Chapter 80
Chapter Eighty
Shayne
Out of all of Shadow’s crazy plans, his latest might be the most insane thing I’ve ever heard.
He was quick to go over the main points before we got to his suite, where his male Beta then joined us for a tour of the building.
I barely got the chance to think about Shadow’s offer before we had to stop talking about it.
It’s clearly not something he’s discussed with anyone else.
I doubt his female Beta will like it, and she’s the one who would have to officially sign off on it, so it might be a non-starter, no matter how I decide to feel about it.
I’ll talk to Falcon the first chance I get anyway, but I’m sure he’ll draw the same conclusion.
“It looks like your mate is waiting for you,” Shadow teases, as we approach a glass door.
“Uh, what?” I ask, not sure what he’s talking about.
I don’t expect Pete’s brash British voice to answer my question, but he does seem to like to butt in to conversations.
“The gardens are out there. She’s already outside.” He motions to the door.
I realize I can see outside and there she is, the enchanting redhead who bumped into me a few nights ago, looking as beautiful as she did then, simply sitting on a bench, enjoying the last hour of sunlight.
“I guess that means this is goodbye,” Shadow mutters, feigning upset.
“More like see you soon,” I assure him, knowing it’s what his dramatic Omega heart needs to hear. I hug him because he needs that, too.
He hugs back and sighs. “Okay. Go get your girl.”
I let go and glance at Pete, half expecting him to issue some kind of threat.
He doesn’t. He nods at me, a subtle gesture of approval but better than nothing.
“Thanks,” I murmur as I push the door open.
“And think about it,” Shadow adds. “What I asked. Okay?”
“I will,” I agree, leaving before I can let his offer cloud my thoughts.
Tonight is supposed to be about getting to know Robin.
That’s what I need to be all in on.
So I step outside and close the door on my brother and his pack.
Robin’s dressed a bit more casually tonight, but her long auburn hair is clipped back from her face, giving her an elegant touch. It shows off her slender throat, too, which is something I definitely shouldn’t be noticing this early.
We haven’t even had a conversation.
My teeth shouldn’t be tingling with the urge to mark her.
I clear my throat and make my way over to where she’s sitting, feeling seven kinds of nervous while I convince my teeth to quit trying to tell me what to do.
She looks up as I approach, her bright eyes sparkling.
“Shayne!” she exclaims, as if she’s surprised to see me.
“Hi, Robin,” I greet. “Sorry, if I’m a little early. I was with my brother. He’s your guardian’s Omega, Shadow. His Beta was with us, too. That British guy, Pete. Sorry. I’m rambling. It’s a thing I do when I’m nervous. I’ll try to stop. How are you doing?”
She smiles. “I’m good. I don’t mind if you ramble. You can sit, if you want to. Or we could go for a walk around?”
I sit down, because she offered that first. There’s a little space between us, and now I don’t have to look at her the whole time, which is probably a good thing considering my teeth won’t stop tingling no matter how much I try to force them to.
Ignoring it is going to be a pain, but it’s all I can do.
“It’s a nice night.”
“It is,” she agrees. “I spend as much time out here as I can.”
“I would, too,” I admit.
“You like spending time outdoors?” she asks.
I glance at her. “Uh, yeah. I’ve never really thought about it, but I do. I like to go out running, and for walks. We don’t have a garden where we’ve been living, but I think if we did, I’d spend a lot of time outside.”
“It feels nice to be out in the fresh air. I’ve never been running, but I like to keep busy.”
“What do you do to keep busy?”
“Oh, um, cleaning mostly. It’s what I’m used to spending a lot of time doing.”
She shrugs when I look at her.
“When I lived in Ivan Hamilton’s house, I basically worked as a cook and a cleaner, all day, every day. It was what I was born into. I thought it was, anyway. Colleen didn’t tell me any different.”
“Colleen?”
“The woman who basically raised me. My mother died when I was too young to really remember her. Colleen was the cook, and cleaner. I helped her.”
“Sorry, that sounds hard.”
She sighs. “I didn’t think it was. At least while I was there. Now, I don’t know.”
I reach for her hand, and she lets me take it, curling her fingers around mine.
“It’s okay to be confused. You’ve been through more than most people ever deal with in their lifetime. You don’t have to process everything all at once.”
She nods slowly. “I’m doing better than I should be. I have Falcon to thank for that. He got me out of that house when I didn’t even know I needed to be rescued. I feel pretty lucky, all things considered.”
She hasn’t started to heal.
I can see that so clearly.
Finally, my teeth stop tingling.
It’s such a relief that my nerves die on the spot.
“Falcon told us he was staying, working with security,” I start.
“He was digging a trench,” she says. “And he looked exhausted when I came out here for my lunch break, so I gave him my suite key and told him to go get some sleep.”
I blink.
Did she just say Falcon’s in her room? Sleeping, sure, but … In her room?
“Um, is Lana okay with that?” I ask, because I can’t not.
She seems a little uncomfortable with the question, but I can’t take it back.
Her cheeks flush pink as she shrugs.
“She knows we’re fated, and she won’t stop me when I want to make the decision to be claimed, so she won’t kick him out.”
“She spoke to you about that?”
“Yeah. It was kind of awkward,” she admits. “But I’m glad she brought it up.”
“So, Falcon’s sleeping in your room right now.”
I sound stunned, I know, and I can’t help it.
Falcon spent a few hours with her and now he’s in her room.
“It’s fast, I know,” she says, biting her lip.
“He won’t rush you,” I blurt.
She flushes all over again. “I know.”
Oh my God. Did something already happen between them?
“I’m not ready to be marked or anything,” she adds. “But it felt right to help him stay.”
“That’s how you know it’s fated,” I admit, though I’m still a little stunned.
This woman seems sweet and quiet, but she’s a lot stronger than she thinks.
Potentially upsetting her guardian to keep Falcon here is a big deal.
Alphas do that kind of stuff without thinking.
Betas usually can’t make themselves oppose authority.
She’s absolutely, one-hundred-percent, Pack Falcone’s woman.