Chapter 15 - Hale #2
She bites her lip. Why doesn’t she want me to call her?
My heart sinks as I feel Ezra’s triumphant smirk burning into my back.
While he may be right about her not looking for a pack, that doesn’t mean she won’t change her mind when she realizes what we could be to each other.
He may not be willing to fight for her because he doesn’t know what’s good for him, but I’m willing to fight for all of us.
Both Ezra and Riven need to be shown what true love is and why it’s so important.
“Fine.” She huffs in reluctant acceptance before reeling off her number. I hit dial, then we wait. “Can you hear anything?”
“There’s no noise.” Riven pokes his head around the kitchen door, where he’s busy measuring milk into a jug. He’s very serious about his cocoa making, weighing all the ingredients with expert precision.
“I’ll check the truck for your phone.” Ezra decides to be helpful. “Maybe it fell out in the bed?”
“I’m sure we’ll find it.” I want to curl a reassuring arm around her shoulder, but her tense body language warns me to keep a safe distance. “There are worse things than being without your phone for a few hours. You can use mine to call someone, if you need to?”
“Let’s see if Ezra finds mine first,” she mutters under her breath as she plops herself down on the sofa.
“Would you like anything to eat?” I ask. “You should eat. You need the calories after what we burned off.”
Drawing her knees up to her chest and hugging my T-shirt, her earlier warmth has completely frozen over. “Cocoa is fine.”
“Here.” I hold out a thick blanket. “You should stay warm.”
Scowling, she begrudgingly accepts it.
“We can put on a movie?” Am I trying too hard? “It may take your mind off things?”
“Sure,” she replies, but her mind’s elsewhere, her lips pursed in worry.
What is she thinking?
I put on a movie, but neither of us watch it. It’s hard to hear over the sound of Riven’s milk frother.
“Here you go.” Riven brings over a steaming mug, piled high with a snowy mountain of cream and chocolate flakes that sway with every step. “Call it a peace offering for the pumpkin incident?”
“Consider us even.” A trace of a smile graces her lips as she drags her little finger across the cream and licks it off, making me harden instantly. “This is amazing.”
“I’m glad you like it.”
I don’t ask for more details about the pumpkin incident, but I do notice how Riven looks at her. He sits opposite her, waiting for her approval as she takes the first sip, giving herself a white mustache.
“Whoa,” she moans. “It’s really good. Even better than my friend Delilah’s.”
“I can share my recipe with her.” He’s practically glowing. “It’s all about the ratio of milk to chocolate.”
Riven’s excited explanation on how to make the perfect cup is drowned out by voices and thudding footsteps coming up the stairs.
I recognize Calder’s heavy steps instantly, indicative that he’s in a bad mood.
He’s been extra grumpy lately, but maybe meeting Victoria will give him the mood boost he needs?
The key turns in the lock, Ezra’s entering first.
Victoria’s chin jerks up hopefully. “Did you find it?”
“No sign of it.” He buries his hands in his pocket. “Maybe it fell out when you got out of the back?”
“I’m sure it’ll show up,” I chime in, hating how disappointed she looks. “We can try looking?”
Victoria’s lips part to reply, but then she freezes, bolting upright, like she’s been prodded by a cattle rod.
I look around in confusion, watching as her gaze finds Calder standing in the doorway. A flush creeps up her neck, and her eyes ignite in fury, pinning him with a glare that could turn a person to stone.
Ezra’s eyes flicker between the two, no doubt picking up on the palpable tension that makes the air fizz. “What’s going on?”
Calder’s jaw drops before he slams it shut and jabs an angry finger in Victoria’s direction. “You!”
In response, her nose wrinkles like she’s smelled something unpleasant. “What are you doing here?”
Calder rakes a hand through his wavy hair. He usually meticulously smooths and styles it, but right now, he looks scruffy as hell. “This is my apartment.” Calder plants his hands on his hips. “I should be asking you the same question.”
Victoria’s eyebrows shoot up. “Your apartment?”
Riven lunges for Victoria’s mug before it slips through her fingers or she hurls it at Calder.
Ezra chuckles. “I should have made popcorn.”
I look between the two of them, wondering what Calder did. “You two know each other?”
“Know each other?” Victoria’s eyes narrow like she’s trying to burn a hole straight through Calder. “He stole my job!”
“I think you’ll find that it was never your job to begin with,” Calder argues. “Need I remind you that you stole my car and got an old lady to wrestle me? You should be offering to pay for my dry cleaning.”
Ezra rubs his hands together. “This is too good.”
“Are you forgetting the part where I saved your life after you helped yourself to my food?” Victoria snarls. “I think we’re even.”
Calder scans her attire. His eyes bulge, only just realizing she’s wearing a shirt with very little underneath.
Calder whirls around to Ezra, his lip curling. “Ezra, tell me you didn’t.” He pinches the bridge of his nose.” She’s a student!”
“I didn’t.” Ezra raises his palms. “Well, not this time.”
“Hale?” Calder takes a step back. “Do you realize what you’ve done?”
“I helped an omega through a heat spike.” I shrug. “I’m not ashamed of that.”
Calder shakes his head, rubbing his temples. “This is bad. Really bad.” He looks beyond frustrated, like he aged five years in the past three minutes. “Do you know how much trouble this could cause?”
“If you’re talking about Victoria’s pack—”
“Victoria?” Calder’s face scrunches in confusion. “Who’s Victoria?”
Is he mistaking her for someone else? “Victoria.” I motion to Victoria who stays silent, arms circled around herself.
“So she lied to you.” Calder laughs dryly. “Figures.” He points at the stunning omega in our midst. “That’s Kady Sinclair, and right now, everyone is looking for her because they think she’s missing!”
“Missing?” I balk. “What’re you talking about?”
“Maybe you should ease up on the caffeine, huh?” Ezra rolls his eyes. “How many coffees have you had today, Calder?”
Riven sniffs. “I’d guess at least five from the smell.”
“Do you want to tell them the truth?” Calder faces Victoria—or Kady, or whatever the heck her name is—crossing his arms. “Or shall I?”
“I lied about my name, so what?” She doesn’t flinch. “In my defense, Victoria is my middle name. And I lied for good reason.”
“Kady Sinclair.” Ezra repeats. It sounds oddly familiar, but I can’t place it. “Where have I heard that name before?”
“You probably heard all of your students talking about her. She’s the daughter of Richard Sinclair.” Calder gestures animatedly, waving his hands as he talks. “You know, one of the richest guys in the country. She’s also courting the Blandon Pack.”
Calder ruffles around in his backpack to retrieve a copy of a magazine. Kady and the three ugly buffoons I saw her with are plastered over the cover. “See? She’s a liar! Everyone knows her father is basically a psychopath, and now you’ve fucked her.”
“This kind of judgment is exactly why I kept my identity a secret.” Despite the venom in her voice, hurt flashes in her eyes. “People don’t understand.”
Riven’s blonde hair falls over his face as he inclines his head. “You have a pack?”
“No.” Her reply comes quickly. “They’re not my real pack. As I told Hale and Ezra earlier, it’s all a lie for the media. I might have lied about my name, but everything else I said was true.”
Calder gapes at her. “Why didn’t you tell me your pack wasn’t real when we were driving back from The Valley Voice office?”
“You’re a reporter, remember?” she barks. “I’m not na?ve enough to spill my secrets to a stranger I just met, especially one who’s an asshole.” She takes a deep breath. “If you must know, my father tried to force me into a marriage. A fake pack was the only way I could think of to get out of it.”
My shoulders sag in relief. At least that’s something we can overcome.
“And you expect us to just take your word?” Calder cocks an eyebrow. “What proof do you have?”
“This isn’t a game of Clue!” she growls. “I don’t exactly have evidence lying around. I guess it’s up to you to decide whether you think I’m a reliable source.”
Their eyes lock, tension fizzing between them. Calder’s Adam’s apple bobs as the lingering smell of her perfume seems to intensify. He clears his throat. He’s obviously doing his best to pretend he’s immune to her scent, but he’s doing a bad job at it.
“Whether I think you’re a reliable source or not is the least of our concerns right now.” He swiftly steps into professional mode. “Didn’t you hear the part where I said that everyone thinks you’re missing? There are search parties looking for you.”
Riven switches on the television. A breaking news banner flashes across the screen alongside a photograph of Kady. She looks breathtaking, in a baby-blue gown that frames her lithe figure. She smiles at the camera, but it doesn’t meet her eyes.
Ezra flaps his hand. “Turn it up!”
A reporter’s somber voice fills the room.
“Kadence Sinclair went missing from Scent Valley University campus this afternoon, and police are treating this as a potential abduction. An hour ago, her phone was discovered abandoned by the roadside. Her friend raised the alarm after she received a video call from Kadence from, what she believes, was the trunk of a car before it lost signal—”
“Oh, shit.” Kady’s face turns a stark white. “I didn’t think the call went through.”
“See?” He’s always loved winning an argument, but his triumph is short-lived as he realizes what implications this could have for us. “Shit.”
“That’s the first thing we can agree on.” Kady nods solemnly. “This is bad. Really bad.”
Trouble is coming.