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Another winning answer, according to Caroline’s growing smile. I can see where Levi fits in the puzzle that is the Woods pack. He’s clearly the calm one. The middle-man in any argument. Probably discusses the merit and pitfalls to any and every decision before it can be made. He’s rational. The peacemaker, I suppose. With the emotions that I could sense flying around last night upon my arrival, that would definitely be an important—and difficult—part to play. Hell, maybe he can even crack Thane’s hard shell.
If that was what I wanted.
Which I don’t.
“Mind if I join too?” a familiar voice says, and I jump, all my focus intent on Levi. I swing my head to find Miles smiling down at me, and I feel that urge to run to his arms, to hold me and promise to make everything safe.
“Sure,” I say, gesturing to the last empty seat. “Care is apparently interviewing Levi.”
“And why shouldn’t I?” she shoots back. “You’re my best friend. You deserve the best.”
Well, if that doesn’t crack my heart in two. Hot tears sting my eyes, and I look away so no one notices them.
“She’s right,” Miles agrees, because of course he does. “The fact of the matter is, if Riley doesn’t want to be bonded to us, we will never make her. And if any one of our pack doesn’t want to bond, we would honor that too.”
He pauses, and I know in an instant who probably doesn’t want me. But that’s fine because I don’t want him either.
Not even a little.
I’m a terrible liar.
“However, it is our responsibility to find a pack for her now. Unfortunately, Riley, you can’t be out there without family or a pack, not anymore.” He must see the frustration in my expression because he adds quickly, “But you have done so well these past few years, all on your own. It’s incredibly impressive.”
“I’m proud of her,” Care says.
Oh, God. There go my eyes again, stinging like I’m caught in a windstorm. When was the last time anyone said they were proud of me? Impressed by me not just for what I can do with words but also for who I am as a person, how I live…
Levi’s hand drifts across the table to mine, and when he offers it, palm up, I take it. His hand is warm and comforting, and I thread my fingers through his, not realizing what I’ve done until he’s stroking the back of my hand with the pad of his thumb.
Caroline’s gaze drifts to my hand before she meets my eyes. She gives me a subtle nod. They have her hard-won approval, something I needed before I make any more decisions. I needed to know that they were as genuine as they seemed.
I don’t know what my future is, but for now, I’ll stay with the Woods pack. I may not choose them to bond with, and they might not choose me. But they can protect me. I won’t need Kennedy for scent blockers and heat suppressants. I won’t have to worry about hiding since they already know who I am.
Even if this is temporary, it’s a chance I’m going to take. A break that I deserve. From fear. From being careful. From everything a life in hiding has robbed me of.
TEN
—
F O X
The echoesof my feet slapping the pavement slow as I reach the front door. I take a moment to stretch, right there on the front stoop, and my panting breaths slow until I’m filled with that nice, easy mood I always get when I run.
Not all my teammates run for the pure joy of it, preferring to only lace their runners when coach tells them they need to up their cardio or shed a couple pounds. I love it, though. Just me and the open sky and no one to stop me from running to the ends of the earth. I mean, yeah, there are oceans and shit, but besides that.
I’m trying to be poetic here.
When I feel fully stretched—because delayed onset muscle soreness is a bitch and I’m not having it—I head into the house and straight to the fridge, where a new pack of sports drink is waiting for me. I grab one and start drinking, letting the electrolytes replace all the moisture I just wrung out of my muscle.
Pulling the empty bottle from my lips, I notice a new note tacked up on the fridge, scribbled in Miles’s neat handwriting. Thank God, because if it was Thane’s messy doctor’s scrawl, it wouldn’t be legible at all.
I take a deep breath, the way I always do before reading.There’s no pressure to read it fast, I remind myself, Levi’s familiarly calm tone repeating in my head.Take your time. No one is laughing at you.
I take a seat at the island and stare at the first few words. Mulvaney Pack. I rack my brain. I don’t know of them at all, so I move to the next one. Cooper Pack. I know that one. Miles is friends with one of the alphas, but I think they live in, like, the Arctic or something. Koersten Pack. That one sounds a familiar too but I can’t place it. Franklin Pack. Dougherty Pack.
Shit, I think these are all packs that Miles wrote down to talk about with Riley. I go back to scan the top of the page, struggling with the words there for a minute before I work it out. It reads ‘Pack Options to Consider for Riley.’
Something possessive twinges in my chest. It’s barely been a full week and already my inner Alpha is trying to claim her. Even if she’s all but shut herself into the Blue Room, only venturing out for snacks and to fold herself neatly on the couch to watch the latest episodes of Omega Matchmakers. It’s not half bad, really. I watched it with her just yesterday.
