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I try to let go of his hand, but he clings to it and leads me back to the resort.
There’s something deeper between us now. The air is thrumming and pulsing with a tension that wasn’t there before. I’m afraid to speak in case even the smallest sound knocks down this house of cards.
He doesn’t lead me to the penthouse like I think he will but into the employees only section and to a room that is off limits to all but the owners. I hesitate, but he drags me unerringly inside.
“There’s a shower, and we can get a change of clothes.” He says quietly and nudges me towards the bathroom. I go inside but turn to look at him as he pulls the door shut. It’s intimate and feels strangely like we’re in our own little world. Like the falling rain took us to a faraway place. I can’t hide my smile as I go into one of the stalls and get under the hot water, acutely, painfully aware that he’s in the stall beside me.
fifteen
Silas
The path back to the penthouse is blurry and forgotten while the images replay in my mind over and over. I blink and find myself sitting on the couch. Grayson is stretched out opposite me, and it’s only the tug in the bonds that keeps me from exploding into a vicious fit and tearing the room apart.
Falcon perches beside me, his menthol scent surrounding me. Familiar and cool.
“This plan isn’t going to work,” I say the words softly, but I know that they’ll hear me.
I rub my eyes with my palms and let out a groan that rises into a roar of helplessness.
“What happened?” Falcon says as soon as the sound dies away.
I let my hands fall to my sides. Are they numb, or is it my whole body that’s numb?
“He loves her.”
Falcon stiffens, it’s the slow tightening of muscles of an apex predator. His attention, already so focused, zeros in on me and pins me to the spot.
“Say that again.”
“The plan isn’t going to work because he loves her.” My voice is bleak. The betrayal and the shock of knowing that he found someone else while we hunted for him is strong and painful.
“How do you know?” Grayson asks and leans forward, his elbows on his knees. His movement flops some of his blond hair down one side of his face. He absently brushes it aside and scans the room as if he’s expecting one of them to appear.
“They were talking, and he said…he said he wants more.” The words sound strange coming out of my mouth, absent the shock that I’m feeling inside. They sound hollow, hurt.
Falcon stands up and paces, reaching up to tug his top shirt button open. He rolls up the sleeves of his black shirt as if he’s preparing for a battle. Grayson shifts his attention between the two of us, a small frown drawing a line between his brows.
“I can see where he’s coming from,” Grayson says with a shrug. “He’s spent his whole life living in a cage and meets us, and we try to give him the world while everyone else said he wasn’t enough. He ran for good reason, and he found her. I mean…if she’s the more-”
“Are you willing to give him up to her?” I snarl. “You should have seen them. He is ready to give her bonds today, and she’s more than halfway in love with him herself.”
“So, what do we do-” Gray shouts at me. He surges up, but with a hand motion from Falcon, he falls back, his words cut short.
Falcon clears his throat. His stiff posture has relaxed, and he smiles. It’s so disconcerting that I’m stunned silent. “It’s simple, really. He’s left us with no choice. I know that knowing he’s out there, I would never want another. So it’s him or nothing.”
“Agreed.” Gray says firmly and folds his arms over his chest so that his muscles bulge. He doesn’t look at me, and it scrapes at my temper.
I nod finally, but my neck feels stiff and strange. I agree, but I’m not sure where they’re going with this.
“So, we court the beta, too.” Falcon’s words are said in the same way he delivers everything; absolute confidence. For a moment, they don’t even sink in. Horror spreads through my veins like poison.
“Have you lost your mind?” I shout into the space. “She’s a beta. Our parents would have a field day. The media would have a field day. She isn’t even from a reputable family.” All the possible future problems slam into my brain faster than I can acknowledge them.
“I don’t care about the rest of the world, Silas,” Falcon says coldly. He raises one brow and unfolds his sleeves, almost daring me to keep arguing. “I only care about what makes him happy and this pack, and if she is the happy, then he will have her. I will gift wrap her and use her as bait to lure him back into my arms, and I won’t feel a shred of guilt for doing so.”
I lick my dry lips. This is insanity. We can’t do that to her. To us. “She’d be trapped. It’s her life, too.” Am I pleading?
“She’d be rich out of it. She’d be living a dream.” Falcon insists, and I can see him falling into this idea, there’s no way to change his mind now. His eyes darken, and he bites his lower lip and paces while staring into space.
