Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
ROSE
The smell of bacon wakes me, the sizzle and pop from the frying pan echoing through the kitchen. I glance at my phone as I push off the covers, startled to see the digital clock reading almost ten a.m.
When was the last time I slept in this late?
Grabbing my robe from its hook on the back of the door, I pad into the kitchen to find Alexandria at the table, shoveling forkfuls of pancakes into her mouth. My stomach growls at the scent of syrup and bacon.
“Good morning, kitten,” Connor says, waving from the stove. He’s wearing the bright pink apron Netti gave me two years ago—the one that reads Don’t trust skinny chefs across the front. “How do you want your eggs cooked?”
“Eggs?” I glance at the stovetop and counter where a half-empty carton of eggs sits open beside a plate piled high with pancakes. “What are you doing?”
“Cooking breakfast. What does it look like?” He waves a pair of rubber-tipped tongs in the air, splattering bacon grease on the floor. Ginger licks it up greedily before purring and rubbing against Carter’s legs.
Is he trying to win everyone over?
“Yeah, but what are you doing cooking in my kitchen? Where did all this even come from?” I gesture to the half-empty jug of orange juice on the counter.
“Well, I went to the grocery store,” he says matter-of-factly, flipping the bacon without breaking eye contact.
“You went shopping for food and made breakfast—all while I was sleeping?” I arch a brow, eyeing the two of them. They glance at each other, then back at me, like guilty children. “What’s the catch?”
“No catch. I just know how ravenous teens can be—especially teen wolves.” He shrugs, turning another strip of bacon before nodding toward the carton of eggs.
“And after looking at your nearly empty fridge, I figured you wouldn’t want to deal with that first thing in the morning.
Oh, and I grabbed you coffee from the café. It was on my way back.”
I take the proffered cup, pop off the lid, and drink deeply—sweet caramel macchiato, just the way I like it.
“Eggs?” he asks again, setting another pan on the stove and lifting the carton.
“Over easy. Now tell me your motive.” I level him with a look over the rim of my cup, eyebrow arched, channeling my best undeceived attitude. “Why go through all this trouble instead of just picking something up?”
“Okay, fine.” He glances over his shoulder, but Dria is too busy shoveling food into her mouth with one hand and texting with the other to notice.
“Cooking is how I clear my head. I need your help talking her into going back to the pack. She wants to stay here, but it’s too dangerous—at least for another year or two, until she learns to control her wolf and goes off to college. Even then, there are procedures.”
“Look at her. Do you really think she’s going to cause that much harm?” I gesture toward the half-empty syrup bottle and docile teenager, too absorbed in her phone to care about us.
“She needs to go home. She’s safer with the pack. She’s only a pup.” His lips flatten into a thin line.
“She’s seventeen, nearly eighteen, in her last year of high school. She’s smart, passionate, and has already survived this long on her own before we found her. With some guidance, she can make it outside the pack.” I tilt my head in challenge.
“You’re suddenly an expert in wolf-shifter upbringing?” He mirrors my expression.
“Did you both forget that even as a teenager I have exceptional hearing as a wolf shifter?” The clatter of silverware on porcelain cuts through the kitchen.
We both turn toward Alexandria, who stares at us from the table, her plate empty, phone facedown.
Her eyes blaze with conviction. “I don’t want to go back. I won’t go back.”
“Alexandria, we’ve already been through this—three times just this morning. You need the pack,” Carter growls at my side, his knuckles whitening around the tongs as he stares blindly at the bacon, smoke curling up from the pan and filling the air with the scent of burnt meat.
“Give me that.” I set down my coffee, snatch the tongs from him, and move the bacon to a plate before shutting off the stove. “No one is going to the pack today.”
“I’m not?” Dria perks up, her eyes wide with hope.
“She’s not?” Carter turns to me, bewildered.
“Not today at least. She’s here under my roof—my protection.” I plant my hands on my hips. I was not arguing about this. Not before I’d eaten, and definitely not before I’d finished my coffee.
“Rose, she’s part of the pack. You don’t understand—”
“I may not know what it’s like to be a teen wolf, Carter, but I do know what it’s like to be a teen with dreams. To feel trapped by family, by magic.
” My hands cut through the air. “It wasn’t easy leaving my coven to pursue my degree and a career that’s taken me around the globe.
And now? I have a good relationship with my family—but yes, I had to learn the hard way. Dria doesn’t have to.”
“And what if she goes feral? What if she loses control of her wolf and hurts someone?” Pain laces his voice, tugging at something deep in my chest. I rest a hand on his arm, wishing I could show him what I feel—calm him with my magic.
Why wasn’t he affected like everyone else?
“Dria is welcome to stay here until we figure out what to do. She’s got clothes, food, and a roof over her head. She can ride to work with me, and the pack already knows where she is.” I cross my arms over my chest and wait for his response.
Carter glances between me and Alexandria before throwing his hands in the air. “Connor’s not going to like this. It’s dangerous. Ultimately, the decision is up to him and the girl’s family.”
“The girl has a name,” Dria says, setting her dirty plate in the sink.
Carter turns back to me, raising his brows as if to say, Are you sure you want to deal with this attitude?
“It may be the weekend, but I still have a laundry list of things to finish before opening night in exactly…” I lift my hand and count on my fingers.
“Six days. So why don’t the two of you make yourselves useful—call Alexandria’s parents, let them know she’s safe, and keep busy until lunchtime. I’ve got a phone call to make.”
An hour later I’m fed, caffeinated, and dressed. The lingering scent of bacon and coffee still clings to my house, and for once it feels like a home. I sit down at the little desk in my room and pick up my phone to video call Netti.
“Rose! Took you long enough to call me back,” Netti says breathlessly as she answers.
“Is now a good time?” I drum my fingers on the wooden surface and stare out the window at the flowers blooming in the neighbor’s yard.
“Of course. I was just doing some spring cleaning.” She sighs and flops down on the couch, reclining in her usual way with her ankles crossed over the chair’s arm, her bright pink hair spilling down the cushion. “You look particularly glowing.”
“Perhaps you need your vision checked.” I chuckle, running a hand through my tangled hair. Ginger hops into my lap and stares at the screen, purring. “I’m a hot mess—overworked, under-slept, and I’ve spent the last week chasing down runaway pups.”
“I may not be able to read emotions, but you look better than you have in months,” Netti remarks. “I also hear Carter found the girl—and that you had some help in it.”
The corners of my lips tug up as I think about the way he looked at me over dinner last night.
“You could say that,” I reply.
“I also heard she’s refusing to come home to the pack,” Netti says.
“That’s actually why I’m calling…” I glance up, nibbling my lip. I’ve known Netti my entire life—she knows everything about me. Well, nearly everything. How can I tell her about Carter if I can’t even be honest with myself?
“Rosemary…” The look she gives me has me wilting in my chair. When was the last time she used my full name?
“I’ve sensed her intentions and feelings—”
“Rose, I know you want to help every stray you meet, but the things I’ve learned about shifters since moving in with the pack…”
“Don’t you remember what it felt like when we were her age? It wasn’t that long ago we were pushing back against our parents’ wants and desires for us.”
“We also weren’t teen wolves whose feral animal side could take over at the drop of a hat. The worst danger we faced was exploding a cup or levitating an object into a window—not mauling a man to death.”
My gaze drops to the already fading bruises on my wrist. The girl hadn’t even known her own strength.
“There has to be something we can do to help her. How long does this last?”
“I’m not sure.” Netti falls silent, her face unreadable as she studies me through the screen.
“She doesn’t want to go back. I have a feeling even if we brought her kicking and screaming, she’d just run away again.” And this time she’d work harder not to be found.
“You have a point,” Netti says with a sigh.
“Between my empathetic conduit powers and your healing ability, there has to be a way to nullify or reduce her wolf’s instinct until she can learn to control it.” I walk from my room to the kitchen, pull open my laptop, and start jotting down questions to ask Carter when they get back.
“There’s something about being around the pack that helps the pups remain calm,” Netti explains, and an idea sparks.
“There’s something about a witch pursuing her passion that helps stabilize her magic,” I counter matter-of-factly. We both know exactly what I mean—we lived it when we left for college.
“And, as usual, you sound like you have a plan.” Netti straightens on her couch, leaning forward with her elbows braced on her knees. “I’m listening.”