“I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”
“You’re not staying?”
“Haven’t quite made the arrangements for the move yet. But soon.” He stepped closer. “And I’m not moving in until this is settled.”
“This?”
“You and me. I want you to have your space to decide without me sleeping down the hall.”
I smiled, realizing how exhausted I was. “That’s nice of you.”
Leaning down close to my ear, he whispered. “I think you’ll find I can do lots of nice things.” He winked when he stepped back. “But truly, it’s for me too.”
Glancing behind me, the others waited a small distance away to give the two of us privacy. “How do you mean?”
A faint smile. “I’ve operated in solitude for a long time. I’m comfortable there. The idea of being in a pack and having an Omega had slipped from my mind until the other day.
“And if I have to step away from you and them, I’ll do it. But if I’ve moved in and started to become a part of you, and then have to leave, I know there will be a very deep scar.”
My chest ached at that thought. “You barely know us.”
“I don’t have to.”
He wasn’t wrong. I barely knew the rest of the pack, and I was here doing this. Isolde and Ocean were both bonded within a month of meeting their scent matches. Who knew if that would be us, but fuck, it was hard not to hope.
Aiden reached for me and paused before pulling his hand back. “But don’t think about me when you’re making this decision. It’s for you.” Then he broke into a smile. “Though I won’t pretend not to try influencing it.”
“After telling you to show me what you’ve got? I would expect nothing less.”
He half bowed. “At your service.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow.”
When I glanced back at the elevator doors, surrounded by Alphas, Aiden still stood there watching, and it feltwrong. I understood why, but I didn’t like the look of him standing there completely alone.
Everyone was quiet. Suspiciously quiet. Until the door shut behind us, and Logan pulled me against him, chest pressed to my back. “I have some questions, wildfire.”
“Everything’s fine with me and Val,” I lied. “She’s just very particular about who’s in the house and who visits.”
“She doesn’t like you being there?” Brooks asked. “Because twice we’ve seen you practically set the ground on fire to get out of that house, andbothtimes were as soon as Val, Paige, and Matt entered the picture.”
My throat started to close. I fought it. My voice still sounded strained. “You know how it is. They had me my whole childhood, now they’d rather have the house to themselves.”
Bastian stepped in, caging me between his body and Logan’s, tilting my chin up. “Is that the truth?”
“Yes.”
“Is that thewholetruth?”
My hesitation was already the answer they needed, but I swallowed. “No.”
Logan kissed my neck softly. “Will you tell us?”
For the first time in a long time, I wanted to. But the idea of speaking about any of it out loud made it hard to breathe. When I could finally open up about it, I knew that a weight the size of the world would slide off my shoulders.
But the weight was comfortable. I knew how to walk while carrying it. Knew what it was like to have the constant shade blocking out the sun. Stepping into the light was terrifying.
