“Thea Fera,” I answer bluntly.
“Mhm beautiful name. Fera—wild, like feral. That fits you, I think,” he says appraisingly.
Rolling my eyes, I toss the cold cut packages and bread at him. “Why don’t you be useful and make some sandwiches.”
He just laughs and gets started as I told him to. I start working on a quick salad before looking back at him. His expression is more neutral now, that teasing and obnoxious grin gone. “What’s your real name?” I ask. Taz has to be a nickname.
He looks up at me, no smile to be seen. It’s the most serious expression I’ve seen from him as he seems to study my face. “It’s Theodore,” he says lowly.
It’s understandable why he goes by Taz, since his outward appearance doesn’t seem to fit his given name. But maybe he does deep down. I just nod with a small smile in response and continue preparing lunch. We work in silence for a while before I try again. “How was the drive?”
He lets out a groan. “It was fuckin’ awful. We’re in the middle of bumfuck nowhere.” He sounds so annoyed. It’s the realest emotion he’s let out. Maybe he’s doing as I said. “Didn’t even have any brekkie before we left,” he adds with nearly a pout. Definitely a man-child, this one.
It’s funny that I used to be like him and hate long drives. However, after all the back roads and long driving I’ve had to do this past year, I’ve come to appreciate it and enjoy it. He’s not wrong about us being in the middle of nowhere. It was a shock when I first got here because of how slow everything seems. North Carolina had a similar vibe but I was in a college town so it didn’t feel small or slow at the time.
Grabbing a plate from the stack I took out for lunch, I put a sandwich he made on it and hand it to him. His brows furrow. “Here, you said you haven’t eaten anything yet so have onenow.”He takes it without a word and eats it quickly. Maybe he was hangry.
Taz moves to the sink and washes the plate and when he finishes, he turns around, leaning against it as he stares at me. “You can finish the sandwiches while you stare at me,” I say, not looking at him. He chuckles lowly as he moves back to the island where his sandwich station is set up.
“I like you Thea Fera,” he says a moment later with no hint of flirty undertones. Huh, he’s being sincere. I’m not sure what to make of it but it feels like progress. I don’t know how long these guys will need to be here, I hope not too long. They’re here and we all should get along, since that will make things a little bit easier. Though knowing my guys, they all probably don’t like Taz after that first impression. However, if he’s not being flirty with me going forward, then it should be fine.
Wait did I say my guys? I’m not used to that at all. Everything has been happening so fast lately. It’s been two months since I’ve moved to this town and I’m bonded to two alphas and living with the pack, about to have a heat and bond with four more by the end. All while my stalker knows where I am and that I’m seeing a pack.
Don’t go down that road, Thea.I’ll start panicking if I think too much about that. I need to believe Jake when he says they will get him before anything happens. I glance down at my wrist where the tattoo I recently got for Connor is. The small sailboat, igniting a flood of memories that push at me. Only one breaks through—he doesn’t get to win. That was mine and Connor’s deal—not to let the stalker win. He did win this last year for a little while, with me on the run and separated from the people I still have left, always afraid, but not anymore. I’m staying put even if it terrifies me. The anger I feel towards this monster is bubbling up again. I rather feel anger than fear.
“All set?” Taz asks. My head snaps up, breaking me out of my thoughts. Not ready to speak after that train of thought, I just nod. We quickly bring everything into the dining room for everyone and go find them to let them know.
We’re all sitting at the dining room table. The guys added additional leaves for the table and brought in some extra chairs from somewhere this morning. It’s a crazy sight of eleven men surrounding the table and me in the middle. I’ve never felt so small physically than in this moment. I almost laugh at the thought. Keelan and Liam are sitting on either side of me. Jake, Logan, and Harrison are opposite us. We’re all nearly finished eating and the conversation has been light. I know they had to have talked about the situation while Taz and I made lunch. Part of me wants to know everything going on. I mean it has to do with me, I should know. But I just can’t let myself go there. It’s probably not the healthiest method.
“Jake, you didn’t mention where Thea is working earlier. We’ll need to incorporate that into the security detail,” Harrison says matter of factly, his British accent coming through.
“She’s not working, no need to add in that complication,” Micah says, expecting no argument. That anger I felt from earlier escapes me for an entirely different reason.
“Last I checked, Ben managed the staff at the lodge and he hasn’t fired me, so I do still have a job,” I argue.
It’s comical how nearly everyone looks to Ben, except Micah, who’s glaring at me and I return it in kind. Ben coughs, breaking our staring contest.
He shifts uncomfortably in his seat before saying, “We’ve been looking for someone to replace you, with everything going on and the heat coming up, it just made sense.”
Shock runs through me. It’s not like I expected to work as the head housekeeper forever but still, why didn’t he say this before now?
“What are you doing in the meantime? I want to work until you find someone. I’m not going to leave you hanging,” I insist. Ben smiles at that. I swear my omega heart stutters at the sight. No Thea, do not let that distract you.I swear all my mates’ smiles can mesmerize me.
“I don’t have a problem with that,” he says pointedly, glancing at Micah. My head swivels to Micah at the other end of the table. I raise an eyebrow, waiting for his response.
“No, it’s too dangerous to have you off property for hours,” Micah explains. My anger remains but it’s dulled at the realization that he actually cares about my safety. It’s not like I expected him to wish harm on me, but it’s still thrown me off to hear it from him in his gruff way.
“If I may?” Harrisons starts. “We can have someone with her to guard her when she’s off property. We would’ve done that regardless. She doesn’t have to be trapped here. This can go on for months. No one would require those kind of measures unless provoked further by the suspect. He’s still in Florida at the moment. The threat is minimal for now.”
Thank you, Harrison!It’s taking everything in me not to smile smugly at that. No one says anything in response for a solid minute or two. Until Jake says, “Who will you assign?”
He’s conceding. If Jake agrees there’s no reason Micah can overrule that. Jake knows more about this than Micah. We all are deferring to him on how to handle this.
Harrison doesn’t say anything, just looks to the left at the far end of the table where Taz sits on the end, next to Ren. It’s Keelan who says it. “No, not him.”
Taz grins mischievously in response. “Oh come on big fella, Thea and I are best mates now.” He tacks on a wink at the end of his statement. I can’t keep it in this time; I laugh hard. Between him calling Keelan big fella and the roiling annoyance in the bond that it sparked from Keelan, it’s too much. Taz’s smile turns more genuine at my reaction. I don’t think I can convince him to stop messing with the guys, but I get the feeling when it’s the two of us he’ll drop this act.
Most of the pack breaks out in a laugh, joining me. Even Micah is laughing. We needed that all of us, a good laugh. After this last week it’s been so heavy, even Parker and Eli who joke more than anyone, have been morose. Keelan cracks a smile and I feel his affection in the bond.
