Page 46 of All Packed Up

“Tell me about your day. How was it with them?” he asked.

Her gaze came alive as she turned to him, the oncoming headlights flashing light over her features.

“I had fun,” she said shortly.

“And?” Sue him. Nic was curious. And Tate kissed her! “They are alphas, and with your situation, I wanted to make sure—”

“They were better than gentlemen. Got me high, watched a movie, and played games. What more could a girl ask for?”

“Well, I hope so, because we’re going to be living with them for a while,” he mused. Sure, they made good neighbors… but housemates? This would be interesting.

Wendy cleared her throat. “How long?”

Nic blew out a breath and lowered a hand from the steering wheel to her knee. Her bouncing leg paused. “Until you decide it’s time to face them. After your heat.”

No one, not even Wendy, knew when her heat would finally hit. They’d just have to make sure and lie low until she wasn’t so vulnerable.

“So where are we going again?”

“I know someone who kind of lives off the beaten path. It’s hard to find unless you know exactly where to go. It’ll be safe until we can figure out what to do next.” In the off chance these alphas threw their money at the right people and somehow tracked down Nic’s name… there wasn’t anything public that would tie him to Griffith.

Wendy released a sigh of relief. “Perfect.”

They only had to make one pit stop the entire trip, and by the time Knuckles finally convinced him to share a bite of his food, they were much closer to their destination.

The longer they were on the road, the closer they became to their destination, the more tension settled in his shoulders. Nic gripped the steering wheel, and he knew in just a few more turns, they’d pull onto a dirt road and follow it until they found the only house that occupied it.

By the time the moon was high overhead, stars twinkling with the absence of city lights, his headlights were splashing over an unmarked entrance. As the tires bumped onto said road, he felt Wendy’s head turn in his direction. And stay.

It was overgrown, but when Nic got out and walked over to the fence, the key was right where it was supposed to be. His heart leapt.

He unlocked and pushed the gate wide before hopping back in his car and leading Tate and Arlo through the gate. Nic parked them several feet past the gate so he could get out and relock the damn thing. The overgrown grass brushed against his jeans as he walked, and Nic decided he hated the noise.

The drive down the slightly marked path was lengthy and a little terrifying. His car bumped over the gravel and the potholes, and he cursed Griffith’s name every time the car dipped.

“Who is this guy?” she asked, gaze narrowed.

Nerves rattled his spine, but he tried to shrug casually. “He’s an ex,” he admitted. This wasn’t the first time Wendy had asked, but Nic figured his nerves were scattered enough to let a little more information slip.

“Why did you guys end it?”

Or maybe not.

Nic’s heart thumped in his chest. “Just one of those things, you know?” he answered, and tried to send her a reassuring smile. It must not have been as convincing as he wanted, because Wendy’s voice was quiet when she spoke again.

“We don’t have to stay here. We can find somewhere else.”

If it wasn’t for the porch light he could barely make out through the trees, he might assume this road would never end, that it was all a prank. But that was above Griffith, and they came to a stop behind a beat-up red truck.

“Too late,” he said. “We’re here.”

The dust he’d stirred up with his tires was still settling when he undid his seatbelt and opened his door. He needed out of that car quickly.

Fresh air was going to be his salvation, and he sucked in a breath of the chilly, dry, crisp air. But it was only a moment later when he smelled the achingly familiar baked honey scent of an alpha.

But what preceded that made his mouth drop open. The pounding of four paws sounded, and a big, gray pit bull, whose coat shone in the moonlight, charged in his direction from around the back of the house.

She skidded to a stop in front of him and barked hello. Her pink tongue lolled out of her mouth, and her big square head was so… big. Nic wasted no time in accepting the distraction, avoiding the gaze of the alpha who wasn’t far behind.