved his fingers around like a Relic examining me.
“Yep. Just as I thought,” he declared. “You have a serious case of Archeritis. That’s what happens when you’re exposed to anexcessive amount of Archer Swift. It happens to the best of them.”
