She’s back.
Delete.
We need to talk.
My thumb hovers over send for a long moment before I delete that too and shove the phone back in my pocket.
Some conversations are better had face-to-face. Especially when they involve confessing that I’ve been in love with his baby sister for most of my life, and my Alpha considers her mine. Fuck if I’ll let her go again.
But as I turn my attention to the mare, checking her over for Eli, I can’t shake the feeling that Willa seemed different. She seemed rattled.
The thought makes my jaw clench. Makes my Alpha rise up with the need to protect her.
Even though Caleb made it crystal clear that his little sister is off-limits, the one and only time I brought it up.
Even though getting involved with her would complicate everything.
I’m still thinking about her when my phone buzzes with a text from the pack group chat.
Beau: Heard you might be at the arena tonight. Want to grab a beer when you’re done?
Charlie: Sure. Salty’s? What’s the point of going home now? I’m wound up tight as hell.
Beau: Yep.
Charlie: What about you, dumbass?
Jake: …
Jake: …
Jake: HA! HA! Yeah, I’m in.
I finish up with the mare, shoot Eli a text, and head out. But I can’t stop thinking about Willa and that guarded look in her eyes, and how badly I want to change it.
Maybe the universe is giving us a second chance.
Even if her brother would kill me for taking it.
FIVE
willa
“Ain’t you done, darlin’?Go home, or wherever it is you spend your time when you’re not here.” Eli grins.
“Home for sure. My boss is a real asshole if I’m late.” I level a teasing stare at him.
“Ha ha.” His tone is as dry as burnt toast. “Really, Willa, you’ve been back home for weeks. Go out, get a drink. Lord knows you’ll never meet a pack if you never leave the old homestead. Hell, you’re too young to spend a Friday night folding laundry.”
I don’t rise to the bait. Eli’s been trying to nudge me toward a pack since I got back. He’s old-school in a lot of ways, but I know he only wants what’s best for his people. And for some reason, as soon as I returned, he decided I was his people.
“Folding laundry is what gets me off.”
He chokes on the beer he just put to his lips and nearly spits it all over the roster.
He reminds me of my dad—if my dad had not been an utterly worthless sack of shit. So yeah, I definitely have a soft spot for him.
“For fuck’s sake, don’t do that, darlin’.”
