Page 44 of All Packed Up

He was in the city. Not too far away. Wendy jerked back, physically and mentally, trying to put distance between them, trying to get him out of her head.

“Wendy, answer me!” Tate said, catching her attention with the surprising hardness to his tone.

She blinked, and from the corner of her eye, saw a worried Arlo, a flash of Nic right behind him.

“What?” Wendy hadn’t heard a question.

“Can I help?” Tate questioned again, gaze intense and worried.

Wendy nodded, her voice spilling out on a wave of tears. “Yes, yeah, I want him gone, I—”

Tate framed her face with his hands, tilted her up to him, and crushed his lips to hers.

His scent filled her nostrils, and it was the first time she truly felt the full effect of Tate, the alpha. It was all cream and cocoa wrapped up in a burnt caramel smoke, and she melted into him just like their smoke had melted into the sun all evening. Heat struck directly at her core, and she pushed herself into Tate even more, gripping at his waist and feeling the muscle there. His hands drifted to the back of her head, tangling in her long hair, and she—

The bond flared—more rage, jealousy, possessiveness as Wendy fell away from Derek and moved her lips against Tate’s. The one emotion that didn’t make sense was the satisfaction, and then Derek was gone.

Wendy pulled back from Tate with a gasp. “He knows where I am,” she breathed. It’s the only explanation for why he’d shut her out. He was always with her. “He’s gone.”

With a sigh of relief and part exhaustion, she thumped her head into the center of Tate’s chest, and he wrapped his arms around her. And despite the passion he’d just kissed her with, his arms were no heavier than a feather as he hugged her.

“We need to go then. Now,” Nic said. “Everything’s ready, I loaded your stuff from the apartment and locked it up.”

“We wouldn’t let them take you even if it had been them at the door,” Tate promised.

Wendy’s cheeks heated, but the sentiment of his words made her chest ache in a totally different way. Lifting her head, she found Nic behind him, tall, dark, handsome, and safe.

Nic’s arms opened as she all but threw herself at him, and he pressed his lips to her head briefly as she wrapped her arms around him and squeezed tight.

“What about them?” Wendy asked, and propped her head on Nic’s chest, staring up at him.

“Who?” he asked, arching a brow. His worry lines were deep, and she couldn’t help but realize it was her fault.

“Derek knows I’m here,” she insisted. “And…” Her eyes fell shut under the weight of her worry. That alpha had felt everything she had when Tate kissed her. “They are gonna come for you,” she said, gaze pleading as she faced Tate.

Her heart was pounding. Nic had helped with her heat, and Tate had kissed her… that meant they had targets on their backs. It wasn’t fair to leave the alphas behind to suffer the consequences while she and Nic escaped to safety.

“You need to leave too,” Wendy urged, eyeing Tate.

Tate’s gaze flitted from her to Nic over her shoulder, and finally Arlo.

“Well, I guess you’re coming with us,” Nic drawled.

Wendy almost broke her neck whipping her head around so fast.

“Really?” she asked, so relieved the word came out on a huff of air.

“What? Changed your mind already? Were we that boring?” Arlo teased, already at the coffee table and packing up the weed.

“No! Not at all,” she promised. Wendy stepped back so she could turn her attention to both the beta and alphas, telling Nic, “We watched television and played Connect Four and Uno. I’m the champion, by the way.”

“Of which one?”

“Both,” Tate and Arlo answered, and she practically heard their eyes roll as Tate helped her gather her things and hunt down Knuckles.

“What about the blanket?” she asked, accepting the pile of Knuckles atop the blanket she’d had curled around her all night.

“Keep it, you can give it back later,” Arlo said, shooting her an uncharacteristic wink.