As desperate as I was to stay and hear everything Falon and Callum’s mother had to say, this wasn’t my pack and I had other matters that needed my attention.
Not to mention the fact that Gabriel’s scent was getting thicker the longer we all spent crammed into Callum’s bedroom. He might’ve been quiet, but I didn’t need him to speak to feel his presence.
Every inhale brought awareness with it. Creeping under my skin, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand to attention. His very presence called to something deep in my soul, threatening to unravel everything I’d worked so hard at to bury our connection.
I fucking hated feeling like this.
The sooner I could get back to my home, my territory, the better. “We’ll leave you to it,” I said, catching Talis’s look of surprise. “Text me if you need anything, Falon.”
“Thank you.”
“May the Goddess help Callum through this.”
Callum’s mum gave me a small smile, and I prayed for her sake that her son woke up. This was no way to say goodbye.
“Max.” I nodded at my cousin. “Gabriel,” I added, having been petty enough for one day.
“It’s Mase,” he answered, looking up as I walked past him.
Blue eyes caught mine, and it took all my willpower to remain unaffected by their depths. I’d lost myself there once before, and look how that had ended. “Mase,” I muttered, unable to keep the distaste out of my voice judging from the way his lips twitched.
Whatever.
Guess I had a little pettiness left in me after all.
RYS
We walked backthrough the woods in silence, Talis letting me stew in my own thoughts.
As soon as we got in the car, though, he turned to face me. “I thought you’d want to stay and hear what Falon had to say.”
“I did but—” I gestured with a hand, hoping I wouldn’t have to elaborate.
Talis snorted. “You’re going to have to give me more than that.”
Ugh. I let my head fall back against the seat as Talis started the car. “His scent was getting too much for me.”
Talis pulled out of the car park, bottom lip drawn between his teeth. He didn’t ask whose scent I was on about, and I could almost feel the cogs turning in his mind. “You and Gabriel…”
“What about us?” I sighed and turned to look out the window at the trees of Sherwood Forest as we drove by.
“You seemed so angry when we first saw him yesterday, I thought the two of you must’ve had a run-in down in Cornwall. Like hunter to shifter.” He glanced at me as we stopped at the lights. “But if his scent is getting under your skin that much after all these years…”
My heart stuttered. Even if he didn’t put two and two together now, it wouldn’t take him long.
“Were the two of you in a relationship?”
I barked out a harsh laugh. “I thought so at the time.” Naive. So fucking naive.
“Did you know he was a hunter?” Talis asked softly, and I had to smile at how easily he read the situation.
Have I always been this transparent?
“No,” I answered, voice just as quiet. “Not at first.” At first, I’d been entranced with blue eyes that sparkled with amusement and a smile that took my breath away.
“I almost don’t want to ask,” Talis muttered, “but when did you find out?”
“When I saw him standing over the body of a dead shifter with a blood-covered dagger in his hand and Caleb Tombs beside him.”
