“He hid the truth. From Liam. From his parents. From you, his siblings to whom he tellseverything.”
“We all have our secrets.”
“What secrets do you have?”
That I’m not fine with May going after Liam . . .“None,” I lied. “But give my brother the benefit of the doubt. Giveherthe benefit of the doubt. Everyone already detests her because of her last name.”
“Fine, but if Nash uncovers any dirty secret—”
“Then Liam will deal with her accordingly, and I’ll admit I was wrong.” On a sigh, I unlocked the door.
Before I could swing it open, Adalyn gripped my forearm. “I told May to stay away from him.”
My stomach took shape again, and my heart bounced back into its original cavity.
“But don’t go for a second round. Not unless you’re ready to have your heart broken.” She squeezed once before letting go. “But in case you reallycan’tresist, I’ll be there to pick up the pieces.”
My lips wobbled as I slung my arms around her shoulders. “If I never get a true mate, I’m glad I got a true sister.”
Her arms came around me. “Stop it. You’re going to make my eyeliner run.”
After a prolonged hug, we finally returned to a table filled with food and crowded with people. My seat was now occupied by Niall, who was talking Liam’s ear off about the itinerary for our pack run on Friday. I hadn’t shifted since my lope around the compound, and my wolf was chomping at the bit. It hit me that this would be my first time running with Liam.
I took a seat at the head of the table between Mom and Adalyn, then filled my plate with the delicious food Dad and Nolan had managed to whip up in such a short amount of time. At some point, I looked up and found Liam staring back.
Everything okay?
I pasted on a smile and nodded.
His gaze slid to Adalyn, who was complimenting Dad on the roasted spaghetti squash.
Mom put her hand on mine, scanning my face in a way that made blood rush into my cheeks. Did she know? “How’s your head, sweetheart?”
I expelled a deep breath, glad this wasn’t about Liam. “Not hurting at all.”
“I’d like you to sleep under our roof tonight so I can keep an eye on you.”
I was about to tell her not to worry when I thought better of turning down her invitation. It would help me resist Liam in case he propositioned me later. He probably wouldn’t because of my head wound and the insane day we’d both had, but still. “Sounds good, Mom.”
She squeezed my fingers, then reached across the table for the platter of grilled salmon steaks just as Lucas trundled into Pondside.
“Nate’s with her,” he told Liam as he plopped down in one of the remaining free seats and loaded up his plate until the food was piled treacherously high.
“Did Darren already get the result?”
He shoveled three large forkfuls before saying, “Yeah. He’s reproducin’ it as we speak.”
I plopped my elbows on the table and twirled a little piece of paper napkin between my fingers. “Another factor we should consider is using shifter blood instead of animal blood or human blood.”
Lucas’s giant forkful froze an inch from his lips and some of the food toppled onto his lap. “Good point.” He pinched the fallen pieces and lobbed them into his mouth.
Liam stopped caressing the top of his son’s head. “What’s a good point?”
“Knickknack suggested using shifter blood instead of animal blood.”
Liam’s gaze slanted to mine. “Is Nate still with Darren?”
I knew he wasn’t asking me.
