“Going somewhere?” I asked.
“Oh, um, yeah!” Liv brushed past me to walk over to the suitcase. “I’ve had a trip planned for months now, and I head out tomorrow. I know the timing is terrible, but I’m sure we can talk about everything once I get back, you know?”
I tilted my head, looking her up and down. “Has anyone ever told you you’re a terrible liar?” I growled.
She blinked in surprise as she grasped a shirt and started folding it. “Honestly? No. Most people can’t tell.”
I walked over, taking the shirt out of her hand and tossing it onto the bed. She gave a sharp inhale as my fingers brushed against hers.
“I’m not most people,” I said.
Chapter 3 - Liv
The last time I had been this close to Drake, he had told me there was no way we were mates.
Now, he was standing in my apartment while I was trying to flee from the thing I had told him was true all those years ago.
I’d had everything planned. I was going to finish packing within the hour, then hop in the car and drive off. I’d send a text explaining what had happened to Rachel and Jessie, and apologize to Amelia for running off without warning. Then I would drive as long as I could until I was too exhausted to continue, sleep in my car, then keep driving the next day until I was certain I had put enough distance between myself and Silver Falls. I’d find a new pack—if they would accept me—and I could start over. I had it all planned out. It was going to be perfect.
I hadn’t expected Drake to come to my apartment and try to talk to me.
After years of avoiding him, after years of us not speaking, here he was in front of me. Back then, I would have traded nearly anything to have this moment, to have him this close and in my bedroom. Now, I wanted nothing more than for him to leave.
My heart thundered. This close, I could smell the faint scent of burning campfire—his scent. It would take almost no effort at all to reach out and run my hands along his chest. If I took even a half-step forward, I would be pressing against him. That overwhelming pull that I had always felt toward him surged up, threatening to drown me.
I wanted him. I desperately, desperately wanted him. I wanted him to slam me against the wall and press his lips to mine. I wanted—
No. I wasn’t going down that road. I had made a promise to myself years ago that I would never so much as think about doing anything like that with Drake. But here, in my apartment, it was impossible for my mind not to wander down that path.
Or, it would have been, were it not for the fact that he was seconds away from figuring out what I was really doing.
He looked at the suitcase, his expression even more dour than normal. I couldn’t tear my gaze away from him even if I had wanted to.
“Are you trying to run?”
There was no anger there, more genuine surprise and curiosity. That was probably why I nodded, too off-balance to lie again. My fingers still burned from where he had touched them.
“Why?” he asked.
“I would have thought that bit was obvious,” I said.
He shook his head in frustration. “You can’t just up and leave,” he growled.
I shrugged. “Why not? It would make both of our lives easier. You’d be happier.”
He took a step back as if he’d been slapped. It was as though he hadn’t admitted that fact to himself yet.
“We have a duty to the pack,” he said.
“My duty doesn’t involve being tied to someone who wants nothing to do with me,” I said.
“That’s not true,” he growled.
What wasn’t true: the bit about my duty, or the bit where he wanted nothing to do with me?
“Drake, we both know this won’t work, not after everything,” I said. “Just let me leave, and we can pretend none of this happened.”
He considered me for a long moment, confusion rippling in his eyes as he studied me. I felt pinned in place, my chest tightening. He had to understand. He had to see what a horrible mistake the Oracle had made. If I could just convince him to let me go, to drop this whole stupid thing, we’d both be better off. We’d both be happier.
