But I didn’t know if I was willing to risk that again.
Chapter 5
Angie
Ittookhalfaday for the roads to clear. My stomach was tight with nerves, and a breakfast of Skittles didn’t help. Rhett kept glancing over at me, brows knit, and I was terrified he was about to tell me I smell like sweat and fear, or something equally embarrassing.
In the light of a new day, my agreement to this arrangement seemed less adventurous and more insane.
I was about to be in a town full of shifters. I was going to a house full of shifters to lie to their faces and hope they didn’t go feral if they caught my dishonesty.
I was going to meet a man’s mother.
No one had ever introduced me to their mother, not even my ex-fiancé.
It felt…significant.
My throat worked. Someone finally cared enough to introduce me to their family, and it was fake. Our ruse cheapened it. I was just going to be an accessory to Rhett for the next twenty-four hours.
I sighed, resting my chin on my hands and staring out the window. There was a big, friendly sign that said, “Welcome to Glacier Run.” A stunning mural of different colored wolves howling at the northern lights was painted below it.
Buildings came into view, and I was surprised by how normal everything looked. I spotted a hardware store, a coffee shop, and a thrift store. People were walking through the snow, some of them carrying paper bags or pulling sleds full of stuff.
It was easy to tell shifters from humans by how bundled up they were. Shifters were walking around in sweats and a hoodie like it wasn’t twelve degrees outside.
“This is where I grew up,” Rhett said quietly. His tone was calm, detached even.
He wanted to get this over with.
Whatever tension I imagined between us yesterday was gone. He kept me warm last night because he was a nice guy.
And yeah, I did feel his morning wood all nestled up against my backside, but I decided he didn’t want me to mention it.
Now, I was on edge. The last of his warmth had seeped from me, and I didn’t know what to say. Quiet gnawed at me, leaving holes for doubt and anxiety to creep in.
We turned off Main Street, and immediately the trees grew dense. Within two minutes we were deep in the Alaskan wilderness again.
Just as quickly, the trees parted, and we were in a suburban neighborhood. Rows of cute houses lined the streets. Some still had holiday wreaths and red ribbons decorating them, the evergreen colors standing out brightly in the snow.
At the end of the road was a cul-de-sac. Perched right in the middle was a massive building, completely out of place with the modern houses.
It looked like a log cabin on steroids. There were at least three floors with a porch that wrapped all the way around.
“Who lives there?”
“That’s the packhouse. Unmated shifters, guests, and new members of the pack stay there. The alpha family keeps an office there so they’re available. We also host events there. Christmas parties, weddings, even birthday parties.”
“Can I go inside?”
Rhett studied me in his peripherals. “I can give you a tour after Mom’s birthday.”
He turned away from the pack house and out of the neighborhood, following a narrow two-lane road back into the woods.
“I lived there for a little while when I was a kid.”
“What was it like?”
“Loud. Busy.” He tapped his thumb absentmindedly on the steering wheel. “Safe.”
