“Oh thank Christ,” I say to myself, reading the name across the top. Duncan left me his card. He didn’t just dip out without waking me up.
I don’t think I’ve ever felt relief quite this sweet before. I stare at the business card for a long time, my eyes prickling with unshed tears. Fuck! Iknewhe wouldn’t just leave out of nowhere! I knew there had to be a reason!
I flip the card over, finding a handwritten note. Duncan had to run out because he has a family emergency but he wanted me to contact him.
I immediately pull out my phone, adding his number as a contact before slipping the card into my pocket. I shoot him a quick message, telling him I had a lot of fun last night and that I hope everything is okay. Then I make my way downstairs to the lobby where breakfast is being served.
“There he is,” Ellie says, her voice bright. She waves me over towards their table.
“Let me grab some coffee,” I murmur, moving over to the counter in order to get myself a waffle and some coffee. I’m going to need some caffeine if I’m going to get through everything that happened last night.
I’m glad my friends came with me. I can’t imagine doing this without their love and support. They mean the world to me. I hope they like Duncan as much as I do. I can’t wait for them to meet him.
Is that moving too quickly? Introducing Duncan to my packmates?
Nah.
“Okay,” I say, sitting down with my waffle and coffee. That’s when I finally notice how rough Avery and Brock look. “What’s up with them?”
Ellie grins. “They thought they could outdrink me,” she says proudly. “They tried to match me glass for glass last night and it ended with them shit-faced and now they’re hungover this morning.”
I shake my head at my friends. Avery groans, leaning his face against his hands. Brock looks like he might actually throw up.
“I’m glad you guys had a fun time.”
“Fuck off,” Brock says with a whine. “Why do you have to be so loud?”
“I guess I can just keep everything that happened last night a secret, since you guys are too hungover to properly appreciate it.”
“Don’t you dare,” Avery says, putting his arms against the table like a pillow and leaning his head against it. He looks up at me with wide eyes and a wobbly bottom lip. “Please tell us everything? It would make today more tolerable.”
“Fine,” I say with a soft chuckle, tucking into my breakfast. Brock wrinkles his nose at me but I ignore him. I have a feelingFrost and Aiden are going to have a field day with these two once we get back home.
“I met someone.”
Ellie rolls her eyes. “Duh! We already knew that! Why else would you have stayed in the extra room last night?”
“Maybe I just wanted to sleep in my own bed?”
“Wow,” Brock says dramatically. “You’d rather sleep alone than with three grown adults in the same bed? Just admit that you hate us.”
I shake my head, overwhelmed with how much I love these three. I wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world.
“His name is Duncan. He’s an artist. He’s wonderful,” I say with a wistful sigh. I don’t even care that I sound lovesick. There’s no hiding the truth. I have somehow fallen for a man in a single night. It should be impossible, but somehow it feels right.
Now, I just need to find the alpha behind the mask. I need to find him so I can look into his eyes andseehim.
“Where is he?”
I wince at that. “He had to leave right away this morning. Don’t worry, he left me a note,” I quickly add when Brock starts to growl. The growl cuts off with a groan as he holds his aching head between his hands.
“So you’re going to call him, right?” Ellie asks, practically vibrating with excitement. “I can’t wait to meet him, Viktor. I bet he’s handsome, right? Is he some sort of shifter? Or maybe he’s a mage like you?”
“He’s a wolf,” I say softly. “And I assume he’s handsome?”
“What do you mean you assume?”
“We all had masks on and there was magic that kept us from really perceiving each other.”
