Page 21 of All Packed Up

Wendy cried for the chance she’d wasted and for not trusting her gut and lying to herself and accepting the lies from the alphas. She cried for the mark she was never going to get rid of and the bond that went with it. The bond she didn’t want. She cried for the situation she’d gotten herself into and didn’t know how to get out of—not without help and she hated asking for help.

“I’m a mess,” she choked out, her voice ruined from the tears.

“You’re not,” Nic argued.

To prove him wrong, Wendy pulled back and wiped her weepy eyes. “Don’t lie to me,” she whined sternly. “My eyes are red and swollen, and I’m probably dehydrated from all the water I just cried onto your shirt, and I’m pretty sure I used your sleeve as a tissue at one point.”

“I have other shirts,” Nic said in response.

Wendy’s tears were drying up, and she scoffed in disbelief, tilting her head to the side. The alphas would be pissed if she ever thought about ruining one of their brand name threads.

Nic isn’t one of your alphas.

I know that.

“Should I add tissues to the grocery list, or a pack of cotton shirts?” he questioned with a smile curled on his lips, even though it didn’t reflect in his gaze.

Staring at the wet spots dotted along his shirt, she couldn’t help the tired laugh that escaped. “Probably shirts, if you’re going to keep being this nice to me,” she teased, though the joke was more sad than funny.

Nic’s smile fell, and he brushed her hair back before taking her face between his hands. Large and warm, they cupped her face as Nic swiped his thumbs under her eye again. She felt the wetness dry along her skin.

“Want some water?” he whispered.

Wendy nodded. “You’re being nice again.”

“Always,” he retorted.

Wendy crawled off of him, holding the blanket close to cover her nudity. He slid off the bed and kept an eye on her until he rounded the corner. Then he was gone, and it was silent for a moment.

Scraping her nails along her scalp, she gathered her long hair in her hands and groaned in frustration. The alphas weren’t here, she’d left them far behind a whole city over. The echo of Derek was barely there, a wisp of smoke on a windy day.

So why was he still in her head?

Dropping a hand to her bite mark, she wished she could scrape her nails along it too and make it go away.

Was this how it was going to be for the rest of her life? How was she supposed to move on if she was reminded of him at every turn?

When Nic returned with water, Wendy thanked him and wrapped her fingers around the chilled glass. He watched her as she drank about half. Her lips were cold when she came up for a breath.

“What is it?” she asked.

Nic crossed his arms, leaned against the doorframe, and she resisted the urge to pat the bed again. She missed his warmth already.

“Trying to decide if you’ll tell me what happened when I ask.”

She couldn’t read his expression, but it didn’t matter.

Shaking her head, Wendy sipped her water before leveling him with her gaze. “It’s simple, I just jumped too far too soon and now I have to live with my choices.”

None of this would have ever happened if she’d just stuck to her studies. That was what college was for, not finding a random pack of alphas.

Nic narrowed his gaze. “I highly doubt that’s the case. But I’ll let you keep your secrets. For now.”

Wendy hummed noncommittally. She wasn’t that easy.

But she was cold. “Will you stay?” she asked, giving in and patting the fucking bed.

Nic wasn’t one of her alphas and it wasn’t fair to treat him as such. He’d done nothing but help her so far, so there was no reason for the petals of guilt to unfurl in her chest.