My love for shopping was one of the things that my late, unlamented stepfather had hated about me. One ofmanythings, admittedly... but I was pretty sure it had been near the top of the list.
I’d never had a sister—not that I would have wished my so-called family on anyone else. But I couldn’t deny that having a built-in excuse to go to clothing stores and paw through the latest fashions with someone female would have been pretty amazing.
I had a sneaking suspicion that I’d be happier not knowing whatever backstory lay behind the recipient of my shopping spree spoils. But regardless, I’d kind of enjoyed it. It wasn’t as though I could afford to spend that kind of money on clothes formyself—so this felt like the next best thing.
Whoever she was, I hope she agreed with my taste.
Buried under enough shopping to crush a pack mule, I trudged up the flagstone walkway. On the large porch, I set down the bags in my right hand, freeing it up so I could knock on the door. Less than a minute later, the locks clicked and the door opened, revealing Gage’s imposing form.
“Hi,” I greeted, a bit intimidated as always by the towering alpha with the dark buzzcut and perpetual scruffy stubble. “Heath sent me here to drop this stuff off? It’s mostly clothing, plus some shampoo and toothpaste and things.”
“Oh. Yeah. Hi, Tony,” Gage said. “Come on in. Let me get some of that for you.”
Between us, we dragged all of the bags inside.
“Is all this for one of your omegas?” I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.
Gage hesitated. “It’s kind of complicated. Can you help me get this upstairs to the attic room? The staircase is a fuckin’ deathtrap.”
“Sure, but we need to work on your marketing skills,” I quipped. “Try, ‘the staircase is vintage—maybe you’d like to see the Victorian craftsmanship firsthand.’”
The alpha gave a derisive snort. “As long as you don’t see it at high speed while tumbling down it. Come on, kid.”
I let him lead me to the back of the massive old house. It was quiet—no sign of any other ‘guests’ at the moment. I took in the elegant furnishings, comparing them to the squalid studio apartment I was currently renting. I supposed this kind of thing was what a business empire could buy you. It still sounded like a hell of a lot of work to keep it clean and nice, though.
Gage had... not been exaggerating about the staircase. We struggled up the steep, narrow steps, some unspoken male stubbornness driving us to try and get everything up in one trip. Gage paused at the top, where a small landing faced a locked door. He pulled out a concealed pistol, checking the chamber.
“Whoa!” I took a hasty step back, nearly taking that unplanned, high-speed downward tour of the staircase that Gage had just mentioned.
“Sorry,” he said. “Should’ve warned you. She’s dangerous. Let me get her covered, then you can pile the bags inside the door.”
“Wait, wait,wait,” I said. “Who the hellisthis omega? Why do you have a dangerous woman locked in your attic?”
Because maybe I was naïve—but this wasnotwhat I’d signed up for with this pack.
“She’s the one who tried to kill Knox,” Gage said.
I gaped at him. “Tried to...kill—?”
Idiot that I was, I’d assumed Knox’s emergency was some kind of illness. Like... a heart attack, or something.
But Gage only nodded. “Yeah. Almost succeeded, too. But that’s not the complicated part.”
“It’s... not?” I asked stupidly.
“Turns out, she’s also our pack’s scent match,” Gage said, grim-faced. “Now, stay back while I get her where I can see her.”
I continued to gape.
Gage knocked on the door. “It’s me again. Still got the gun, so no funny business. We’ve got you some clothes and shit. I’m coming in.”
He unlocked the padlock and swung the door open, leading with his gun. No noise came from the interior as he entered cautiously.
Despite myself, I couldn’t help peering in behind him. It took me a couple of seconds to find the slight figure in a short, form-fitting dress slumped against the side of an old bed, curled forward with her face in her hands. An untouched plate of food sat next to her on the floor.
“You gotta eat something eventually, you know,” Gage said, in a gentler tone than I might have expected.
The girl raised her head slowly, her hands falling to lie limp in her lap. Wavy, platinum-blond hair framed a sharp face dominated by huge, blue-gray eyes. For a split second, my brain tried to tell me that I couldn’t possibly be seeing what I thought I was seeing.
