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“Coming right up,” he promised, disappearing into the kitchen before coming back with three cans, plates, and napkins. He settled onto the floor at my left and I slid down next to him, Ava following and settling at my right. Nyx flipped open the four boxes, revealing a cheese, pepperoni, and supreme pizza, the last one full of breadsticks. My stomach growled as he passed out plates and I grabbed a piece of each before settling in.
Somehow between us, we ate the food, leaving only a few pieces behind and falling into a food coma. Nyx groaned, clutching his stomach.
“I’ll need to shift and run laps to work this one off,” he protested. “I blame you, Vanya.”
“I blame me too,” I whined playfully. Ava giggled next to us, and I nearly cried from how carefree it sounded. Even if this day started out terrible, it ended on a positive note. My heart warmed that the pack who saved me, could be a sanctuary for this discarded wolf as well.
Callum might have to start building more houses if this keeps up.
ChapterTwenty
Vanya
It had been a few days since Ava joined the pack and she already had changed so much. She still didn’t talk a ton, but she was finally speaking a little. She was gaining a bit of weight back and got color back in her cheeks.
The tracker seemed to be keeping his distance, not a single hint that he was nearby. Even with patrols in town, everything seemed to be calm.
My phone rang, Dave’s name flashing on the screen. I picked it up, excited to hear if my truck was ready finally.
“Hey Dave, how’s my baby?!”
He chuckled. “I’m proud to say, she’s finally healthy and drivable! This was probably the hardest but most rewarding job I’ve done.”
“Well me and my truck thank you. I’ll swing by today to get her out of your hair,” I promised. Then it occurred to me that I hadn’t seen my wallet in a long time. Hell, I hadn’t needed it. The pack covered most things, and I hadn’t left since I was being stalked.
Ava was with Emma in the pavilion, a place she seemed comfortable in, so I headed over to Leven’s where I still had some of my things. He was outside with Garren as I walked up.
“Hey! Guess what’s finally fixed!” I said excitedly.
“Your old clunker,” Leven teased, earning a glare.
“A classic, you mean,” I challenged. “My truck is a work of art, Leven.”
“I’m intrigued to see this work of art for myself,” Garren laughed, shaking his head.
“My wallet is inside,” I explained. They turned back to landscaping, and I hurried past and inside.
My room still smelled strange, the lingering stench of the tracker’s invasion clinging to the fabric and walls like a fucking disease. Of course, after rifling through my bags, there was no sign of my wallet. I crawled under the bed, searching there, before tossing aside my sheets. Something fluttered out and landed on the floor, an envelope. When I picked it up to inspect it, my name was written on the front.
With shaking hands I pulled it open and withdrew a single sheet of paper and a picture. Flipping it over, I nearly puked at the sight. Meira was sitting there, bruised, broken, and emaciated as she blinked against the harsh flash of the camera. She wore a white dress, one I recognized and my entire world shifted.
He had my sister.
Meira was alive this entire time.
Why would Torryn lie?
What should I do?
Then I remembered the letter in my hand and unfolded it, reading the scrawling text as I tried to hold onto my composure.
A fair trade. Her for you.
This meant he was coming for me, but I didn’t know what to do or say to the pack. This was just another of his ploys, but this one was far more serious than the others. He’d kept his ace until the right moment and now he was going to use it to draw me out and force me to give in, to stop fighting.
On numb legs I walked outside to join them. Leven dropped his shovel the moment he saw me.
“What’s wrong? Why are you so pale?”
