We continue through the day, settling debts at the liquor store, the bookstore, the lingerie store. With each one, Penelope seems to get slightly more solid. Like she's building something real out of the wreckage of her terrible decisions.
By the time we're done, Penelope has paid off approximately eight hundred dollars in debt, and we've confirmed orders for the cake and flowers. The wedding is still happening on Christmas Eve. It's still going to be small and sad and probably depressing for everyone involved.
But at least it's honest now. At least there's no fraud happening anymore. At least I can tell my pack I helped redirect Penelope away from committing crimes.
"I should go," Penelope says as we stand outside the last shop. "I need to figure out how to tell Ben I'm not going to commit fraud with him."
"Good luck with that," I say, and I mean it. "He's not going to take it well."
"I know," Penelope says. "But I'd rather deal with his anger than spend the rest of my life wondering when the authorities are going to show up at my door."
She leaves, and I'm standing on the sidewalk feeling like I've just participated in the world's strangest intervention. I helped my ex's fiancée stop committing fraud. Helped her settle her debts. Helped her realize she's in a toxic relationship with a terrible man.
I should feel good about this. But mostly, I just feel exhausted.
My phone buzzes. Text from Cassian: "How's your day going, beautiful? Missing you."
I send him a photo of myself looking completely exhausted standing on the sidewalk. He responds immediately: "You look like you need to come home.”
Home?
He meant his home right?
I shake my head thinking not to read too much into it. Anyway, I need to tell them about helping Penelope isn't the worst decision I've ever made. But I have a feeling that they’re not going to agree.
Thank you, universe, for not making me feel alone like I did when I came here and having alphas that care. It’s golden even if I feel right now I’m making the worst decision of my life by helping Penelope.
14
SHARON
Cassian's house smells like home before I even open the door.
Garlic. Butter. Something rich and savory that makes my stomach growl. I knock twice before pushing the door open, and the warmth hits me immediately. Not just the heat from the kitchen, but the kind of warmth that comes from people who actually want you there.
"Sharon!" Jett calls from somewhere inside, his voice rough but welcoming. "Get in here before Pine burns the pasta."
"I'm not burning anything," Pine's voice responds, calm and unbothered. "Unlike some people who set off the smoke alarm last week."
"That was one time," Cassian says, and I can hear the grin in his voice before I even see him.
I walk into the kitchen and stop in the doorway, just watching them for a moment. Cassian's at the stove, stirring something in a large pot with the kind of focus he usually reserves for emergency calls. Pine is chopping vegetables with precise, efficient movements, his tattooed forearms flexing with each cut. Jett is leaning against the counter with a beer in hand,watching his brothers with an expression that might be fondness if he'd admit to having emotions.
They look good together. Natural. Like they've been doing this their entire lives.
Cassian looks up and sees me, and his entire face shifts into something softer. "There she is," he says, setting down the spoon and crossing the kitchen in three long strides. "Come here, beautiful."
He pulls me into a hug that feels like safety wrapped in smoke and leather and cedar. I let myself sink into it for just a moment, breathing him in, letting the tension from the day start to ease.
"Rough day?" he murmurs against my hair.
"You have no idea," I say into his chest.
Pine glances over, his dark eyes assessing me with that quiet intensity he has. "You look exhausted."
"Thanks," I say dryly. "That's exactly what every woman wants to hear."
"You look beautiful and exhausted," Cassian corrects, pulling back to look at me properly. His gray eyes scan my face like he's looking for injuries. "What happened?"
