I dream of the moment I can run my fingers through those silky strands
When I watch you my heart goes soaring high
I love you more than anyone understands
Goosebumps ran down my arms as I read the poem, my bright mood obliterated. I glanced over my shoulder, suddenly paranoid that I was being watched. I re-read it, trying to make sense of it.
Finally, I couldn’t look at it anymore. I opened the drawer I’d shoved the last one in and threw this one in, slamming it shut. I turned off the kitchen lights and ran upstairs, my heart pounding with each rapid step.
I locked my bedroom door and wrapped myself in my favorite blanket, lying in my nest. The pain in my head kicked up again as I tried to control my breathing. I was being paranoid. This was probably nothing, or at worst, a prank.
But the poem’s words haunted me late into the night, chasing me into my nightmares.
14
WESTIN
When I woke the next morning, I heard people moving around downstairs. I peered out the window and saw my uncles’ car. I groaned, resting my forehead against the windowsill. It felt like their toxic presence was seeping from the first floor up to my room. I wished I was scheduled to work so I had an excuse to leave the house, but instead, I’d just hidden out in my room all day. But now it was late afternoon and I was starving.
And fucking anxious.
My mind kept going to the letters. I’d spent all day trying to convince myself that they were harmless, but the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach wouldn’t go away. I should tell my uncles. It was stupid not to. At least, that’s what I told myself as I headed downstairs.
I peered into the kitchen, finding Alex sitting at the island.
“Hey, do you have a minute?”
He looked up from the paper he was reading with an impatient expression. “What is it, Westin?”
I forced myself not to shrink under his gaze. I pulled the two letters from the drawer and handed them to him.
“What is this?” he asked, barely glancing them over.
“I’ve been getting these creepy letters. I think someone might be stalking me.” Saying it out loud for the first time made it feel real.
Alex took another look, this time actually reading them. He fixed me with an almost bored look. “What do you want me to do about it?”
My throat felt tight and I couldn’t stop my shoulders from curving in. “I’m not sure. Do you think I should report it to the police? I’m not sure they’ll do anything…” I trailed off as Alex rolled his eyes.
“Westin, if these letters are even real and not a product of your imagination, it seems like a harmless prank.”
Anger burned inside me, and my cheeks heated. “I’m not making this up, and what’s written here doesn’t feel harmless.”
Alex took a long drink of his coffee as if he was the one who needed his strength for this conversation.
“You ready to go?” Sean entered the kitchen, looking down at his phone. He glanced up and his lip curled when he saw me. “Didn’t know you were here.”
“I live here,” I said dryly.
“So you do,” Sean said. “Speaking of which—” He held up the utility bill I’d refused to open last night.
I looked down at the bill, panic rising in my chest when I saw the amount. “I don’t have the money for this and rent.”
“That’s not our problem,” Sean said. “We are letting you live here out of the kindness of our hearts. I think this is the least you could do.”
Alex got up and stretched. “Alright, I’m ready to go.”
“But you can’t do this.” I looked between the two alphas. “I don’t have the money to pay this bill.”
