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Parker: If you’re ignoring me because of Josephine, please remember she was one vampire out of many. Nora, what can I do to make this right? Please tell me.
I sigh. He doesn’t deserve to be ignored like this. Losing the battle with my conscience, I respond.
Nora: I’m sorry. It has nothing to do with Henry or Josephine. I don’t blame you for their actions. I just don’t think us seeing each other is a good idea. You want more from me than I can give you.
He answers immediately.
Parker: You want it, too; you’re just scared. You don’t need to be afraid of me. I would never hurt you.
I’m not afraid of him hurting me. Not exactly. I’m afraid of losing control with him.
A long whistle over my shoulder makes me nearly jump out of my skin. “Rook!” I drop my phone in my lap and quickly scoop it back up. “Shit! You scared the crap out of me!”
The man is leaning over the couch behind me, shamelessly reading my texts. He’s got a couple of Cokes in one hand and a plate with two steaks on it in the other. I pull my phone to my chest and glare at him. “Nosy much?”
Rook laughs. “Yes.” He hands me one of the Cokes and cheerfully says, “Who’s Parker? I thought you didn’t date,” as he makes his way to the grill.
“He’s a vampire in the Detroit clan. And Idon’tdate. Hence, the slightly desperate texts. I don’t think he’s ever been turned down before. He doesn’t seem to know how to give up.”
“Parker…Parker…” After placing the steaks on the grill, he turns around to face me with wide eyes and a gaping jaw. “ParkerReed?Henry Stadther’s chief enforcer?”
I nod. “That would be the one.”
He whistles again.
“Tell me about it.”
While he’s still blinking in disbelief, I finally notice the apron he’s wearing. It saysAll this…and I can cook, too. I laugh, and when I point at the apron, Rook looks down at his chest and rolls his eyes. He stares me down for a minute, as if debating whether to let me change the subject, but then, thankfully, lets the topic of Parker drop. “It was a Christmas gift from Wulf one year. That man is worse than a meddlesome old lady. He’s determined to see me mated off. Never mind that he’s so scared of pack females he’d rather live as a lone wolf in the city.”
I smile at that. True, Wulf often rants about the pushiness and clinginess of pack females, but it seemed to me the last time I was here that romance isn’t the only thing Wulf dislikes about pack living. “Aw, I think Wulf’s happy living the way he does. He really does strike me as a bit of a lone wolf. You should have seen him on the drive here the other day.”
“I’m sure.” Rook shakes his head with a chuckle. “I can’t believe he came back.”
Rook snaps his mouth shut and turns to the grill, as if suddenly remembering that setting him up with me was the reason for Wulf’s return. I try to break the awkward silence.
“So, can I ask you something?”
“Shoot.” His word is friendly, but he sounds wary and keeps his face to the grill instead of me.
“Okay, so packs are ranked, right? Like the alpha is the most dominant, and the second strongest is his beta, and so on…?”
His whole body sags with relief at the change of topic, and he gives me a cheerful, “Yup. The books get that part right.”
“But you’re more dominant than Alpha Toth, aren’t you? Wulf is, too, right? If I ranked you all, I’d place you first, Wulf second, and Alpha Toth third. What am I missing?”
Rook closes the lid on the grill and turns to gape at me, slack-jawed and bug-eyed. “You can feel dominance?”
“I didn’t realize I wasn’t supposed to.”
Rook comes over to sit on the couch near me. “Most non-shifters can’t, and humans never.”
I shrug, vulnerability washing over me. “I’m a bit of a psychic. Maybe that’s why. I can feel magic, too, and Terrance told me humans don’t feel that, either.”
“They don’t.” Rook shakes his head, eyeing me like I’m something special.
I squirm under his gaze, hating that I’m different, yet again, and turn the conversation back on him once more. “So, I’m right? You’re the strongest? How come you aren’t alpha, then? What’s your place in the pack?”
Rook sighs and then goes back to the grill to flip the steaks. “It’s a long story. How do you like your steak?”
