She’d been pushing me into my pack from the start, knowing that it was the right place for me and my wolf. It was clear she romantically loved Warrick with every part of herself, and the others in her quintet she loved as family. They would be herfirst best friends too, and after finding my own quintet, it made perfect sense to me.
Hunter must have alerted security that it was okay to let Cora in, as she already waited in the foyer. Dressed in a multi-layered violet skirt and a simple white tank with a cream cardigan over the top, she looked as gorgeous as ever.
When she saw me, she squealed and threw her arms around my shoulders, the bags she carried flopping heavily against my spine. “I’m so excited that we’re heading out tonight,” she said, dancing on the spot. “Come on, girl. We don’t have much time. We need to get ready.”
It was barely five p.m., and from what I knew the club wouldn’t be busy until ten, but she was the expert here.
As we wandered past the living room, the television was onShifter Sports Broadcast, as per usual in this sports-loving house, and I paused at Kellan and Finley on the screen.
“Hang on,” I said as I hurried to find the remote and turn up the volume. “I want to watch this.”
Cora dropped her bags on the couch and joined me in front of the screen. “You’ve got it bad,” she teased, and I could feel her watching me while I stared at the screen like a creeper. Speaking of creepers, was Slade currently staring at me through a screen, while I stared at the rest of our pack through a screen?
We’d reach a point soon where it would be hard to tell who the bigger stalker was.
“Not that I blame you,” Cora continued conversationally. “And don’t think I didn’t notice that bite on your neck,friend. You need to spill.”
I tore my gaze from the reporter who was asking about the fights during the game, and said, “This is one of those sex sharing conversations, isn’t it?”
She chuckled. “Of course. These are the details we share with our girlfriends.”
I had a lot to learn about friendship, but I felt no embarrassment as I quickly detailed what had happened with Kellan’s magic battle which resulted in my decision to bond with him.
“How did it strengthen him?” she asked, forehead furrowed.
She was the first to ask that question, and I still couldn’t believe the alphas just let it go. Did they already know the truth? Or were they content with not knowing, since it had saved Kellan’s life, and that was all that mattered? Once I came clean about my past and my mom’s, that was a question I’d be able to ask them.
“I’m not really sure,” I lied, wishing I didn’t have to, but I refused to tell Cora before the alphas. “I’m just happy it happened.”
Her face crumpled; her eyes were watery as she nodded. “Oh, goddess, me too. I was so scared for you and Kel. It was heartbreaking to not be able to help.”
I turned back to the screen, needing to see Kellan’s healthy and happy face. Anything to clear the memory of him almost dying from my mind. “He wasn’t really aware enough for true consent in bonding,” I said softly, “But I don’t think I forced him into anything he didn’t want.”
Her tears dried up in the face of her laughter. She even went as far as to slap a hand on her knee when she hunched over. “Forced him…? Girl. Please. You are literally his reason for being alive, and I’m not even talking about the way you saved him from the magic. He must be overjoyed.”
Even with my doubts, I agreed with her. “Yeah, I think he is.”
Cora regarded me for a second, and then waved her hand toward the television. “Call him.”
Wait… what? “Call him… isn’t this live?”
She nodded before I even finished. “Yep, this is live. Call him and then you’ll never again have to wonder if you’re his one and only reason for existence.”
Unsure whose face this was about to blow up in, I pulled my phone from my back pocket and hit Kellan’s number. It rang and I watched the screen closely. The reporters had just asked about his recovery from the magical attack, when Kellan jumped and glanced down at the table. He held a hand up to halt the rest of the question, lifted his phone, and answered it with the broadest of smiles gracing his lips. “Pretty mate,” he crooned down the line, on live fucking television, in the middle of a press conference. “Is everything okay?”
There was a long, extended silence before I remembered I was supposed to talk and not just stare at his handsome face. “Oh, uh. Yes, totally okay. I just wanted to check in and make sure you were safe.”
Cora took the remote from me and turned down the TV volume so it didn’t echo back as he answered. On the screen, his expression softened, and he leaned on one hand, staring into the main camera. “I’m more than safe, Shortcake. I’m just in a press conference about to tell everyone about how you saved my life, and that I’m one lucky son of a shifter to have the most perfect mate.”
Oh goddess. These alphas were determined to elicit the deepest of emotions from me today. “I see you,” I whispered, drinking him in like I was parched, and he was the only water available. “Sorry to call while you’re doing press, I should have checked first.”
Kellan released a gentle laugh. “You can call me any time of any day or night, and I will answer. No exceptions.”
Truth rang in his voice, and I’d never been surer that there were no exceptions to his feelings for me. My voice caught. “I miss you, Golden Boy.”
On the screen, he jumped to his feet in a graceful rush, and everyone around him went crazy, except for Finley, who just shook his head and leaned back in his chair. Reporters’ shouts rang out as Kellan spoke directly to the camera. “I’m on my way home to you right now,” he said as his long legs maneuvered him around the table. “Don’t move a muscle.”
“Wait,” I called with a laugh, and he slowed as he waited for me to continue. “Finish your press conference, mate. I’ll be here waiting for you when you’re done.”
