Carson doesn’t answer right away. And I’m waiting for him to tell them I woke up regretting it. But he says, “Then I’ll deal with it.”
The silence that follows is too much—too thick, too suffocating, too charged with everything they aren’t saying. I back away from the door, my heart pounding.
This just got a whole lot more complicated. I can’t pretend Carson was a one-night stand. Not after this. I seriously didn’t think this through.
CHAPTER 34
Willow
I should stay.
I should march out there and confront them—demand to know why the hell they think they get to decide who I sleep with, who I want.
But I don’t.
Instead, I yank on my jeans, shove my arms through a hoodie, and pull my hair into a quick ponytail, ignoring the little voice in my head that’s whispering this is a bad idea.
I need space.
I need air.
And I need to get the hell away from the alphas in my living room before I do something stupid.
Like kiss Carson again. Like pull Hunter into it just to watch him crack. Like push Graham until he snaps. Because none of those things are good ideas.
I grab my sneakers and move to the window, heart hammering. They’ll never let me leave through the front door. Not after last night. Not after that argument.
So I climb out onto the fire escape.
My muscles protest as I slip through the frame, stretchingto find footing on the fire escape. My breath is fast, my pulse loud in my ears, but I don’t hesitate as the sounds of the city rise around me.
One step.
Then another. And another.
I make it to the last rung of the ladder, about to drop to the alley below, when strong hands catch my waist.
I freeze.
A slow, easy chuckle slides up my spine, curling around my ribs. It’s dark and sinister.
“Where do you think you’re going, little fire?”
Finn.
I swallow hard, my fingers tightening on the cool metal above me as his grip firms just enough to keep me from escaping. His touch is gentle, but his voice—his voice is pure possession.
"You always run to me when you’re feeling wild, don’t you?” he murmurs, head tilting. His eyes flick up the ladder—toward my bedroom window—before cutting back to mine. “What’s wrong, Willow? Alphas playing a little too rough?”
My stomach flips.
Because Finn knows.
I don’t have a single clue how he knows unless he’s been watching me. I hold back a snort—of course he's been watching me. That’s why my dad shackled me with the three alphas I just left behind in my apartment. My emotions got the better of me, and now I’m in a mess.
He might not be able to smell me like they can, but he’s been watching long enough to see what’s happening.
His hands slide from my waist to my hips, fingers pressing just enough to make my breath catch. “Tell me,” he whispers, his lips dangerously close to my ear. “Did Carson give you what you wanted? Or did he just leave you needing? It looked like he knew what he was doing, but maybe?—”
