Chapter One
The taxi pulled up outside Seb’s flat just as his phone started to ring. No doubt it was Jared checking he’d got home okay. A quick glance at the screen confirmed it. He’d also managed to miss a text from his sister, and he opened it to read while the driver fiddled with his meter.
Forgot to let you know we got here. Sorry. Hotel fab, nightlife fab, chat soon xx
Seb grinned at the screen, more than a little jealous, but glad she was having fun.
“That’s twenty-two fifty.” The driver pointed at the meter and then looked back at him expectantly.
Seb shoved his phone in his pocket and pulled out his wallet instead. It took two attempts to get the right money out; his head spun as he tried to focus on the notes. Bloody Jared and his insistence onjust one more drink. “Here you go.” He handed over a twenty and a five. “Keep the change.”
His phone rang again as he climbed out of the cab and almost lost his footing on the slippery pavement. The rain had only just stopped, leaving the smooth concrete a little hazardous—stupid British summers. In hindsight, the shoes he’d worn weren’t one of his better decisions. The soles had virtually no grip—and it had nothing to do with the fact he was drunk.
“You all right there?” The driver had his window half-down, smirking as Seb gingerly took another step.
Seb waved him off with a laugh. “Yeah, thanks.”
As long as he could get from the kerb to his front door without breaking his neck, he’d be golden. He waited for the guy to drive off before attempting the walk up the steps—no point in embarrassing himself further. If he had to fall on his arse, he’d rather do it without witnesses.
With a sigh of relief, he unlocked his front door, thankful he didn’t have a shared entrance considering the state he was in, and he half walked, half fell inside, kicking the door shut behind him as his phone rang again.
“Shit.” Jared, probably doing his nut. Seb answered on the third ring. “Sorry!” he cut in before Jared had a chance to speak. “I’m home. Don’t get your knickers in a twist.”
Jared huffed in his ear. “Fuck off. You know why I’m calling.” He sighed again.
Seb slumped onto the bottom step of the stairs and closed his eyes.
While taking over Jared’s flat had seemed a good idea at the time, two months down the line, being this close to Primrose Hill pack territory made Jared—and Nathan to some extent—twitchy. Their alpha, Steven Newell, was not exactly friendly.
Another sigh from Jared’s end. “Why didn’t you answer the bloody phone, then? I was two seconds away from coming over there.”
Seb rolled his eyes. That was all he needed—Jared, Nathan, and probably Luke turning up and making a scene. “I was just getting out of the taxi when you called, and then I slipped. I’m just drunk, J, not in mortal peril. No need to call in the cavalry.” He stood and quickly grabbed onto the banister when the hallway spun around him. “Shit. I really need to get to bed.”
Or maybe to the bathroom… that last pint sat heavily in his stomach, giving every indication that it might well come back up. “Call you later, okay?”
Very carefully, Seb turned round and began to climb the stairs, still holding his phone next to his ear.
“Yeah. Just….”
Slowly, one step at a time, Seb carried on upwards while he waited for Jared to make his point and go already.
Something scraped across the outside of the front door and Seb froze midstep, suddenly feeling a lot more sober.
It sounded again.Louder this time.
“What was that?” Nathan’s voice.
Seb frowned down at his phone screen, momentarily distracted from whatever was outside. “Where’d Jared go?”
“Still here. You’re on speaker.”
Ugh.“You know I hate it when you do that without telling me.”
“Yeah, sorry. But seriously, what the fuck was that?”
Jared’s voice was far too serious for Seb’s liking.Imagine if he knew it wasn’t the first time I heard that sound?“Nothing. Just the wind, probably.”
“Really? Because Nathan thought it sounded a lot like—”
