“She’s a human, like you said.” My lips are somehow still moving even though I’m about to pass out. “And she doesn’t stick around.”
SUNNY
WHAT? I stagger back from the window, my hand on my chest. I’ll get rid of her. Shot to the heart. Hurts worse than a bullet. After everything we shared together, I can’t believe Titus would dismiss us so quickly.
It didn’t mean anything.
Right. There is no us. I was a fool to think a guy with that many issues could commit.
Alpha Green says something I don’t catch. I’m too busy pressing my palm against my aching chest, breathing hard. This is just like Jack all over again. I’ve been deemed unworthy by my faulty biology. Not good enough.
But the pain I’m feeling is my own fault. I did it. I let him in, and this is how it feels.
Like dying.
“I’m committed to the pack,” Titus says. Of course he does. This is why he can’t commit to me. Not that I ever asked him to. Not that we had any kind of committed relationship at all.
But still. Being summarily dismissed as a lowly human he has to get rid of goes straight to my sorest spot.
I don’t stay to hear any more. I blunder back to the charter bus, where Fiona has invited Declan back, only to berate him more about his accent. I feel Titus coming over, so I insert myself into their group and lean towards Allison.
“Sorry.” My voice comes out thick. “I don’t have any willow bark after all.”
Fiona frowns. “Sunny, are you okay?”
“Don’t mind me,” I wave my hand dismissively. “Long day.”
“Real grateful to you boys-” Titus’ voice booms and I fall silent. He’s a few yards away, shaking Rafe’s hand.
I want to be anywhere but here. I will myself invisible.
Allison steps forward, her face shining. For a second it looks like she’s going to give the big military man a hug. “We just wanted to thank you-”
“No problem,” Rafe cuts her off, retreating before she can touch him. His guys are already loaded up in their Humvees. Deke’s G63 kicks up dust as he speeds off.
Right. Wolves don’t like associating outside of their pack.
Rafe lowers mirrored shades, nods to Titus and Alpha Green before leaping into his brother’s Humvee.
“Bye-bye, black wolves,” Allison murmurs. She doesn’t seem too upset at Rafe’s stand-offishness.
I inch around to the outskirts of the group.
“All right, everyone,” Alpha Green booms. “We’ve got sandwiches and drinks inside, and a bunch of my pack are figuring out places you can stay. And as soon as we can, we’ll get information from everyone to reconnect you with your families and get you settled, wherever you want to go.”
Shifters start drifting in the direction Alpha Green pointed.
“Titus”-Alpha Green waves-“gonna need you inside.”
“Coming.” Titus pivots in place, searching the crowd. His face is pale and drawn. Aura a brown-gray.
I shrink behind the bus. My hands are clammy, my head swims with the start of a killer migraine. He’s looking for me. Of course, he could scent me out if he wanted, but after a few seconds he shrugs and heads inside the building. Almost everyone is gone.
“I’ll get you some aspirin,” Laurie tells Allison, offering his hand. She takes it and Laurie puffs up to his full height. Declan and Fiona head inside, Fiona’s lip curled in a sneer as she banters with him.
Palming my keys, I get into my bus. Better to slip out now, before anyone notices. I need to get out of Wolf Ridge. Away from Titus.
He doesn’t want me.
The cold thought keeps me going the full two and a half hours until I pull into the driveway outside my daughter’s house.
Voices murmur inside. I knock.
A second later, my daughter’s bright head fills the doorway. “Mom?” When she sees my face, her eyebrows pinch in worry under the mermaid colors of her hair.
Then and only then do I let my face crumple and begin to cry.
Titus
THE HEAVINESS of my lies to Alpha Green coat my mouth. I keep trying to tell myself it was for Sunny’s own good. To keep Alpha Green from worrying about her, or possibly asking me to get her mind wiped by a vampire.
Bullshit.
I don’t even need my wolf to snarl it at me. I know it myself.
It was total self-preservation.
I didn’t want to get kicked out of the pack over a female again, so I acted like a coward.
But it’s okay, if I can just get out of here, I’ll find Sunny and we can talk about our future. If she agrees to let me be a part of her life, I can deal with Green then.
Even that doesn’t mollify my wolf or me. I have a current of uneasiness running through me at a mounting level.
To make it even worse, I can’t spot Sunny anywhere. I haven’t seen her for a couple hours now-not since we came inside, and she hasn’t answered my text asking where she is.
Of course, Green’s eye is on me the whole fucking time, so I haven’t been able to shirk my duties and go find her, either.
At long last, I finish debriefing the pack council.
“Good work, everyone,” Alpha Green congratulates the room. We interviewed a few of the shifters and conferenced in the tech guru Jackson King and his wife Kylie, a shifter with amazing hacking abilities. They’re working on contacting the pack or family of each of the stolen shifters-those who want to go back. If the shifters prefer not to return to their homes, we’ll help them settle. In the meantime, the Phoenix pack will continue to host everyone.
I give a vague nod when Pierce, one of my council buddies, claps me on the shoulder. “Good work, Titus.”
“Yeah, thanks. I gotta get going, though. I’ll see you all later.”