“About fucking time…” The words were as faint as the breeze, loud enough that I’d know they were there, soft enough that I couldn’t call him on it. As the grinding of my teeth rang hollowly in my head, I reminded myself I was keeping him close so that Irian would be safe.
I stripped and tossed my clothes inside, shifted and headed off without waiting for Sharkey. The rustling in the grass told me he was close behind.
Chapter 20
TOSCA
I fingered the collar around my neck, running my index finger over the soft, lightly frayed edge and underneath where it brushed against my throat. The leather was supple; the surface slightly cracked in places and a little dry. I’d need to oil it, to keep it in good condition. I ran my finger along it, thinking of the alpha who’d given to me. The buckle was cool against the back of my neck, a constant reminder.
My reflection smiled back at me.
“You’re not in there again, are you Tosca?” demanded an impatient voice outside the bathroom door. “C’mon, you’re not the only one who wants to use the restroom!”
I sighed. I had been in here at least ten times this evening. I knew I was being ridiculous, but I’d never belonged to anyone before, and I liked seeing the tangible reminder of it. I hadn’t had a chance to tell Owen about it because there’d been no chance for a private discussion since I’d gotten back. We’d passed each other in the house several times, but he hadn’t been alone, and each time I’d looked away, afraid my face would give away my secret.
“Coming!” I called back and flushed the toilet even though I hadn’t used it. I ran the taps and splashed water on my face, taking one last look at the flushed, heated image looking back at me. Goddess, I was so gone for that man! It was a wonder everyone couldn’t see it.
I kept my head down as I exited, Irvin brushing past me with a muttered“Goddess!”
I hurried out to the kitchen and started helping out with preparations for the next day’s meals. Dinner had been served in the food hall already, but we liked to get ahead with the prep for the next day while the others were serving and cleaning up.
Moments later, a chopping board thumped onto the bench beside mine, and I felt a solid presence at my shoulder. I didn’t need to turn my head to know it was Owen, we were so close I’d recognize his scent anywhere. He always smelled of sunshine and pine. It was a happy, hopeful scent that perfectly complemented his cheery nature.
“Hey, what’s going on with you?” he kept his voice low. There was no-one close enough to hear him over the rhythmicchop-chop-chopof our knives slicing through the vegetables.
“Uh, wh-what to do you mean?”
“Come on, Tosca, I know you. I’m your best friend. You can’t hide stuff from me. Something’s going on, you’ve been weird since you got back from seeing that alpha. But you keep smiling, so Iknowit’s not bad.”
I paused the knife mid-stroke and looked around. The kitchen was filled with the buzz of conversations, the clattering of pans in the sink and pots on the stove, as the others moved around the kitchen doing their tasks. Nobody was paying us any attention.
“He said he wants to take me with him when he leaves. He wants to keep me as his.” Then, as my usual self-doubt kicked in, I added, “For a while anyway.”
Owen eyed me sideways. “You… you’d leave the pack? To go with an alpha?”
“With him… yeah. Yeah, I would.” I smiled quietly to myself.
“Zarbius wouldn’t let you go,” Owen frowned, lips pursed thoughtfully. That dampened my spirits. I hadn’t thought that far ahead. “Anyway, he’s gone, hasn’t he? He left with Sharkey earlier. I saw them go.”
“Yeah, but he’s coming back.” I hoped he would. He’d told me he would. And he’d given me the collar to keep me safe until he could come back for me.
“Yeah? Did he tell you that?”
“Yeah. Of course, maybe he won’t, but…” I bit my lip and sliced the knife down viciously through the carrot. The knife bit into the board with a satisfyingwhumpand a chunk of carrot rolled free. “I really hope he does.” The rounded end of the carrot rolled off the board and landed on the floor, and I leaned down to pick it up before it disappeared under the benches or somebody slipped on it.
“Hey!” Owen squeaked. “What’s that?”
His eyes had fixed on the collar of my shirt, where the edges had slipped down as I bent over, revealing a glimpse of the faded collar around my neck. I put my hand to my throat, pulling the shirt collar up around it.
“I haven’t had the chance to tell you yet. After we’re done here, okay?” I whispered. It was true that I rarely, if ever, keptsecrets from my best friend, and I was excited to tell him about developments with my new alpha, but not where the others could hear.
Owen looked intrigued, but from the wrinkles across his brow, he might also have been concerned, but I couldn’t imagine why. We didn’t get a lot of secrets, so this was the fodder of dreams. “Okay,” he said, grudgingly. “I’m not gonna forget though.”
I grinned and went back to chopping vegetables.
After meal prep was done, Owen and I slunk away unobserved to our shared bedroom. Owen closed the door, and after the lock tumbled into place, he turned to me.
“Now, spill,” he said, his cheery plump face alight with interest, although a small V had settled in the middle of his brow. The golden highlights of his hair shone and rippled in the sunlight streaming through the window, as he jiggled, cheeks wobbling, clearly impatient for the story.”
