A perfect pack.
CHAPTER 35
Lo
The Gilded Lily smells of buttery sin.
Warm sugar, with something citrusy sharp underneath. My stomach actually growls, loud enough that the old lady at the corner table side-eyes me like I just confessed to murder.
Tansy grins from behind the counter. “You’re drooling.”
“I’m starving,” I correct, collapsing onto a stool at the window bar. “And your place is basically an assault. How do you even work here without weighing four hundred pounds?”
“Metabolism and sheer spite,” she says sweetly, sliding a plate my way. Three fat croissants, all golden and flaky, still steaming. “Eat before you get feral. I know how feral you are when you’re hangry.”
I tear into one without shame. “I don’t get feral.”
She arches a brow. “You once threatened to fight a vending machine because it ate your dollar.”
I glare at her through a mouthful of croissant. “That machine deserved it.”
She just laughs and grabs her own pastry before sitting beside me and nudging my elbow. “So. Tell me everything. It’s been a while.”
I sigh, dragging flakes of croissant into a sad little pile. “Everything is… a lot.”
“That’s not news,” she says dryly. “Try again.”
I pick at the crumbs, stalling. My pulse kicks faster just thinking about saying it out loud. Tansy’s always had that look, like she’ll peel me open whether I want her to or not.
Finally, I blow out a breath. “I went into heat.”
Her brows jump. “Well. That’s… something.”
“Yeah.” My voice is flat, but my cheeks burn anyway. “And Beck, Hayes, and Ford… they were amazing.”
Tansy tilts her head and cocks a brow. “Oh yeah?”
I chuckle, trying not to let embarrassment burn through me. “Yeah. It was special.”
“You lucky, scandal-stained brat. Three men willing to anchor you through a full-blown heat? That’s got pack written all over it.”
I shake my head, tearing another croissant apart. “It doesn’t feel real. I keep thinking I’ll wake up and be alone again.” I keep shredding the croissant into nothing, flakes sticking to my fingers. “But maybe the timing’s right. Perfect, even.”
Tansy frowns. “Perfect timing?”
“Becausetheyare back.”
Her whole body goes still. “Them?”
“My parents.” The words taste sour on my tongue. “They showed up a few nights ago. Wanted to meet me at the diner across town. Cornered me like I was some kind of criminal. Told me I was ruining the Marsh name, shaming the whole family by staying in the townhouse. That I never should’ve come back. They want me gone, Tee.”
Tansy’s pastry drops back to her plate, untouched. “Theywhat?”
“They raised their voices. Threatened. Said I had no right to be here. Then they just… disappeared. Like smoke. Left the dinerand didn’t give a damn about the condition they left me in or the things they said.” I swipe at the flakes on the counter, refusing to meet her eyes. “I don’t even know where they are now.”
Tansy slams her hand down on the counter hard enough to rattle the sugar jar. The old lady at the corner table jumps and mutters something, but Tansy doesn’t care.
“Unbelievable,” she hisses. “Those two have the nerve to crawl back into town just to tear you down again? After everything they did to this place?”
