AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She licked her lips, a lump in her throat. “If I don’t feel this can go any further…?” she inquired, her voice wispy.
“We’ll remain friends,” Nick replied unconvincingly, his knee jerking under her hold.
Knowing he would keep his word, she tilted her head, willing to try and see if it worked. “Okay, then let’s see where this goes,” she breathed with butterflies taking root in her stomach.
She shot him with a radiant smile. He didn’t frighten her. Humans were no longer terrifying to her—only when she closed her eyes and drifted into a dark, unforgiving nightmare of her worst experiences.
Every once in a while, a streak of runaway light escaped through gaps in the treetops and lit up the porch, revealing his thick combed hair and soft stubble, along with a pleasant relaxed and thoroughly satisfied expression on his face.
She stretched out her legs. Leaning into him, she stole his warmth with a hunger that was both parts of her beast and her own greedy need.
She inhaled, her chest loosening. Beneath the rich, enticing coffee aroma lay a deeper clove, and cherry wood, often accompanied by warm, smoky whiskey. The smell was unique to Nick, and to her, it smelled like home. She breathed in again, a satisfied smile stretching across her face.
“I enjoy talking to you after a rough day,” he said. “It’s one of the things I look forward to at the end of the day.” Nick’s grin was wicked, his eyes sparkling when he whispered, “And I’d love to sleep with you.”
A bright red flush on her cheeks and her stomach fluttering, she pressed her lips together.
Her embarrassment and attraction to him were sweeter and less pungent, and she worried he could smell them. The fact that Nick behaved like an Alpha made it easy for her to forget that he was a human.
Nick had been there since Moon’s inception, and he had fearlessly freed them, so there had been no time to be afraid of him.
The fact that he was going to be a permanent fixture was obvious from the beginning and before they even blinked, he was integral to Moon’s operations. Being a constant source of reliability for the Numbers family and fighting tirelessly for them made him a family member.
When she heard the rustle of leaves, she snapped out of her reminiscence and blinked.
She heard Imogen call out, “Hey!” as she bounced by on her way home.
“Hello, Imogen.” She almost turned away when she paused and hurried to the fence. “Do you have a minute?” she asked.
Imogen paused on the path. The thick verdant carpet of moss bounced back up as Imogen lifted her foot and sauntered to Harper. “Sure. What’s up?” Imogen returned, her voice tight, her forehead creased.
“Is there something I should know?” Harper wondered, flashing back to her conversation with Nick’s.
Usually, Nick exuberantly recounts what he did during the day. He had been so cagey when asking if she had spoken to Drey. It suggested something more than a simple security check was missed, or someone had been sick and slacked off.
“The matter is…” Imogen scrubbed her hand over her head and flicked her tongue over her teeth. “You should talk to Drey about it,” Imogen hedged, backing away.
Her animal’s speed enabled her to grab Imogen’s arm before she could escape. Her patience dwindling, she snapped, “Don’t leave me in the dark.” Her lips lifted to reveal her teeth. “I am not as delicate as everyone thinks.”
Imogen peered at her softly, patting Harper’s hand as if she were a clawless kitten. “We don’t consider you delicate. There’s no doubt you have changed so much. You have devoted yourself to a career that requires constant interaction with people; you no longer avoid human contact. So how can you possibly believe that we view you as weak?” Imogen’s voice was tight with hurt.
As she shuffled her feet and rubbed her arms, she offered, “I’m sorry, but I never know when something dangerous is happening. Everyone wants to keep me safe, but not telling me makes me feel you are still trying to protect me.”
“We try to keep everyone safe, not just you,” Imogen reassured her. “You don’t fight, and that’s fine,” Imogen said gently, her eyes flicking over Harper’s shoulder to scan the array of salmon pink and seasonal lavender blooms.
“We don’t need everyone to be fighters,” Imogen continued “We need beautifully creative minds like yours. However, you need to let the fighters fight for you. Otherwise, we have no purpose.”
Air escaped her in a hiss because she hadn’t even considered that.
She dropped her hand and tilted her chin in a short nod. “I’m sorry, you should do your job and keep us safe,” she agreed, biting her lip and gazing up to see Imogen smiling and nodding in agreement. As another thought occurred, Harper bit her lip and asked, “Is Drey okay?”
What she wanted to know was how Nick was doing. Was there a reason why he was drinking alone and cancelling their dinner?
Imogen’s eyes widened as if she hadn’t thought that was where Harper’s mind would take her. “The Alpha is fine,” Imogen replied hastily.
Immediately, her body sagged, and tension eased as a worry she hadn’t realised lifted.
“Until they find the traitor, they will be on high alert,” Imogen said.
