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I stay the night.
Way I see it, if I’m going to take over the townhouse, I should get used to it, right?
The next morning, Ryker returns to Mountainside to make arrangements. I almost offer to go with him, but I have things I have to take care of myself. With the full moon being three days away, it’s going to be tough to arrange everything. I’ve got to cover my shifts at Charlie’s, pack everything I need for an extended stay—Ryker insists on at least a week for just the two of us after the night of the Luna Ceremony—and… Aleks. Yeah. I’ve got to do something about him.
We decide that we’ll meet up at the townhouse tomorrow night and drive into Accalia together. That gives me today and tomorrow to get everything in order, then one more night together until it’s time for the full moon.
Call me a coward, but I’ve got my claws crossed when I finally head back to the apartment to pack up the afternoon I’m supposed to leave. I couldn’t bring myself to go the day before, and I blamed it on the vamp that attacked me. If I see Aleks, I’ll have to tell him, it’ll get back to Roman, and… I wasn’t ready for that yet.
I’m also a freaking liar. Sure, I’m worried about Roman, but my biggest concern? Facing Aleks and telling him that I’m bonding myself to Ryker in a couple of nights.
So I didn’t.
Instead, I finished my last scheduled shift at Charlie’s, then returned to the townhouse where I tossed and turned all night in an empty bed.
I have to tell him. It’ll be even more fucked up if I get mated and he has no idea. And I know I’ll have to face Aleks sooner or later, but that doesn’t stop me from letting out a monstrous sigh of relief when I arrive at the apartment and he’s not home.
I’ll still have to talk to him, though, so before I lose the nerve, I pick up my phone.
I ignore the two missed calls from my mom, reminding myself that I’ll have to call her later. There’s also a call from Hailey, plus a text that says she’s seeing Dominic for dinner tomorrow. I think to myself, “More like she’llbehis dinner”, and, snorting under my breath, I pull up Aleks’s name.
There’s a long paragraph from him. I read it with a pounding heart, exhaling softly when I get to the bottom of it. Roman knows about the vamp attack—Ryker decided it would be best to contact him yesterday morning to explain what happened—and the Cadre leader decided an execution was warranted. Not only are we not in trouble, but Ryker got a personal thank you from Roman which, even through text, I can tell pissed Aleks off.
Then, before I think better of it, I shoot off a text of my own to him.
Meet me at seven. The place where we met. We need to talk.
By the time I’m packed and ready, it’ll be close to the time I agreed to meet Ryker, but I have to take a couple of minutes to see Aleks. After all he’s done for me this last year, it’s the least I can do.
I shove my phone in my back pocket and try to forget about it. I know him. He might not answer my text, but he’ll be there because I asked him to.
And then I’ll tell him.
It’s not goodbye. I’m coming back. Maybe not to the apartment, now that Ryker wants me to move into the townhouse with him, but I don’t have to make up my mind about that yet. For now, it’s just a small vacation.
That’s what I tell myself as I grab a handful of panties, stuffing them into one of the three open suitcases I’ve pulled onto my bed.
A vacation.
I’m not moving out yet. I’m definitely not going back to Accalia to stay.
And if I tell myself that enough, maybe I’ll believe it.
* * *
At promptly seven,I drive my Jeep to the edge of Muncie territory. A solitary figure is standing is waiting for me, staring up at the mountains in the distance.
Aleks.
Two Junes ago, I fled Accalia in this very Jeep. It was packed with everything I owned, not just three suitcases, and I planned on driving until I could forget the sting of Ryker’s rejection.
Fate had different plans for me, though. I’d barely gone from pack land to vampire territory when the Nightmare Trio—Gretchen, Leigh, and Tamera—stepped out from the shadows, ready to turn me into their lunch. Aleks had been on patrol that evening, and if it wasn’t for him, I might’ve been vamp chow after all. Who knows?
He did so much for me. Took me in, offered me his protection, taught me about what life was like outside of a pack. He was my friend, and there were times I wished we could be more, but it just wasn’t meant to be.
I still don’t want to hurt him, though. And, since he’s come back to Muncie, it seems like that’s all I’ve been doing.
Now this.
