Page 30

“It wasn’t. But things are better nowadays. At least in the States, they don’t do things like that. Look, Billie, I understand that we have an advantage here on many levels. Most importantly, we have each other. And you are walking into a pretty well-functioning group, and you might feel like you’re the prey being encircled by some wild animals. And then add a dash of a random demon attack, and I get how you might feel like a fish out of water. The only thing I can do is show you that I would never let you fall. That we will only improve your life, not make it worse.”

She looked at me with an unreadable face for a moment and then rested her head on my shoulder. I promptly relaxed. I don’t know why we were bonding so easily, but I decided not to question it. “I don’t know you, Ty,” she began in a quiet voice. “But I think I like you. So, you know, don’t turn out to be a jerk.”

My heart panged at her revelation, and my shoulders shook slightly with a chuckle. “I would never hurt you. Whether you join us or not, I don’t think I’ll be able to forget you until I know you’re safely with a good alpha or alpha pack. So, until you’re claimed, you’re going to have to get used to having me around.”

She didn’t respond, and for a moment, I thought perhaps I’d gone too far. Even if it was the truth. “Actually, there is something I need to tell you. I didn’t tell Kai because, well, I didn’t want him to overreact.”

I tensed up. What could she possibly have to share?

“I have a meeting. It’s not a date. I won’t call it that. It’s with another alpha. It’s Friday. One of the higher-up coven leaders arranged it. Long story short, she disagreed with my father’s selection for alphas, so she asked me to meet her pick. I need to be able to make a full decision on my own, so I agreed to meet him. I respect my father, but I also respect my coven leadership.”

I didn’t breathe, not that I ever needed to, but I kept the habit to not freak people out and look like a mannequin when I was still. Of course, she had to meet this other alpha. She was a smart woman, and it would make no sense for her to not at least meet him. However, I hated the idea that someone could swoop in and take her away from us. I also hated that this coven leader didn’t seem to think we were a good choice. She would be in Billie’s ear swaying her decision. We no longer had an advocate.

Billie lifted her head off my shoulder, and I swore to myself for taking too long to respond. “I get that you’re mad—”

I shook my head quickly. “I’m not mad. Sorry for being weird. I understand why you have to go to this er, meeting. Of course, I don’t like it, but I get it. You don’t want any regrets when you make your decision.”

She wrapped her arms around me again, her cheek resting against my own, and I shuddered slightly at the contact. Yes, I was being odd, but she was still wrapped around me, so I was hoping that was fine.

“I don’t know why I keep touching you. I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” she whispered.

I could feel her chest press tightly to mine, her heartbeat pounding quickly and loudly in my ears. I could practically taste her scent on my tongue, and I fought with all my might to keep my mind from wondering what her blood tasted like. I knew it would be sweet. How the hell was I going to sleep on this couch with her just feet away from me? I didn’t have a choice.

“You’re fine,” I replied in a shaky voice.

“Can I just hug you for a little while longer, even if it’s weird?” she asked.

I squeezed her closer to me. “For as long as you want.”

God, I hoped she didn’t leave us.

CHAPTER11

BILLIE

Friday came all too quickly, and so did my date with Chilli’s alpha. I arrived first to the restaurant and sat with my phone and my thoughts of the past few days.

It was official, and I hated to admit, but Ty wasn’t that bad of guy. I’d been comfortable with him. I couldn’t recall ever being that relaxed around someone I’d just met before. I wanted to hug him again, but I kept my distance in the touch department. My mind was clouded enough with his scent; I didn’t need to add touch to it. Hell, if I did, I’d probably wind up on my back with him in a millisecond. He wouldn’t even have to remove my clothes, they would probably just magically combust. Yeah, it was safe to say I was that damn into him.

It was possible he was using vampire magic, but I was good at detecting such things. And it was more than his alpha status because I hadn’t felt that way when I first met Kai, although I did warm up to him quickly. Maybe it was because Ty was the type of guy I would normally go for immediately. Not just his looks but his kind personality. I liked a nice guy. He was an alpha, but there wasn’t that macho, cocky or authoritative aura around him. We seemed very equal in vibes. I honestly didn’t know such an alpha existed, and that made me even more conflicted because I really wanted to be right about the whole alpha-omega setup.

They were setting up a pretty persuasive deal. Don’t get me wrong, I was still pissed they had spied on me, and I refused to sympathize, but I also didn’t exactly hate them. Although the guys were rotating who would be my bodyguard and living with me, I agreed to still all meet together a couple times a week with as many of the other guys that were available to learn more about them. And let me say, they weren’t assholes. None of this meant I planned to give in and make them my alphas. It just meant that I was enjoying the moments for what they were in the here and now. I was not going to get used to any of it.

Especially because I had a date with a new alpha to focus on.

And he was late.

Only by ten minutes so far. We were to meet at a trendy sushi bar off the water in the luxury district of Harbor East. Ty and I had taken a car service, not wanting to bother with expensive parking. Now I was sitting at the bar alone, sipping on a water.

Ty was seated in the dining area, but I could practically feel his gaze on me from across the room. I knew he wasn’t happy about this meeting, but he’d been really good at putting on a neutral face through it all. He looked up at me and grinned. The guy had the best dimples. My heart fluttered with his smile, cheeks flushing, as I returned his grin before quickly looking away like a shy teenager.

Honestly, I kind of wanted to hurry up with the date and get back to Ty. Seeing him sitting alone, reading a book and looking so freaking handsome gave me a sense of longing to be near him. Snuggling up to him.

This was a problem.

A female waitress came to take his order and looked like she was grinning too hard and batting her false-lashed eyes too quickly. I pursed my lips with displeasure. She needed to roll it back some.

Ok, I wasn’t focused at all. Did I even want this date? I wasn’t sure how I felt about this meeting with the new guy. Did I want it to go well? Did I want it to fail?