“That sounds ominous.”
She shrugged. “My story is going to sound a little bit made up.”
She told me about mates and bonds and markings and about the bears, her mates and mine, and how they literally turned into furry beasts.
Except they weren’t mine.
Only, they were.
When she said it, it felt true. It was a whole lot to take in. While I didn’t fully understand everything about shifters, and seeing the bears versus believing in their existence were going to be two very different experiences, it didn’t scare me the way it probably should have. If anything, it made me more curious.
“Hey, let’s go get you something to eat.”
“I could eat, but also, I need to figure out how to deal with shit with Mark. Because right now, I don’t even have my wallet, my ID, access to my bank account—nothing.”
“Can’t you just use my phone to get your banking done?”
I shook my head. “No. I wasn’t allowed to set up online banking.” As I said it, I realized that should have been my first clue I was being controlled. “As soon as Mark and I got married and my trust became mine, it was set up to be something I had to do in person.” Of course,in personmeant having a chaperone. I’d never touched it, partly in the hopes he’d forget it was there.
“Yeah…why don’t I have you talk to Tyrone? He knows a lot about human things from back when he was working for as a royal bodyguard.”
“Royalty? Like princes and princesses?”
“Yeah, it’s not as cool as it sounds. Maybe we’ll hold off on talking to him until you’ve rested.”
I knew she meant well, but sitting here, not moving forward, was only going to make my anxiety worse.
“No, I really want to talk to him tonight.”
“How about sandwiches? We’ll eat on the porch, and I’ll see if he can come out? Does that work for you?”
I nodded and then wondered if she was trying to push it off because she had other things she should be doing.
“Do you need to be momming right now? Am I taking you away from her?”
“My alphas don’t play game. We’re all parents. Trust me, somebody’s having a grand time playing, and by someone, I mean at least one of my mates. They can be the biggest kids of all, sometimes. It’s wonderful.”
It really sounded like it was.
Chapter Twelve
York
I sat on the back porch while Isabella spoke to Millie and Tyrone about legal matters. Divorce. Settlement. Getting as far away from Mark legally as possible. I was giddy about her wanting to part ways with him, but, given everything she’d gone through, letting go of what she once thought was her dream life would be painful.
The last thing I wanted was for our omega to be in pain.
I told her to come find me when she was ready.
In the meantime, Cashel and Lyon were nailing Mark where it hurt the most. We didn’t dare discuss it over the phone, but I knew what they were going to do.
It would mean his demise and her freedom. But she didn’t need to be there when everything went down.
I was perfectly happy to be here with our girl.
Speaking of our girl, her sweet scent carried through the screen door. She stood inside for a few minutes. I waited for her instead of saying anything. Isabella was still in that stage between pain and healing. She wasn’t fragile, but this was a trying time. How she was traversing it proved how brave and strong she was.
“Hey,” she said.
