“I’ll see you when you finish work,” he says.
“I can’t wait,” I admit. “Get some sleep, okay? I don’t want you passing out on me.”
He laughs at the joke. “I promise, I’ll sleep.”
Chapter Seventy-Seven
Shayne
It’s late afternoon when I get to the gates of Goldcrest Academy, and Shadow’s chain-texting style for the last ten minutes means my Omega little brother is already waiting with the guard at the security booth. He comes out of the booth as the gates start to open, darting a few feet back and standing in the opening, tipping onto his toes and rolling back onto his heels like he used to when he was a kid.
“You’re here!” he exclaims, as if he wasn’t really expecting me.
His excitable energy cancels out my flush of nerves almost instantly.
A grin spreads across my face as I walk forward, through the space in the gates, toward him.
“I’ve missed you,” I admit, as I give him a hug in greeting.
“It’s been too long,” he says, as he hugs me back.
I can’t help but feel guilty over how long it’s been.
We were both out from under our parent’s oppressive roof within months of each other.
I could have tried to find him. It probably wouldn’t have been hard.
“I’m sorry I didn’t try to find you.”
He breaks the hug and looks at me with a raised eyebrow.
It’s still a little weird how dark that eyebrow is compared to his messy bleached hair.
“Don’t be sorry. There’s no way I would have found my mates if you’d been around. Alphas’ tend to respect and avoid other Alphas when it comes to that stuff. The last thing I needed was my overprotective big brother keeping me safe from my fate.”
He has a point, I guess.
Though I doubt I would have stopped them from finding him, I probably would have been a complication he didn’t need.
“I’m glad you found them. You deserve to be happy.”
“So do you,” Shadow reminds me. “I’m glad you found your pack, too. Weird coincidence that your final true mate is right here, where I live now.”
“Final true mate?” I ask, realizing that’s what Robin is the moment the question leaves my lips.
“Yeah, you know, the one who makes your pack complete?”
“Sounds about right.”
“You’re meeting with her at six, right?”
“Uh, yeah, that’s what was agreed with Lana.”
“Great. That means you have a couple of hours to spare.”
“Why do I feel like that means you have a plan?” I ask.
He laughs. “Because I almost always have a plan?”
