At least that way, I can avoid Arianna and leave before she wakes up. Besides, my friends are coming over to visit Portland for the first time since we retired from black ops. As a tight-knit bunch, we saved each other’s lives countless times on our missions, and we became close because of that.
Right now, I desperately need the company of my closest friends, and I look forward to starting my day just so I can spend time with them.
And time away from Arianna, I think glumly as I drag my feet to the bathroom for a shower, hoping that washing off the remnants of her scent might help me forget that I was just a rebound.
***
“Yo, Tyler!” Dominic whistles from across the lake, waving as he grins from ear to ear. He's the first one to emerge from the forest alongside his mate, Cecelia.
He has one arm slinked across the timid woman's shoulders, the other around her midriff, where her belly is ripe with their child, and he leads the way for the rest of the group to emerge.
He’s been visiting around the state with her to introduce his luna to his closest friends before she gives birth. He'd leftPortland for the last when I reached out to him the other day, deciding to round up the group and meet here to visit me on the last leg of his tour.
I suspect he already knows that I'm troubled. It's the only reason I'd ever ask him for the potent wolfsbane that grows in Nightmist.
Behind him, Nicholas and Sean come out waving, followed by one of the only two she-wolves who'd joined our squad in black ops—Delilah Hargreeves from the Shadow Fang Pack in Scarborough.
She was the only female who ever had the guts to join. As an alpha's daughter and only child, she's set to take the mantle when she turns thirty in two years and become the luna of the Shadow Fang Pack, which is run like a monarchy. So it came as a surprise that the princess would join black ops.
Delilah has an added advantage, however. Her mother is a witch, so she has special powers that set her apart from any ordinary werewolf—something she never stopped reminding us of every time she kicked our asses during training.
That's why I love her—like a little sister, of course. And it's why I jog over to the group and greet her first with a hug, before greeting my brothers.
I guess in some ways, forming bonds with the members of the black ops squad softened the blow of losing my brother and made easing into missions a breeze. The only one missing today is Hunter, who's completing his alpha trials in Bloodclaw.
“You guys finally made it,” I grin as I step back, and Nicholas pats my shoulder, his forest-green eyes glittering with humor.
“Dom said it was urgent,” he chuckles. “Something about you going through it, and needing us. So, we're here.”
“I never said anything like that!” I defend as I narrow my eyes at Dominic.
Sean comes over and slings his arm across my shoulders as we set out for Portland. His dark head is bent as he whispers discreetly, “You would never ask for the good stuff unless it was urgent, Ty-Ty. We all know how uptight you were during black ops.”
I fix my narrowed eyes on Sean, shaking my head. It's true—I was always the one looking out for the others, the ‘designated driver' of sorts that would refuse a hit of wolfsbane just to make sure the others stayed safe while they let loose.
Reaching out to Dominic for that particular purpose must have come as a surprise and caused a stir amongst our friends who know me better than anyone. Still, I mask the way I'm feeling, poking Sean in the ribs.
“If you're here to make ridiculous observations, I'll kick you out of Portland. You're far from home, but you'll be running with your tail between your legs when I chase you.”
Sean chuckles. “Oh, come on, Ty-Ty. You think you can beat me all the way to Vermont? Pfft!”
Nicholas chimes in, “I say we should race, for old time's sake. Whatcha say, D?” He turns to Delilah, who's walking arm-in-arm with Cecelia.
They appear to be close already, but that's the effect Delilah has on those around her.
“I don't think Cece is in any condition to race you lot. She would have kicked your asses, anyway.”
Cecelia blushes. “Oh, Delilah, that's not true!”
Delilah rolls her eyes and tilts her head toward Dominic. “I saw your mate running from Nick's place here. She's fast, even pregnant.”
“I won't argue with that,” Dominic says as he pulls Cecelia from Delilah's side and swiftly kisses her cheek, deepening her blush. “My mate doesn't fail to surprise me.”
Watching them share another sweet kiss on the lips is unsettling, even if it's meant to be natural between the pair of true mates.
It churns my gut, seeing the couple together, knowing that I'll never have that pure kind of bond with my own true mate.
Turning my face forward to focus on leading the group into town through the forest, I notice Delilah curiously frowning at me, as if she's using her magic to read my thoughts when she senses something off about me, but I block her out.
