Page 91 of Red

Jocko squats next to me while Kiya moves toward the truck. “You okay?”

“I don’t know what I am,” I say. I pull my shoes off and stick my feet in the water to cool my body. I shared with him parts of me, things that should be a secret, fears and more. It’s as if pained fractures quake through me. What is this?

Jocko sinks down all the way and drapes his arm over me. I press into him. “Aloka, you’re blazing hot. Are you feeling okay?”

“Yeah, just ignore it,” I say, and tears fall.

A horn blares, but I don’t move. Jocko goes to stand, and I cling to his hand over my back. “Just a minute, please. I need a minute away from him.”

He nods and pulls me tighter to his side, and I lean my head onto his chest and sigh. There are no tingles, no addictive feelings, only a brother-like comfort. I want Stark’s thick hands running circles on my back, slamming me into a door while his scent washes over me or sitting across from me with a book. But I can’t have any of it. I don’t get the werewolf life. I don’t get the mate. My blood brother is gone. What’s the point?

The horn blares again, and Jocko picks me up while he stands.

“Come on, I’ll sit with you in the back.” He lifts my fractured self into the back seat. I slide over to make room.

“Jocko, get in the front,” Stark says with a new level of cold to his voice.

“I’m good, man. Kiya can stretch her legs,” he says, and climbs in next to me. He wraps his arms around me, and I curl my legs up into a ball. My eyes close. I use the rhythm of his breathing to calm down.

“Thank you,” I say into his chest.

His arms tighten and release.

Stark cranks the music up and drives us out onto the windy road. There’s only one last stop to make.

Chapter 26

Pink and orange hues fill the morning sky as, a few hours later, I shift away from Jocko. He smiles down at me. I glance up at Stark, and his one hand gripping the wheel looks like it’s going to break it. Maybe he misses Nikki?

He finally stops the truck, and outside is a beautiful house—timber-framed like Stark’s in the middle of the forest. Stark and Kiya hop out right away.

“You ready for this one?” Jocko asks.

Pratt was in the East cohort and so were a lot of his friends. Not that I’ve seen any of them in years.

“Of course.” Am I ready for Pratt reminders today?

“I’ll be right here, and if you need a brother to tell them to fuck off since he’s not here, I got that too.”

“Thanks,” I say.

Jocko hops out, then grips my hand for me to get down. We head toward the house but are stopped when a man comes running at me. Jocko moves to stand in front of me.

“It’s okay,” I say.

“Alo, I missed your gorgeous face. I’m so sorry. I wish Pratt had willed you to come stay with me after.” Pratt’s best friend, Nikolas. His blonde hair is pulled up into a high bun, and a beard a shade darker fills his beaming face.

I wrap my arms partway around him, and he squeezes me back. “Hi, Nikolas.” I smile.

“So, I heard Pratt stuck you with the legendary Stark Lamont. How’s that going?”

I look over at Stark, who shakes another man’s hand. “It’s been interesting. He should’ve left me at home.”

“Pratt hated leaving you. Did you really think he’d leave you alone once he was gone? He chose the most feared Alpha in the pack to watch over you.”

I never thought of it that way.

“Maybe not,” I say.