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Eventually, they stopped speaking altogether and just stood there, gazing at the darkened tree line. Was there something out there? Loren craned her neck to see more and wound up dropping the plate in her hand.
It didn’t break, but the clamor shattered the silence, loud enough to be heard outside.
Caught!Both figures turned toward the window, and Loren barely managed to duck out of view. It was too late. Footsteps approached the backdoor, and Loren raced into the living room, her cheeks flaming.
“It’s about damn time he got back,” Naomi sniped from the couch. “Does he expect me to just wait around like some homeless vagrant? No offense.”
“None taken,” Micha chirped. He sat on the floor across from her, a pile of clothing scattered around him. Sonia had fished them from the recesses of Bill’s closet and invited him to take his pick. Under the guise of inspecting a sweatshirt with a faded logo, he looked up, meeting Loren’s stare. “Hear anything interesting while you were eavesdropping?”
Loren blushed. In the end, she just shook her head and took up a post near the window.
It wasn’t long before noise echoed in the kitchen, and someone warily poked their head through the doorway. Loren’s heart sank as she saw Sonia’s exhausted smile.
“Bill went out again,” she said—a polite way of phrasing what Loren knew to be the truth—he’s out avoiding you. “I thought I would get some groceries for you guys. At least, so you aren’t living on tuna for the next few days.”
“Thanks!” Micha chirped.
“Naomi, Bill fixed your car’s battery while he was out, so you can go home tonight,” the woman added, turning to the blond. “If you have any questions, he will talk to you tomorrow, I promise. Come on, I can follow you there just in case you have any more mechanical issues.”
If she were disappointed, Naomi excelled at hiding it. Instead, she stood and headed for the door after Sonia.
The second both women were out of earshot, Loren turned to the window, hunting for any hint of a figure racing through the trees. It was too dark to make out more than shadow.
“Looks like I’ll crash here, tonight,” Micha declared, heading for the couch.
Rather than head upstairs into the empty bedroom, Loren remained by the window.
Just watching.
* * *
Loren woke up on the living room floor, curled into a ball. Her entire body ached in protest, and she sorely missed the comfort of the mattress.
At least she could get some sleep without the simmering tension of yesterday. After Naomi left, things felt strangely…normal. McGoven staying out all night was nothing new. In fact, the only change from the previous few days was that Micha was currently snoring on the couch with his folded pile of new clothing on the floor beside him. She assumed he planned on sticking around.
It was strange. Bill hinted that lycan bonds were different, and already she could sense that. In Bill McGoven’s world, relationships were formed instantly based on subtle nuances. Strangers could become allies overnight. And friends could become lovers?
The image of him and Sonia wouldn’t leave her mind, taunting her while she drifted in and out of restless sleep. The latter decided to sleep in her car, rather than take his bedroom. Still, Loren wasn’t convinced their relationship was entirely platonic. Though, now might be the best time to ask.
She could sense his return before she even crept to the window. Sure enough, the sight of the dark figure picking his way through the trees made her heart beat faster. In relief? Or dread? He moved easily but Loren could sense the exhaustion his steady stride disguised.
A part of her wanted to lurk inside the house and wait for him to approach her first. Play coy. Pride wasn’t her motive, but sympathy. So much unsaid lingered between them—too much to unload on him now. Still, those logical arguments didn’t matter to that growing instinctive impulse that had her out on the front porch before she even realized it.
The cold air was a shock, and she regretted not grabbing a jacket. At least until a pair of gray eyes met hers from across the front yard and all fears of frostbite vanished. She was on fire. One look from him set her entire body alight with an emotion she couldn’t name and didn’t want to. It was unnerving and electric, flooding her veins with every breath.
He took his time, lumbering up the front walkway at a pace that conveyed more than anything else how reluctant he was. She could see the hesitation written clearly in his gaze. That didn’t stop her lips from flying apart the second he came close enough.
“Can we talk?”
He flinched, raising a dark eyebrow. He seemed just as confused by her sudden bravery as she was.
“Later,” he said in a neutral tone. “I promise. But first…”
He mounted the porch steps and palmed the space beside the front door. “There are some things we should discuss. All of us—” He slapped the wall repeatedly until a startled Micha darted to the screen door.
By then, McGoven was already bounding toward the west fields. “Get dressed,” he called back. “Then meet me near the paddocks.”
Micha didn’t seem to think the first command applied to him, and he rushed after Bill barefoot in only a pair of sweatpants.
