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She wasn’t plagued by the nightmares like I was, for which I was grateful. Still, she was suffering and processing in her own way. “No. Get some sleep. I’ll be fine. I have chores to keep me busy.”
“Kayden, this house is cleaner than I’ve ever seen—”
I cut her off with one sharp look. Cleaning had become my coping mechanism, but we didn’t talk about it.
“Okay.” Jenna sighed, her worried gaze searching my face. “If you’re sure, I’ll try to get some sleep.”
“I’m sure.” Leaning in, I wrapped my arms around my sister and squeezed her tight. “It’s all going to be okay.”
She nodded wordlessly as I jumped up and headed for my bathroom before my emotions got the better of me. Shutting the door behind me, I turned the shower on hot and waited. Our house wasn’t the newest, and the old water heater took forever to get warm water through the pipes.
Glancing in the mirror, I grimaced and grabbed a brush. My long hair was a tangled mess, and I’d never get a brush through it after washing it if I didn’t do some work on it first. Five minutes later, my hair in much better shape and steam finally billowing from the shower, I jumped in to wash away the lingering tension from my dream.
I’d dreamed of it every night the first week after Nico died, though I still didn’t know exactly what happened. The dreams had tapered off somewhat but shaking off the heaviness hadn’t become easier.
As I finished my shower, I made a mental list of what I could work on today to occupy myself. The restaurant I worked for—owned by shifters in the community who’d known my parents—had given me six weeks of bereavement leave, and I’d taken the opportunity to clean the house from top to bottom. There wasn’t much cleaning left to do, but I had a list of projects that had been put off over the years.
Our family home had been big enough but a bit of a fixer-upper even when my parents were alive. Nico, Jenna, and I had done what we could to maintain it with the little savings we had, but it was pretty outdated. Maybe I would take on one of the cheaper projects on my list this week. Replacing some loose boards on the deck, or perhaps painting the kitchen. It could use a refresh.
After getting dressed in comfy sweatpants and a cropped tank, I walked from my room, averting my eyes from Nico’s door. I hadn’t been able to go in there yet. That was a project for another time. Debating whether I wanted to paint or get out the hammer and nails, I made myself some coffee. The sun still hadn’t risen, but the faint light of predawn was lightening the sky.
Just as I took my first sip of coffee, a knock at the door made me jump. Hot liquid sloshed over the rim of the mug and my hand.
“Shit.” I set the mug on the counter and grabbed a towel, drying my hand as I walked from the kitchen to the door, my heart pounding.
Who would be here this early? Flashbacks of the last time I’d had an unexpected visitor made my breath catch in my throat, and I had to force myself to relax.
It had been only a matter of weeks ago. One of the alpha’s soldiers had come to give me the worst news of my life—that Nico had been killed fighting the future alpha of the North American packs. My hand shook as I reached for the doorknob.
Standing in the gray predawn light was another of Branson’s henchmen, clad in the standard black battledress he liked all his soldiers to wear. Nico had dressed the same.
I furrowed my brow and opened my mouth to ask what he was doing here, but before I could get a word out, his arm darted forward, his beefy fingers encircling my forearm.
“You’re coming with me.”
I dug my heels in and tried to yank my arm back, but he held tight. “Excuse me,” I huffed. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing? Let go.”
The soldier drew his brows together and bared his teeth. “Alpha’s orders. Don’t make this harder than it has to be. You’re coming with me whether you like it or not.”
Another cocky asshole. I wasn’t surprised. But if he thought I would willingly follow him to who knew where on the alpha’s orders, he had another thing coming.
Moving fast so he wouldn’t see it coming, I twisted sideways and kicked my leg out, landing a perfect kick to his gut. He wheezed as he doubled over in surprise. Rushing back inside the house, I hurried to shut and lock the door, but the soldier managed to stick his foot in the doorframe before I could.
He looked up at me, eyes blazing.Uh-oh.
“Kayden?”
The sound of Jenna’s voice had me spinning around, and the soldier took the opportunity to swing the door open and grab me by the wrist.
Jenna’s eyes widened. “What’s going on?”
My breath rushed out in a heavy sigh. I wasn’t going to get into a fight with this guy with my sister around. It was stupid to try in the first place, but I hadn’t planned on just hopping in his truck to go along for the ride.
“Branson needs to see me,” I told her.
Worry tightened her eyes and tensed her shoulders. “About what?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. I’m sure it’s nothing. Probably some formality having to do with…” I pressed my lips together, still unable to talk about it. “Don’t worry, Jenna. It’s fine.”
