As soon as Drax is out of earshot, Izzie grins. “He’s hot.”
Great, so now my sister thinks my omega’s ex is hot. Another reason to add to the list of why I don’t like him.
I glower at her. “He’s too old for you.”
“And? There’s no harm in looking.” She flicks her hair over her shoulder, turning her attention back to Sabs. “Are you dating him too?” She doesn’t give Sabs a chance to answer before continuing, “I can see why you’d want to keep your options open. I mean, you’re gorgeous. You could have your pick of anyone.”
Sabs wriggles in her seat. “Uh…”
“You know, I’m detecting some tension in this house.” Izzie grabs the strawberry milkshake. It was supposed to be for Orin, but I guess he’s going to miss out. “What’s up with that? And don’t even think about lying to me, Adler.” She narrows her eyes at me. “You know I can tell when you’re lying.”
“What your brother said about us being complicated is true,” Sabs steps in to rescue me. “We sorta… kinda…”
“Bonded,” I jump in.
“You bonded?!” Izzie almost topples off her chair. “Oh my god! Why didn’t you tell me? You should have fucking called!”
“Language,” Luca tsks.
She waves her wrist dismissively. She’s just as much of a little sister to my pack as she is to me. They know all about our upbringing. I always tried to hide the worst of things from Izzieand did everything I could to make her life easier. We were a two-person team until we reconnected with Aunt Jade, who took her in as soon as she learned what conditions we were living in. At that point, I moved in with Luca’s family. Both Iz and I knew from a young age that the only way we were going to make it in this world was by doing it our own way. We’re in control of our own destiny.
“In my defense, it only happened yesterday.” I rub my eyes. “I was going to call after we had time to figure things out.”
“But you never even told me you were courting!”
“That’s because there was nothing to tell,” Sabs laughs wryly. “We’re responsible for helping SVU’s accidental bonding stats rise.” I feel a stab of pride when she brushes her hair aside to show Izzie my mark on her neck.
“Ohhhhhh. Wow.” Shocked realization dawns on Izzie’s face. “Now I get why there’s tension. And why the hot inked guy seemed pissed.”
“We’re just friends.” Sabs shakes her head. “We never dated.”
That’s news to me. Very welcome news.
“Before you got here, we were trying to get Sabs settled in,” Luca says. “It’s a lot for everyone to process right now. We’re all going to take it slow and get to know each other.”
“This is crazy.” Izzie doesn’t seem upset by the news. “This is like living in some Kardashian-style reality TV show. You’ve struck gold, Adler. She seems far too good for you.”
Sabs laughs. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“I think you’ll find that I’m a catch too.” I straighten my spine. “Apparently, I’m the number one most eligible alpha on campus, according toThe Valley Voice.”
“And most modest,” Luca chips in, making Sabs giggle.
Izzie scoffs then sighs down at her buzzing phone. Her purple nails fly over the keys. “I better get back to Barbara House.”
“I can drive you?” Luca offers.
“It’s okay.” She waves him off. “My friend is on the way to pick me up. She’s booked a party cart, whatever that means. She’ll be here in a few minutes.”
Since when did my little sister get so capable? I remember when she used to be afraid of the dark and would crawl into my bed to avoid one of Mom’s many drunken rages. Now she’s a resourceful young woman who makes me damn proud. Still, I’ll never stop being protective of her.
“It was great to meet you.” Sabs stands to pull Izzie into a hug.
Usually, Izzie isn’t a fan of physical contact with people she doesn’t know, so I’m surprised when she hugs her back just as enthusiastically, like they’ve known each other for years.
“I’ve always wanted a sister,” Izzie muses. “That’s basically what we are now, right?”
“I guess we are,” Sabs flashes her white teeth. “I’ve always wanted one too, especially growing up in a house full of boys.”
