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As her mind went through worst-case scenarios of how badly she had messed up the rapport, Graham finally spoke up. “Well, maybe the two of us can accompany you. We’ll scare that ‘brute’ away.”
Flooded with relief, Delilah’s heart fluttered. It was only a trip to the grocery store, but how could she possibly turn that offer down? Unlike Clark, Graham really knew how to turn on the charm.
Delilah smiled. “I might just have to take you two up on that.”
“I have to finish up a couple of things here,” Graham said. “But we can swing by and pick you up in, oh, twenty minutes? How’s that sound, Jude?”
“I have no objections,” Jude added. “Twenty minutes from now sounds great.”
After they’d all hung up, Delilah stood still in her silent apartment, trying to understand why she felt so giddy. It was only a trip to the grocery store, after all. And they partly owed her this for scaring her away from it in the first place.
She approached the bathroom mirror and scrutinized her appearance, realizing that sweatpants and a T-shirt wouldn’t work for the occasion. It dawned on her that mere weeks ago, she couldn’t bear to be in the same room with another shifter. It was funny how life worked out like that sometimes.
They had opened her eyes to a new world, showing her hospitality, affection, attention, and generosity — things she never knew she needed.
Yet, the approach had its flaws. Delilah still bore mental scars from the incident where Miranda had trapped her in the restaurant, forcing a confrontation. Over the past eight days, Miranda's constant apologies had led Delilah to gently insist she stop mentioning it.
But there was more to this. Was she smitten with Jude and Graham? Why was she so excited about this?
She loved how well they treated her, and how they seemed interested in everything she had to say. She loved how passionate they were about their jobs and how much they cared for everybody in their pack.
And they weren’t bad-looking either.
Chapter 15
Delilah
Stillfeelinghighfromthe afternoon she’d had with Graham and Jude the previous day, Delilah walked to work with a smile on her face. They took her to the grocery store and back without pushing her for more, just a comfortable presence at her side.
It was so unlike anything she’d had before, and she was finding herself feeling better and better about her decision. Leaving her home and Deacon Claw pack had been such a huge risk and a major upheaval, but she was glad she trusted her instincts and got the hell out. The alternative, of course, was being sold to another pack, so running had really been her only option.
She’d made a friend in Miranda, had a job, and had found a home. The city was less stressful than small-town living, if different. Not only that, she’d found a pack to run with. But most of all there was Graham and Jude—an alpha and beta who made her realize what shifter men really should be like.
Her phone rang, and she reached into her purse, her stomach fluttering in the hope it was one of them. She looked before she picked up, seeing neither of their names on the screen, just a number that she recognized without a contact name attached.
It can’t be.
She’d changed her number when she left her old phone at La Luna the day she escaped. How did he get her new one? For a second, she hesitated, her heart in her mouth, but if he had her number it wouldn’t be long before he knew where she was. It was best to be prepared, and that meant knowing what was going on in his head.
“Clark?” she answered, trying not to sound too timid in her answer.
“There she is,” came the voice down the line. It sent a shiver down her spine, as if a spider had just crawled the length of it. “Missed me?”
“What do you want, Clark?” she replied, stopping in her tracks. Just hearing his voice again was enough to drain her of all the positive energy she’d manifested recently. But that was Clark for you. Negativity came with the territory.
“Well, I thought that would be obvious. After all, you left pretty quickly, and when you were needed as well.”
“Nothing is obvious when it comes to you—except for the fact you’re an asshole who’ll do his best to ruin people’s lives,” she spat.
“A bit of distance made you brave, huh? Thing is, it’s time for you to return now. You’ve made your point, had your little run. Get back to this pack, or else.”
Nausea hit her. She knew they wouldn’t let her leave without some kind of repercussion, but the time she’d spent in the city and the distance between her old pack and this place had given her a false sense of security.
“Sorry, but there’s not a chance in hell I’m coming back to Deacon Claw pack. Leaving was one of the best things I ever did.” She meant every word. Breaking up with Clark ranked as one of the best decisions she’d ever made. Leaving that shitty excuse for a pack came as a very close second.
He growled and she could just picture his face, those eyes of his hard and cruel. “Then you leave us no choice. We’ll have to come get you.”
Panic ripped through her, and she quickly hung up, turning off her cell and throwing it back in her bag. For a second, she wondered about whether she should just discard it there and then, but if he had her number already, he’d do it with another cell, he was well connected in that way.
