She extended her handagain.
Liam looked at it, then looked back up ather.
“Keep your phone on, Morgan.” And then he whirled around and yelled into our minds with such authority that my forehead spasmed.We’re done here!On our way back toward the deck’s staircase, he added,Ness, you’re coming home withme.
I stumbled, just managing to catch myself on the handrail. He’d said those exact words to me a monthago.
Our work startstoday.
Iswallowed.
August started down the stairs, but Liam stepped into his path and said, “I said we were donehere.”
“Get out of my way,Liam.”
Liam must’ve spoken directly into August’s mind, because my intended’s jaw turned as hard as bark, and then his gaze fell on me,narrowedon me. He backed away, before stalking into the inn, stretching the tether so violently that, for a second, I feared it wouldsnap.
But itdidn’t.
It simply thinned and weakened until all that was left behind was a dullhollowness.
To spare Liam’s heart, I’d maimedAugust’s.
1
Ididn’t speakto Liam during the ride over to his house, because I was angry at how he’d dealt with August. I was also mad at myself for not having put up more of a fight. Then again, I’d been trying to get Liam to calm down and leave the inn with his heart still locked in hischest.
I propped my elbow on the door handle and my forehead on my fingertips. A headache was blooming against my temples. Too much stress and too little sleep. I didn’t regret the too little sleep part,though.
Spending the night with August had been . . . well, it had been something I would never regret. My lips still tingled from the heat of his mouth, and my heart still pounded from the memory of his beating againstmine.
Would I ever get another night with him? What if he left Boulder until the Winter Solstice? Or what if he stayed but shunned myexistence?
That made my heart starttwisting.
Before being my intended mate, he was my friend, the boy who’d taught me to climb trees and read stars, the boy who’d picked me up from school when my parents couldn’t, the boy who’d sat in my darkened room so the monsters under my bed couldn’t reach out and harmme.
When the mating link clicked into place between us on the night of Liam’s swearing-in as Alpha, I’d been desperate to break it. After all, Liam was still my boyfriend then. But that relationship lasted a whopping four days. The rain-soaked afternoon Liam called me a traitor was the end of him and me. However much he’d groveled once he figured out I hadn’t backstabbed my own pack, I couldn’t bring myself to forgive him for his rushed and erroneous judgment. And then last week, he’d slept with his gorgeous, red-headed ex, Tamara, which hurt, but the pain of losing him was nothing compared to the fear of losingAugust.
The black Mercedes SUV bumped along the short dirt driveway, jostling me out of my morose deliberations. Once we were parked, I reached for the doorhandle.
“I know you hate my guts right now, but I didn’t force you and August apart to annoy you, Ness. My life’s on the line, and I need a hundred percent of yourattention.”
I side-eyed my Alpha. Like I would believe that. He’d been willing to give up his life minutesago.
“Do you have any food?” I asked, forcing the topic away fromAugust.
Liam’s tense expression stuttered. “Yeah. Matt’s mom sent me lots of stuff a couple daysago.”
“Good. Because I’mstarving.”
I got out of the car and walked to the front door of his sleek one-storied cabin with the glassed-in living room. I didn’t tap my foot as I waited for him, even though he was taking his grand old time. He checked his phone and typed out a message before finally making his way to me. He unlocked the door and gestured for me to go ahead of him. My nostrils flared at the scent of mint lacing the air, which had once felt like silk against my senses, but now felt likesandpaper.
“Why don’t you take a seat? I’ll get thefood.”
I crossed over the cowhide rug and sank into his brown leather couch. As he banged around in his kitchen, I checked my phone for messages. I had plenty, but none fromAugust.
I opened one of Sarah’s. The first read:WTF?
