“Hi,” Isaid.
Keeping her gaze cemented to her hand, she murmured, “Hey.”
I wasn’t certain why, but I felt guilty all of a sudden. As though entering the Alpha contest had prompted August to leave—which wasn’t true. He’d left because he’d needed to get away. It had nothing to do withme.
Matt spun around and gave me a wolfish grin. “Little Wolf’s in thehouse!”
I smirked at the nickname. “Should you bedriving?”
“I’m a righty.” He wiggled the fingers of his good hand. “Thank goodness forAmanda.”
Amanda flicked his big arm andtittered.
I didn’t catch the correlation between his fingers and his girlfriend, until Sienna said, “TMI,guys.”
Oh. “Eww.” I wrinkled mynose.
A soft smile settled on Sienna’sface.
Matt belted out a laugh that was as large as his ribcage, then spun the dial of his stereo until a rap song shook the car. And then he revved up his engine and took off, headlights zipping over the darkened landscape as fast as laserbeams.
“You might want to put your seatbelt on,” Sienna yelped, strapping herself in. I think she added, “Not that you can die from a car crash,” but the music was so loud and her voice so soft I wasn’tsure.
Couldn’t I,though?
Werewolves were stronger than normal humans, but they weren’t immortal. If Heath could drown in a pool, couldn’t I die from a car crash? Couldn’t August perish from a detonating grenade? I filed the question away forlater.
I would askEverest.
After yelling at him for ditching me, I would askhim.
Chapter Twenty-One
The packalong with two bartenders and a couple grizzly-faced beer drinkers made up the small crowd atTracy’s.
As I walked inside, I started regretting coming along. Wherever my enthusiasm to hang out with the pack had stemmed from, the second I crossed the threshold, it shrunk like the Colorado River during hot, drymonths.
I straightened my spine and raised my chin. I was here now. Might as well make the most of it. Besides, I was leaving, so it wasn’t like they’d have to endure me muchlonger.
Several gazes raked over me as I trailed behind Amanda and Matt. Even though I was mad at Everest, I desperately sought him out, but encountered Taryn’s narrowed blue gaze instead. She elbowed Lucas, who leaned on his cue stick as he turned toward me. On the other side of the felt table, Liam was lining up his pool tip to the cue ball. He was so concentrated on making the shot that a deep wrinkle plowed the spot between his eyebrows. Next to him stood Cole, and next to him,Tamara.
Whereas Tamara looked at me as though I were a leper come to contaminate her, Cole sent me asmile.
“You got Ness to emerge from her lair.” Cole pumped his fist against his brother’s uninjuredone.
“Can’t take credit for that. It was all Amanda’s doing.” Matt draped his arm around his girlfriend. “Everyone knows you can’t say no to my girl.” He craned his neck to look at me. “I tried when she pursued me. She wasrelentless.”
“Poor baby.” She pouted up at him. “You’re such avictim.”
He laughed and kissed her temple, then tightened his grip. “A real content victim,” he purred into herear.
“They’re annoyingly cute those two,” Sienna said, her tone slipper-soft. There was no jealousy in her voice, though, just genuineaffection.
“When did you move to Boulder?” I askedher.
“In my junior year of highschool.”
“Wherefrom?”
