I find my little stack of clothes and pull out the sturdiest pair of pants. They’re still too thin, and very soft, but they’ll have todo. Once I’m dressed and ready, I reach up and try to remove the pretty necklace Jeremy gave me. I can’t keep such a lovely gift. It would be rude. Trying to get the clasp to release, I push then pull, but it’s no use. It’s stuck, and I don’t have time to wrestle with the damn thing.
I guess I’m taking it with me.
Moving quietly, I tip-toe back through Killian’s room. My heart aches as I inch past the nesting cove, then past Killian.
I know it doesn’t make any sense to the alpha—or even to me—but I have to go home. I have to make sure my actions didn’t hurt my mom or brothers. Ineedto know they’re okay.
Hopefully, one day he’ll understand.
The rest of the house is silent as I make my way past Basil, then Tristan’s bedrooms. I hear Jeremy mumble in his sleep in Basil’s room, and it suddenly hits me that the beta doesn't have his own bedroom.
Focus, I scold myself.
All the lights are off in the living room, but the moon is very bright outside. It hangs heavy in the sky, shining down over the valley.I will miss that view.
I have to stand on my tiptoes to reach my supplies at the bottom of the vase. The wrappers around the granola bars crinkle as I shove them into my pocket. Then I go in for the tiny knife. My fingers graze the blade’s handle, and my feet slip. The vase wobbles and my heart seizes.
“Shit,” I whisper harshly, thankful when I catch it before it topples over. “You are too big,” I scold the vase as I hold the sides. Once I’m confident it’s back in place, I push my arm into the branches once more, finally grabbing the handle.
“Gotcha.” I hold the little knife up, admiring it. It’s not the best form of protection, but it’s more than I had when I left home. But then I realize I don’t have a sheath or a belt. I’m goingto have to roam the woods with the damn thing sticking out of my waistband.This is a bad idea.
Maybe I should go back to bed.
Or crawl into my nest.
What the fuck am I doing?
“Hey,” Tristan’s deep voice rips through the silence, making me flinch so hard I almost drop the knife.
“What the fuck?” I spin, looking toward the empty hallway. But there’s no one there.
“Over here,” Tristan says from the other side of the kitchen island. He’s holding the container of leftover spaghetti in one hand and a fork in the other.Has he been there the whole time?“Why did you hide a knife in the vase?” he asks as he takes another bite.
I don’t have time to come up with a decent excuse, and there’s no way I’ll be able to run past the alpha, So instead, I do the first thing that pops into my head—I lift the knife and get into a defensive stance. “Don’t come any closer,” I snarl, praying I look at least a little fierce.
But Tristan doesn’t even blink. “Why hide the knife?” he asks again as he tosses the bowl and fork into the sink. They clank loudly and I tense, terrified he just woke up the whole house. “I’m assuming you’re running away. Right?” he asks like he couldn’t care less. “Why hide the teeny knife?” He rounds the kitchen island as he talks, “You could have grabbedanyweapon directly from the kitchen right before you left.” He eyes my tiny blade. “You could have gotten something that will actually do some damage.”
I steady my feet, lifting the blade a little higher, and he pauses. But I seriously doubt it’s because he’s scared. “I didn’t want to waste time searching for a weapon,” I say. “I was trying not to make too much noise.” I don’t know why I’m answering his question, but I’m not sure what else to do.
“Okay.” Tristan rolls his eyes upward, thinking about that. Then he nods. “I guess that’s smart.”
His approval grips me, and a burst of pride blooms in my chest. “I need to go home,” I say firmly, but it’s more for me than him.Focus, Beth.
“Why?” Tristan asks, taking another step toward me.
“What?” I balk at his question. “Because they’re my family.” I’m sick of trying to explain this. “How does no one here understand this?” My voice rises slightly as my frustration grows. “Do alphas cut off their families the second they join a pack?” I snip.
“Kind of,” Tristan says like it’s no big deal. “I talk to my brother on occasion and Jeremy texts his mother pretty frequently, but once you find a pack, they become your new focus.” He’s talking to me like he’s trying to teach me a lesson. “Did you grow up visiting with aunts, uncles, and grandparents?”
I go still at his question, not sure how to answer. After a moment of thinking it over, I decide to go with the truth. “My mother misses her family every day. She told me many times she wished she could write to them, but my father cut us all off from the outside world.”
Tristan nods, looking at me, almost as if waiting for me to say more.
“Burke is a horrible pack alpha,” I try to explain myself. “He’s vicious and violent, and he’ll kill my mother if I don’t go home and protect her.”
“Why do you care about a bunch of people who abused you?” His casual tone slices through me, and my grip on the knife doubles.
“My mother didn’t abuse me,” I snarl. “Neither did my brothers.” I open my mouth to mention Tony and Scott as well, but for some reason, I can’t.
