“Because Elliot Clark is my stepdad.” I laugh nervously.
“Oh shit.” Carson’s eyes widen.
“Wait, you're Addison Ashford?” Reid asks.
“That’s me.” I laugh awkwardly. “Surprise.” God, could I be any more cringy?
“Well, shit.” Reid chuckles. “The whole world thought you disappeared.”
I can’t help but roll my eyes. “I didn’t disappear. I moved away to go to school in Nashville. I wanted out of the spotlight and away from my mother.”
“Wait. You live here in Nashville?” His face lights up with excitement. “We live in Nashville.”
A wave of disappointment hits me. “No,” I say regretfully. “I actually moved back home to San Diego last month.”
“Move back.” Carson frowns.
“I can’t just move back.” I laugh. “I moved here for a reason.”
“And the reason was?”
And now things get awkward even more. “My mother cut me off, and I couldn’t afford to live there anymore. So she said I could come back to live here, but it came with a condition.”
“And that was?” Reid asks.
“I agreed to go out with the packs she’s picked for me.” I sigh heavily. “The pack of assholes you saw at the gala was the very pack she’s been forcing on me.”
“Fuck that pack,” Carson growls. “They can’t have you, you’re ours.”
His possessiveness has me giddy. “Down, boy.” I laugh. “You have nothing to worry about. I want nothing to do with them. And from the angry messages my mother left me before she went on her work trip, they no longer want anything to do with me either.”
“Good.” Reid grunts. “If we had to fight them for you, we would.”
“No need to fight anyone for me.” I smile. “I’m all yours.”
But am I? Yes, I’m theirs. But they’re not the only ones I have feelings for.
Now is not the time, Addie. Your friends online are exactly that, online. You can’t have your cake and eat it too. Do you think your Alphas are going to be okay with adding three more guys to your pack, three guys who you’ve never met? Guys, you have no idea if they even feel the same way about you or not?
And you can’t just go on there and ask them, because that would be disrespectful towards your new Alphas. And what about Damien?
As I look at my Alphas on the screen, any feelings I have for anyone else seem to drift away. Maybe the more time I spend with Carson and Reid, the more everything I feel for anyone else will drift away completely?
Maybe it’s not romantic feelings I have for my friends online, maybe it’s just that they’re a safe place for me, and I’m misinterpreting my feelings for them as something more.
As for Damien? Sure, I’m attracted to him, but it’s just a crush, right?
“Damn right you are.” Carson grins. “Do you know how hard it was not to text you? Damn, baby, we’ve been going out of our minds without you.”
“I’m sorry I left without saying anything.” My cheeks heat with embarrassment. “I just didn't know how to process everything.”
“We understand,” Reid says, his voice going softer. “It’s a lot to deal with in a short amount of time. We’re strangers who came with big changes.”
“Well, we need to fix the whole stranger thing,” Carson declares.
“How about we ask Addison what she wants to do first?” Reid chides his friend.
“Addie,” I tell them. “I prefer being called Addie.”
