“Oh, Heidi, you did.” A wave of Heidi’s happiness surprises me and draws my attention back into the conversation.
Tristan starts talking about cat clothes until she stops mid-sentence and leans in to the screen to look at Raney. She then dissolves into instant hysterics. Her face goes bright red, and she’s got tears in her eyes. I mean I get it—Raney’s doing a terrible job hiding how she feels about the kitten Heidi is proudly holding up. But hairless animals aren’t for everyone.
Our call descends into chaos as the girls all start talking at once, adding crazy hand gestures, making it near impossible for anyone but us to understand what is going on or even keep up with what we’re talking about. A quick glance at Dominic and Ryder, both wide-eyed, proves my point.
The girls get caught up in some pretty funny banter, I stay quiet, keeping out of the firing line if I’m honest, until Heidi interrupts and stops us in our tracks. “I have news!”
The silence that hits is instant. You could hear a pin drop. We wait for an explanation, but Heidi takes too long to answer, and Raney pushes gently, tentatively, for an explanation. “Good news?”
Heidi makes a point of looking directly at each of us. And I’m shocked she lets us see she’s actually dreamy-eyed. Her voice is overflowing with happiness. “It’s getting better.”
Raney’s anxiety gets worse, making her sound like a bitch, but she’s not; she’s just having trouble expressing her shock, elation and worry. “Update then, I need to go get knotted then sleep for a year or two.”
Heidi locks up, but her eyes keep sparkling and filling with obvious happiness. I think it might be the first time I’veever seen her tongue tied. My heart thuds hard and worry darkens Raney’s and Tristan’s expressions. Heidi’s mouth moves but still nothing comes out, and then Kai, the Alpha she had a weekend away with not that long ago, pops into the camera view. “Hey, ladies, looking good as always. I promise I’m treating her like a queen.”
I look at Tristan, making sure I’m seeing what I’m seeing. And she is. Of course she beats me to speaking. “Fuck me, Kai is your news?”
“He’s working on his make good,” Heidi says, looking directly at each of us. Almost as if she’s daring us to challenge her decision to reconnect with him. We never would. We would make sure she’s safe though. And we do.
“Is he with you at Verdune Estate?” I ask. If he is there, it’s a sign of her trust. Heidi’s home is her sanctuary, and she’s very, very selective as to who she lets visit her there.
“Yes.” She holds my gaze. And in one word my anxiety for her welfare halves.
Tristan goes to say something, but Heidi interrupts and starts talking fast, giving us a lot of the detail and no time to absorb any of it. She unloads. Not defensively, she’s just really, really excited. And heart happy.
It’s like taking the cork out of a shaken champagne bottle. Heidi explodes into a ball of excitement and keeps talking and talking. Her entire plans have changed. She’s being courted by Pack Alastor, Kai’s pack, even after he did the dirty on her. Heidi even admits Pack Alastor have been relentless in their grovelling since they messed up.
“He and his pack are aware of how badly they messed up. They understand there are no second chances, they do me wrong ever and we’re history. Like history, history. But as of now, we’re working on finding our way. We’ve got things we need to sort out, but sorting out those issues is something we can do together.”
I’m so damn proud of her for taking a risk with love. I knew what she felt towards Kai and his pack was much more than she was letting on. I saw the well of pain in her eyes after she broke things off with them. They must be very important to Heidi if she is admitting her true feelings to us.
Raney has tears in her eyes. “Ho, do we need to talk about travel arrangements to see you being packed?”
Heidi looks off screen. And it’s an easy assumption she’s looking at Kai, because her features soften. She’s quiet, lost in thought but eventually she answers with a nod. And it’s enough, but she also confirms it in a handful of words. “Yeah, you should probably expect a call with times and dates sometimes soon. Okay, bye, I love you bitches like I’ve never loved anyone. I have to run.”
And then her screen goes blank, and she disappears from our chat.
I’ve got tears in my eyes. Raney’s speechless, and Tristan is squealing, “Did she just say what I think she said?”
But before we can say anything, Heidi is back in the call. Her voice sounds like she’s far away but impossible to ignore. “Make me come?”
Raney and Tristan mirror me, our mouths drop open, and we stare at each other.
A soft moan floats through our chat.
No one says a word or moves an inch. I mean, I can’t do either. I’m drowning in second-hand embarrassment. Clearly Heidi thinks she’s hung up on us, but she hasn’t. We can hear her and Kai getting down and dirty.
Then I realise I need to sever our connection for her sake, but also mine. Before I can find a way to end our four-way call Tristan starts talking and moaning like a porn star. “Ho! Put a bit of emotion in it… Kai, baby, please use your fat tongue and lick me clean.”
It’s mortifying. And hilarious. I’m not sure what to do—laugh or cry.
My eyes fly to Hendrix and Dominic, but before I can do or say anything, Kai’s back. “Already been doing that, ladies. She’s so close I can taste it.”
The man has no shame! Which is as shocking as hearing our bestie making sex noises.
Tristan and Raney are laughing in between bouts of offering more coaching, our call spiralling back into chaos until Heidi finally manages to disconnect—properlythis time.
I’m gobsmacked, staring at the blank screen on my phone, unable to speak. For so many reasons.
