Chapter Thirteen
Sherese
Ava climbs out and stands next to me. “You good?” she asks softly.
I nod but don’t say anything. I just want to move past it.
“Just remember, you’re not alone.” Bryce comes over to stand next to Ava and puts his hand on her lower back.
“I have all sorts of issues; just ask Bryce. He has to deal with me.” He must say something through their link because her eyes go all dreamy, and she leans into him.
I turn away from them and wait for Liam to open the trunk.
We all grab our bags and follow Liam towards a cute house.
“We’re putting most of you in what used to be the healer house.
Leo, if it’s okay, we have an open room in the pack house. Is that okay?”
“Sure. Thanks.” Leo’s pretty easy-going.
“And the rest of you. Does that work?” Liam asks, turning to Bryce. I know what he’s asking. If it’s okay that they all stay with me.
“That’s fine with us; thank you,” Bryce says graciously.
He turns to Leo. “Let me get them settled inside, and then I’ll take you to the pack house.”
“Sounds good, thanks.”
We follow Liam up the steps, but the door opens before we get there. I watch as the alpha’s mate steps out. I met her and several of the other members of the Northwoods Pack at Ava and Bryce’s mating ceremony. “Hey, everybody. Welcome.”
Liam turns to the rest of us. “I’ll leave you in Emma’s capable hands and take Leo over to the pack house.”
We follow Emma inside, and when she turns around, I see her belly. Ava does at the exact same time because she turns to Emma. “Um, so that’s new since we saw you last.”
Emma smiles. “I was pregnant when we were together last, but we hadn’t told anyone outside of our pack yet. And apparently, you pop much sooner with the second,” she says with a small shrug.
“Congratulations,” Ava tells her with a huge smile. She gives her a hug, and I stand off to the side, not wanting to interrupt their moment.
Emma turns to Bryce. “Welcome, Bryce. It’s good to see you again.”
“You too, Emma.”
“And Hunter,” Emma says, facing Hunter. He nods at her, and then she turns to me. I feel myself stiffening. “Hi, Sherese. Welcome to the Northwoods Pack.”
I try not to let the surprise show on my face. “Thank you, Emma.”
“All right. Ava, you know the house better than I do. We had it cleaned, and everything is ready for you. But if you need anything at all, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
“Thank you, Emma,” Bryce says politely. “Do you know when and where we’re supposed to meet?”
“Garrett was supposed to be here, but he got detained by something. I believe he,” she pauses and smiles. “Never mind. He’s here now.”
“That tracks. I was surprised you were here without him,” Ava says with a smirk.
The front door opens, and I feel the alpha before I actually see him.
Even if I hadn’t known he was an alpha, I would know from the power he exudes.
He closes the door, and his eyes instantly land on his mate.
I watch in fascination as his face softens for just a moment.
Emma walks over to him, and he wraps an arm around her and pulls her close.
Then his eyes sharpen as he looks up at the rest of us.
I stiffen when his eyes land on me. He assesses me but doesn’t say anything.
When he turns back, he puts his hand out to Bryce. “Welcome.”
“Thanks, Garrett.”
“When do you want to meet?”
His eyes scan our group. “We’ll let you get settled. We will meet tonight in the main pack house. We can eat dinner first.”
“Sounds good,” Bryce says easily.
Garrett turns to me, and I meet his gaze. “You won’t be able to come inside the pack house.” His eyes are hard, and they don’t soften.
“I understand,” I tell him, not wanting to be the sole focus of his predatory attention. There’s something about him that is downright terrifying.
“I do realize that I requested your presence and then am asking you not to be present in the dining hall,” he continues.
“But that’s the way it has to be. When it’s time to meet, we will do so here in this home.
Only those who need to know have been told that you’re here, and we’d like to keep it that way both for our safety and yours. ”
His words make my face burn, and I wish I could disappear. But I stand tall and don’t look away from him. “I think she gets it,” Hunter says in a low voice next to me.
Garrett turns his sharp gaze on Hunter, and his assessing eyes miss nothing. “You know, I think we’re all good,” Ava says, drawing Garrett’s attention back to her. “I don’t think we’ll be hungry anyway; we’ll be ready for your meeting when you are.”
I can feel the tension in the room, and I don’t miss Bryce stepping slightly closer to Ava as he meets Garrett’s gaze head-on. Emma puts her hand on Garrett’s arm. “How about we just bring food here and eat?”
“That would be good,” Bryce says, settling it for our group.
“Okay. We’ll be back in a few hours,” Emma says with a gentle smile. When she turns back to her mate, I don’t miss the way his eyes drop to her stomach for just a moment. Maybe I imagine the way his jaw tightens, but I don’t think so.
As soon as they leave, Ava turns to me, but I really don’t want to talk about it. “Which room’s mine?” I ask, keeping my voice and face carefully blank.
“Let’s go see,” Bryce says easily.
Bryce and Ava take the biggest room, leaving Hunter and me the smaller ones.
Thankfully, they leave me alone after that.
I close the door and feel like I can finally take a full breath.
I drop onto the bed and wish not for the first time that I wasn’t what I am.
I capture that thought before it can go any further; it’s dangerous to go down that path.
I spent too many years on that path; it did nothing but leave me depressed and hopeless.
I glance down at my wrist. I never acted on it, but I thought about it so many times.
Only knowing that I would heal fast kept me from trying to harm myself.
I stand up and pace the room, feeling restless.
I wish I could go for a run, but that’s not going to happen while we’re here. I really hope we’re not here long.
I kill time in my room for a few hours. There’s a knock at my door, and I really hope it’s not Ava. I don’t want to see the sympathy in her eyes right now. I debate ignoring it, but she’ll just keep knocking. I open the door. “You’re not Ava.”
Hunter smirks. “Thank goodness for that.”
When he doesn’t say anything, I drop my hand to my waist. “Was there something you needed?”
He reaches into the pocket of his pants, pulls out something, and hands it to me. I blink at the blood bag and feel my face drain of color. My eyes meet his. “I forgot.” I can’t believe I forgot to bring blood bags.
He shrugs. “I didn’t.” I swallow because that could have been so bad. A day, maybe two or even more, without blood would have been so bad. He ducks his head the slightest bit, so he can meet my gaze. “Hey, it’s not a big deal.”
“It is a big deal,” I whisper-shout because I know Bryce will be able to hear our conversation, and the last thing I need is another alpha in my space. “I could have put everyone here in this pack at risk.”
“No, you wouldn’t have. We would have figured it out.”
I stare at him. “We would have figured it out?! I don’t think they keep blood bags on hand here!” My voice is still a whisper, but it’s as loud as it can be and still be considered a whisper.
“It’s not something we have to worry about because I brought the blood bags.”
I don’t meet his gaze. “Did you put them in the fridge?”
“Yes, but they’re in a brown paper bag at the back of the fridge, so nobody,” he pauses, and I know what he’s going to say.
Will see them, I mentally provide. I force myself to meet his gaze. “Thank you, Hunter.”
He stares at me a moment; I think that’s the first time I’ve ever used his given name.
“You’re welcome,” he says softly. “We’ll get through this meeting and get back.
Bryce doesn't want to be here any longer than you do.” It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask why not, but I don’t.
It’s none of my business. I’m an outsider, and it would do me good to remember that.
He turns his head slightly. “The fighter is here.”
“What?”
He meets my gaze. “The loud one.”
Ava appears behind him. “Raechel and Max are here.”
I look back up at Hunter. “The loud one?”
He shrugs, and I smirk. He stares down at me, and I’m suddenly self-conscious. “One day, Vamp.”
“One day, what?”
“One day, I’ll get a real smile from you.”
He turns away, and I’m left staring at his back in shock. He turns back. “Are you coming?”
“No, I’ll wait until everybody eats. Can you just tell me when they’re ready to meet?”
He studies my face for a moment and then nods and walks away. I watch him go for a moment and then shut the door. I don’t even make it across the room before somebody knocks on my door again. It opens before I get there. “Why aren’t you coming out? Hunter said you’re staying in here.”
“Hi, Ava. Come on in.”
She grins at me. “Thanks, I will. Come on; you’re not staying in here. I won’t let you. You are my friend, and you are not going to hide back here.”
When she finally finishes, I give her an amused look. “You done?”
“Did I convince you?”
“I was already planning on coming out. I’m just waiting for them to eat.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, oh.”
“Okay. Well, I’m glad we had this conversation. So, I’ll see you out there?”
“Yes.” She leaves in a flurry of movement.
I throw down my bag of blood and sit on the bed and listen as the sound of voices gets louder.
After a little bit, I walk over to the door and crack it open.
I stand next to the door and listen. My ears aren’t nearly as good as a wolf’s, but I can still hear better than the average human.
I listen as I hear them all laughing and teasing each other.
There’s female laughter followed by the low rumble of voices from the males.
I can hear a few of them laughing as well.
I close the door and lean my head against the wall.
I’m not sure why I do this to myself. I force myself away from the door.
Stop wishing for things you can’t have. I close my eyes and crack my neck, and try to find that cold, emotionless side I’ve developed over the years.
I sit on the bed, open my phone, and find a game to play to kill time.
When the knock comes, I’m calm and back to my usual self.
I take a breath and open the door. For the second time today, Hunter stands at my door.
But he leans against the door frame, blocking my way out.
I give him a questioning look, but he doesn’t move.
“If it becomes too much, I’ll get rid of everybody.”
I arch a brow at him. “Can you do that, Wolf?”
He smirks at me. “I’ll make Bryce do it.”
“Ah. That’s how that works.”
His dark gaze meets mine, and I fight the urge to look away. “You’re here as a favor to them. You don’t owe anybody anything.”
I nod, forcing my usual confidence. “Got it. Let’s do this.”