Warrick backed her with a swift nod. “Right. Laws or not, you’re still an omega, and living with a powerful pack will go a long way to deterring others from stepping over the line. No one wants to piss off those four.”
“Not even Kellan?” I asked, thinking of the sunshiny, golden retriever alpha.
“Not even Kellan,” Warrick confirmed. “It might take a lot to rile his gentler nature, but when you do… Don’t underestimate him.”
I filed that away with all the other information and advice I’d received so far about the pack, and hoped I had enough knowledge to stay safe during my time in their house.
My last night with Annandale Pack was a celebration with tacos and pastries filling their outdoor table. The wine and beer flowed, and while it normally took copious amounts of alcohol to override our rapid metabolisms and get us drunk, they added shots of shifter serum, a natural additive which cranked the booze factor a hundred times.
The room spun when I crawled into bed, and I hoped this wasn’t my last night filled with laughter and friendship. Their consistent support and kind natures had melted most of my suspicions over their intentions. They’d remained as genuine as they’d appeared the first time I met them, even as they made me promise to come around for family dinners at least twice a month.
Frankly, I couldn’t wait for my next hangout at their place.
Early the next morning, light stabbed me in the face like a vicious beast, and if I had the ability to reach out and pluck the sun from the sky, I’d have done so without regret.
I groaned as my tender stomach reminded me that I’d overindulged last night.
In reply, I received a low chuckle. “Rise and shine, sweetheart.”
That deep rumble had me blinking rapidly to bring the room into focus, and I found Kellan Jackson perched on the edge ofmy bed, his perfect sun-kissed face staring down at me. Caramel and cinnamon filled the room—he smelled even better than Chelsea’s Sweets, and that was saying something.
“What are you doing here?” I rasped in confusion, looking around as I pulled myself up to sit. Thankfully there was no sign of Hurricane Hunter; I was far too out of it this morning to deal with him.
Kellan’s face swam in my blurry gaze, and I shook my head to clear it, swiping a hand over my mouth in case I’d drooled or dribbled snot in my sleep. His sudden appearance had me out of sorts, like he’d stumbled in on me naked, even though I’d fallen into bed in my shorts and shirt last night.
“It’s moving day!” His enthusiasm should offend me in my current ragged state, but his good looks upped the charming factor. “I’m here to pack you up and bring you home.”
Home.Such a simple four-letter word. Simple and gut-wrenchingly painful.
“Temporary home,” I corrected dully.
Kellan’s smile didn’t slip as he stood and offered me a hand. “Why don’t you go and shower, and I’ll get started on packing your room up.”
I hesitated briefly, before placing my hand in his, the spark between us jolting my system into full-awake mode. The last of the fatigue and alcohol was swept from my system, only to be replaced with a new aching need inside. “I’ll be out in a minute,” I said in a rush, grabbing the first clean clothes I got my hands on and escaping into the bathroom.
Cranking the shower to cover my panic attack, I spent two long minutes gripping the side of the vanity and forcing myself not to return to the bedroom. The knowledge that Kellan was out there packing up my meager belongings had me fifty percent panicked, fifty percent nauseous, and one hundred percent losing my mind.
Agreeing to live with them was possibly the stupidest decision I had ever made, and I was fairly certain I wouldn’t come out the other side unscathed. If I was already struggling to remain impartial after five minutes in his presence, how in the fuck would I handle weeks in their house, drowning in their scents? Fighting the tugging in my gut to seal that mate bond?
I was afraid that I’d vastly underestimated my control and strength here.
Mom.
I needed to remember Mom and the last time I’d seen her face and broken body.
The last time I’d felt her lifeless aura after her pack destroyed her.
That was the memory I’d bring forth whenever it got too hard to fight fate, and I prayed it would be enough. I was scared that after a few months of living with this pack I’d forget that bonding with them meant my inevitable death. Or worse, I’d no longer care.
I couldn’t let that happen.
I made a promise long ago that I’d choose a different path to my mom.
A promise I could not break.
Chapter
Thirteen
