“It’s no big deal.” I shrug. “She needed it, and besides, she didn’t want me to drive because I ate peanuts by mistake?—”
“You ate peanuts?!”
“It was an accident.” I ignore his concerned look. “I’m fine. Really.”
We’ve been a pack for the last five years, so we’ve become pretty good at reading each other. We’re able to detect subtle shifts in each other’s mood by body language, scent, and expressions that make it annoyingly hard to hide anything.
“We can swing by the campus clinic to get you checked over to be on the safe side?” he suggests.
“I said, I’m fine.” I don’t mean to snap at him as I slouch in my seat, instantly feeling guilty for acting like an ass when he’s only being nice. “We both know that an EpiPen alone is enough to stop a reaction in an alpha.”
Alpha biology makes secondary allergic reactions unheard of.
He pulls away from the office, but his eyes keep flitting over in my direction. “You don’t seem okay.”
That’s Kady’s fault. She rattled me. Got under my skin.
“I would have taken the bus if I’d known I was going to get an interrogation.”
“Fine, I won’t say anymore.” He turns on the crackly radio. “We don’t have to talk.”
The chatty radio host starts reeling off the latest news. “Speculations are coming through that the daughter of Richard Sinclair has found a pack…”
Back teeth grinding together, I switch the radio off with so much force that I almost yank the button clean off.
“Silence it is, then.” Hale murmurs. “Got it.”
Kady’s not even here, yet she’s still taunting me. Her scent still lingers in my nostrils, making it impossible to stop myself from thinking about how she already has a pack and wishing she didn’t.
TEN
Kady
“Oh my fucking god.” Sabs peers out of the window at Calder’s car. “Whose car is that?”
“I borrowed it.” I pace back-and-forth through the kitchen while Delilah’s electric whisk whirs. “I can’t believe the Blandon Pack spoke to the press. Have you seen what they said?”
For the third time, I scroll through the article, hands trembling with anger as I read.
Pack leader, Tyler Blandon, comments, “It’s a dream come true for Kadence to finally find a pack. It’s what she’s been searching for all these years, and we’re so happy it’s us she chose.”
“He’s unbelievable! Did you see the picture too? It was only supposed to be featured inTheValley Voice, so I’m guessing he forwarded the article to whichever reporter he spoke to.” I slam my phone down on the counter. “When I get my hands on him, I’ll castrate him!”
“That’d mean getting close to his sweaty slug.” Sabs wrinkles her nose. “Not to be advised.”
At my feet, Larry tries to get my attention by purring. I almost step on his tail, making him yowl.
“Oh, Larry. I’m sorry.” It’s too late. He shoots me a sassy look, turning up his snout-like nose before slouching out of the room. “Great. Now Larry’s mad at me.”
Delilah carefully slides her cupcakes to rest on the cooling rack. “I know you don’t want to hear this, but?—”
“Don’t say I told you so,” I snarl. “I know you thought my whole fake pack idea was a terrible plan and that the Blandon Pack was bad news from the start.”
“Actually, I was thinking we should come up with a game plan.” She returns to check her icing, frowning before adding more sugar to it. “There must be something we can do to help control the narrative.”
“Sorry, Del.” I sigh. She’s the sweetest person in the world. I should have known better than to think she’d take this opportunity to gloat. “This whole thing is just…” I exhale in a huff. “It’s not working out how I’d hoped. Having a fake pack was supposed to be easy. I wanted it to help me live my normal life, but it’s only day two, and everything has turned upside down. Then I met Calder atTheValley Voiceoffice. He’s intolerable.”
“Have you eaten today?” Sabs asks. “I think you’re getting hangry. Plus, your pacing is making me dizzy.”
