There’s something I haven’t told her; the secret I’ve kept for way too many years. It may not matter much any longer, since she’s marked me, but she deserves to know all of it.
Eventually, I’m going to have to tell her the truth about our scent match—about how long I’ve known.
Sooner rather than later, if the mark at the crook of my neck is any indication of where we’re headed.
CHAPTER 29
Lo
They’re here earlier than I thought.
I’m sitting at the kitchen table, nursing a lukewarm cup of coffee, my thoughts swirling into the darkness again. I’m trying to wrap my mind around everything.
The mating mark that I gave both Beck and Ford. The way I want to mark Hayes as mine, my Omega side becoming more territorial with each passing hour.
I’m still not sure why I didn’t let Ford mark me in that truck. Part of me aches for his bite right next to Beck’s. But, there’s still something hesitant in the way he treats me. I don’t know, maybe I’m reading too much into things.
Fuck, I marked Ford.
I marked Beck.
I didn’t even ask.
Will they be angry with me? Will Ford get jealous that he hasn’t marked me yet? Will Hays feel left out?
My fingers tremble around my mug. The kind of tremble that sneaks in when you know exactly what’s coming but still wish you could turn away.
My phone buzzes, and I freeze, the screen lighting up with a name that twists my stomach into knots:Eleanor Marsh.
I stare at it like it’s a bad joke. I want to let it ring. I want to pretend I didn’t hear it. But my thumb moves on its own, answering before I’m ready.
I hate that I can’t just delete and block my family’s numbers, even after all these years.
Even after all they’ve done.
“Louisa.” Mom’s greeting is nothing but ice wrapped in velvet. Calm, smooth, the kind of voice that says she’s in control even when everything’s falling apart around her. “We’ve arrived. I’m sure Jamie told you we were coming. So, let’s meet.”
“I…” I swallow hard.
I don’t want to, but what choice do I have?
Mom snickers, and it pulls me out of my trance. “You have a lot of explaining to do. Staying at the townhouse without us knowing.”
Heat burns in my head. I don’t knowhowto explain this away.
“So, meet us,” she continues. “At that cafe near The Nest. A neutral location.”
Ha. As if she’s doing that for me.
I want to tell her no. I want to tell her I’m not going to meet her. That there’s nothing to meet about. But my voice catches somewhere deep in my throat, and all that comes out is, “I’ll be there.”
Click.
The silence that follows is loud enough to swallow me whole.
“Fuck,” I mutter to myself. “Time to do this.”
There’s a warmth that bleeds through my chest, and I know Beck senses my anxiety rising, even though he’s hard at work at the station. Sometimes, I worry my own emotions will distract him when he shouldn’t be distracted and that he’ll get hurt.
