AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She lifts her head to look me in the eye. I can't help but smirk and continue.
"The heart is made out of water to remind me of the day you saved my life, and I had them put your initials on the inside. PV. I figured if I couldn't have you in real life, I would have a reminder of you on my body." She quickly looks down at my hand, and even though it's dark, she traces the letters on the inside of the heart. If you don't look carefully enough, you won't be able to see the initials. It would just look like a decorative center, but I know it's there.
"You've had my heart the day you pulled me from the water, Paige." She looks back up at me, tears falling from her eyes. I don't like it when she cries, but this seems like more than sadness. She seems shocked. But she is and has always been the girl I have compared others to. I love her, but I'm afraid if I tell her, she'll freak out and run away. She doesn't say anything, just kisses me and snuggles closer to me. We fall asleep, and I have the best sleep I have had in years.
The next day, Paige heads over to Quinn's place while I attend the council meeting. Hopefully, it's the last one. Everyone is heading into the conference room, but I'm able to stop Eli just before he goes in.
"Alpha, can I talk to you for a second?"
Eli shakes his head and smirks at me. "You show up to my house, state you are Paige's mate, sleep with her in my house…" He stops to raise his eyebrow at me. Shit, I feel like I'm a teenager again. "And you still can't call me Eli."
Rubbing the back of my neck, I try to shake the awkwardness.
"Uh, yeah, sorry about that." He shakes his head, but the smile lets me know he isn't going to hang me out for doing it. I really need to get my own place. "Anyways, I was hoping to be relieved of some of my duties for a couple of days. I need to take care of some family matters."
Eli assesses me, and I can't help but shift my feet. It's not unusual for a pack member to ask for some time away from the pack, but Eli knows my past. He knows my 'family.' I really don't want to get into it, but I also won't lie to my Alpha.
"What's really going on, Liam?"
I try to relax my body and tell him what's happened. Everything Isaac said and the obligation I feel towards my little brother. "I can't leave him there without offering help. I don't want to look at myself down the road and regret not going and fighting for him. I have too many regrets in my life; I don't want this to be one of them."
"Okay, Liam. After the meeting, you are free to deal with this but know you don't have to do it alone. You have a pack behind you."
I nod my head in acknowledgment. I know I am very lucky to have this pack. Thorn walks up to us and seems super pissed, though I guess he always looks pissed. Thorn addresses Eli, which makes me hope he is pissed at him and not me, seeing as I am his sister's mate.
"This should be the last meeting to get a handle on those rogue wolves. There has been some chatter about the Clearwater rogues teaming up with another rogue pack, but they seem to be further away from this territory, so it shouldn't be a problem for now. The meetings shouldn't be long." Then Thorn turns his steely gaze on me. The rumors of him being a terrifying wolf are understated; he exudes power. He should be an Alpha—I wonder why he isn't.
"I'm coming with you."
I choke on my own spit at his declaration. "What?"
"If you're taking my baby sister into her own personal hell, I'm coming with you. Besides, you don't know what you're walking into, I do, and you'll need backup."
"I never forced Paige to come. She demanded to come." Thorn grunts at that. Somehow, I think he has faced her stubborn ways before, but he doesn't say anything else and walks inside.
I don't think it's a bad idea that he tags along, but how did this happen? I'd intended to go check everything out and make a plan; this is not what I had expected. It feels like we are ramping up for a war. Thorn gets to the front of the room and starts to fill us in.
"We tracked the three wolves to a run-down building outside of town. They were pathetic in their attempts to hide from us. We've arrested them and will be taking them back to the council for a trial. We plan to interrogate the three wolves we have arrested and see if there is more information to be gleaned about the rumors of other rogue pack. With that being sorted, you shouldn't have any issues in the area, and the council officers will be pulling out in a few days. That's all." With that, Thorn walks out of the room. He acts cold and arrogant, but something tells me he holds a dark secret we can't possibly understand. I wonder if Paige knows anything.
Not that it matters—I need to focus on my next steps, and the next step is getting ready for a drive to the Portsmill pack. Oh, joy.
Chapter 18 - Paige
I grab my toiletry bag from the bathroom, along with the stray scrunchy that somehow ended up on the floor. I must have knocked that off this morning. Heading back into the bedroom, I see Thorn leaning on the door frame with his arms crossed over his chest and his legs crossed at the ankle; I'm not sure how that's even comfortable.
"You know you look like a creeper standing there like that."
He just grunts in reply, because he doesn't know how to use words, apparently. I keep gathering up my stuff and putting it in my suitcase. There's no sense in leaving anything here because I don't know if I will come back here after we finish in Portsmill. I still need to decide what I'm doing with my job and apartment; hell, I need to figure out what I'm doing with Liam. I mean, he's my mate, and I want to be with him—I might even love him, but I'm afraid I'm not taking it slow enough with the history we have.
Thorn pushes off the door frame and walks over, picking up my black sweatshirt and folding it perfectly.
"You know it's weird, the obsession you have with properly folded clothing."
"I wouldn't have an obsession with it if you knew how to fold your clothes."
Putting my hands on my hips, I say, "Listen here, brother, I am a completely capable adult; if I want to roll and toss my clothes into my bag, I can do it." He snorts at me and shakes his head. I probably look like a petulant child, negating my declaration of adulthood.
"Right, whatever you say." He hands me my sweater and I tuck it into my bag. It's fun to bicker with him—it reminds me I have family that I love. He sits on the end of the bed and stares at me; it's the stare that means he has something to say, and I won't like it.
