Chapter Fourteen
Three days had felt like an entire lifetime.
The ringing of Nory’s phone pulled her from the deep quiet that had consumed her mind. Blinking hard, she returned to earth and turned her head just enough to look at the phone.
Maybe it was him.
That thought perked her up and unblurred her vision. She leaned closer to the phone, but the screen told her it was Alese calling. Again.
With a sigh, Nory ignored the call and wrapped her arms around herself. It helped sometimes. If she hugged herself up tight enough, she could imagine how it had been when Liam had held her.
Going back to this loneliness was the worst feeling.
It felt like she’d been a bird who had lived in a cage her whole life, and Liam had opened the cage and taught her to fly. And now she was back in the cage again after knowing freedom. It was unbearable.
Alese called again, and she picked up the call. “Hi,” she said in the most chipper voice she could muster.
“Open the door.”
With a frown, Nory stood and padded over to the door, then unlocked it and pulled it open to find Alese with an armload of grocery bags, her phone tucked under her chin, and bottles of wine in both hands. “I’ve figured out what’s wrong.”
“Nothing is wrong,” Nory said, forcing a smile as Alese bustled into her apartment.
“It’s that boy,” Alese said. “It’s that hot guy from the bar. That’s the last time you were normal.”
“I’m still normal,” she disagreed softly.
“No, this is not normal, Nory.” Alese set the groceries on the counter and rounded on her. “You barely pick up my calls, you won’t talk to me about anything that’s real, and I tried to visit you at your work today, and do you know what your boss said?”
Nory shrugged.
“That you had called out for the next two weeks. Why?”
Exhausted, Nory let the smile sag off her face and exhaled deeply. “I’m sad.”
“Fuck,” Alese whispered. “Is it the guy?”
Nory barely had enough energy to hold her posture, so she allowed her shoulders to slump and sank back onto the couch. She nodded.
“I knew it. I saw how you smiled at him when you talked. I’ve never seen you smile like that before.”
The glug-glug of liquid dragged Nory’s attention to the kitchen, where Alese poured two glasses of red wine.
“It’s only noon,” Nory pointed out tiredly.
“What have you done every time I have gone through a break-up?” Alese asked.
Nory inhaled deeply and tried to remember her old life. “Brought you wine.”
“Brought me wine and let me spill my guts to you, and you know what? It always helped.” Alese kicked her shoes off and handed Nory a glass, then sank down on the loveseat and took a sip. “Spill your guts.”
Nory huffed a breath of pain and felt the tears welling up already. “It really feels like that,” she whispered raggedly.
“Start at the beginning,” Alese said gently. “Tell me everything.”
And she did.
Nory started with the first time she’d seen him and how it made her feel when Liam defended her against Jackson.
She told her about the fall, and getting her heart all filled up with something deeper than she’d ever felt before.
She told her about the coffee morning, and about the day she thought she’d been talking to Liam on the phone.
She told her about Liam keeping her safe from Jackson’s reach and meeting his Pack.
She told her about Delta and cooking for the Pack, and how she’d felt peace that night.
She’d felt like she belonged. And then she told her about sleeping with Liam and how big it had felt.
And then…and then…she told her the story of how it all fell apart, and then of what Liam and his people had done to ensure Jackson would never mess with her again.
“I texted Liam to check on how he’s doing, but he hasn’t responded.
It’s done,” she choked out as tears streamed down her cheeks.
“And now look at me, Alese? I’ve cried so much.
I never cry. I feel so so sad. Liam will have to leave Coeur d’Alene because of me.
The Elders gave his Pack one week to leave.
There are four days left, and I can’t do anything.
His people were living their lives, in their homes.
They were fine, and then I came along and ruined their lives in a day. ”
“That’s not your fault—”
“It is. I brought my human problems to people who were already just struggling to figure out new dynamics in their Pack, and I ruined everything.” She lifted the pantleg of her pajamas and showed Alese the bandages.
“I’ll have scars forever reminding me of what happened.
” She wiped the dampness off her cheeks in a rush and moved her hair to the side to show her the red nail marks from Aro that weren’t even at the scarring stage yet.
“Everything went horrible so fast. I was so stupid. Packs and humans are kept apart for a reason, and I wasn’t thinking.
I don’t know why I didn’t consider the consequences. ”
“Because love doesn’t work like that, Nory,” Alese said. “You can’t help who you fall for, just like Liam couldn’t help falling for you.”
“He didn’t, clearly.”
“I think he did. If he didn’t care deeply, he wouldn’t have risked his Pack taking Jackson out to the woods and traumatizing him out of stalking you. Men don’t make effort for women they don’t love. It’s not the way it works. He told you his feelings with action. That is his love language.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter either way. He’s gone.”
Alese’s chest rose with a deep inhalation, and her eyes were so full of sympathy.
Nory took a sip of her wine and felt so low. She’d thought perhaps that saying all of this aloud was going to help, but it didn’t help at all. She still felt ripped in half.
Alese took a drink, just watching her with a thoughtful expression. “What’s the plan, Nory?”
“Pretend I’m okay until I die, I guess.”
Alese snorted. “Dear goodness, you are being dramatic.”
“Well, I just lost the love of my life, so I think dramatic is warranted.”
“The love of your life, huh?” Alese asked.
“He feels important,” Nory murmured.
“So, figure out a way to help him. Message him again and ask what you can do.”
“I’m human. What can I do as a human?”
Alese puffed air out of her cheeks and frowned. “I don’t know enough about werewolf culture to answer that. What do they need?”
“Homes for the entire Pack. The forgiveness of the Elders. For me to go back in time and never meet them. You know, stuff like that.”
Alese rolled her eyes. “Nory, it’s you. You are the problem solver. Whenever I have something that feels like an impossible situation, you always come up with a solution. They need homes. Where are the local Pack territories? Where can they go that is close?”
“Pretty sure they would’ve explored that already,” she muttered.
“So…think. What can you do, as a human, to help them.” Alese arched her eyebrows like she was waiting on Nory to realize something that was right there under her nose.
What…
Nory frowned as the inkling of an idea scratched at the very edges of her mind.
No, that couldn’t work. Right?
She froze as the little idea grew into something bigger.
Alese was smiling.
“It probably couldn’t work.”
Alese shrugged. “We won’t know until we look into it.”
“Yeah, but…” She frowned and stared at the wall, imagining all the steps it would take, and the obstacles they would be faced with.
“But you never know unless you try. And from the sound of it, Liam deserves the effort.”
Alese was right.
She’d been wasting time crying over this, and feeling sorry for herself, but this wasn’t done. Not for another four days.
Liam might not be hers, and this might not work at all, but she could try.
She could try for him and his people.
Alese had said it, and Nory knew it to be true.
He was worth the effort.