Well, fuck.
“What the hell did you do?” Nolan growled.
Hailey stood up, blinking innocently. “I bit an alpha that I was a fan of. So, Merrick is officially one ofmyalphas—one ofmypack— you’re just going to have to deal with it.”
She sounded so confident, so sure, but there was a slight tremor of uncertainty in her voice.
And I couldn’t help but think she was worried about how mad we were going to be.
“Why?” Nolan’s voice was strained. All the color had drained from his face.
“Well…I didn't tell youexactlywhat the doctor said. He recommended that bonding with someone would help settle my sickness. Having contact with an alpha I was bonded with instead of the one who was far away would help me feel better.”
“Wecould have bonded!” I insisted. “We would have done anythingfor the sake of you and the baby!”
Hailey whipped around to glower at me. “I hardly know anythingabout you, other than the fact that your pack mate is a convict. I decided to discuss this with my friend Merrick. We came to the conclusion that we like each other and decided to bond.”
“Just like that, you decided to bond?” Nolan asked.
Hailey nodded. “And you can't say anything about it, Nolan, because I gave more thought to this bond than Preston gave to biting me!”
Nolan pinched the bridge of his nose. I could feel the exasperation rolling off him in waves. “I… Fuck.”
“I suppose you guys better get to know your new pack mate!” Hailey smiled viciously. “Merrick will be staying with me for a while.”
“Now, this place is rather tiny. Where are you sleeping?” Merrick asked, and I couldn’t restrain the low growl but quickly shook it off.
“The couch, the floor—wherever Hailey wants us to,” I said with a grin.
Even though I wasn’t too fond of this guy at the moment, I had to admire his determination when it came to protecting Hailey.
But they both needed to know that we were capable of that dedication too.
“Good,” he said with a nod. “Her nest is her own.”
“Yes, but you’re joining me in it, because you’re my bonded mate,” Hailey grinned, taking his hand and looking up at him with an expression I could only describe as loving.
Jealousy hit me like a punch to the gut.
“I thought I was your snuggle partner.” The words leaked out of me like blood from a shallow wound.
Nolan didn’t seemat alldistracted, unfortunately.
“You bonded with the first person you saw because you were mad at us and have forever changed our pack. How is that fair? How stupid can you be?” Nolan said.
“Stupid?” Hailey repeated, her voice taking on a low and dangerous tone.
Behind her, Merrick growled. He was a big fucker and had the muscles to back up his anger.
Nolan was about to put his foot in his mouth; I could feel it. He was usually the most composed one of our pack, but it seemed like Hailey had turned everything on its head.
“I know Merrick a hell of a lot better than the two of you. I definitely know him better than your pack mate who is currently sitting in a convict camp. I decided to bring someone into the pack I could actually trust—someone who isn’t a delinquent. Someone I’ve been interested in for years.”
“We arenotdelinquents,” Nolan growled.
“Yeah, like I can trust you. Your pack mate is a fucking convict.”
I bit my lip. The urge to laugh was intense, but I knew that if I let even one slip out, someone was probably going to strangle me.
