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Unable to take it anymore, I stepped in front of him, forcing him to stop. When he tried to move away from me, I grabbed his wrist.
His pulse pounded hard against my fingers.
“Stop, Kai.Stop. Just breathe.”
He sucked in deep lungfuls of air.
I stepped up to his chest, wrapping my arms around him and hugging tightly. He resisted at first, but when his arms finally went around me, he squeezed me fiercely.
“I didn’t know you when I moved to town, right?”
“Right.” He was still struggling for air.
“I heard all of the gossip, okay? All of it. Every version of Elle’s death and Lucas’s birth there was. Every version of your move to the forest. I heard them all.”
His chest rose and fell faster.
“You weren’t the bad guy in any of that gossip, Kai. None of it. No one thinks you failed Elle, or that you’re failing Lucas. No one talks about that. Mostly, they talk about the insanity of a dying woman convincing a doctor to let her go through IVF while she had cancer.”
His breathing slowed slightly. “Itwasinsane.”
Omg—he hadn’t denied it.
Had she seriously done that?
“I heard that people in town used to be really harsh on you guys, but the story has definitely changed since then. Now that you guys are teaching people how to connect with your wolves, they respect you. And I don’t think those bitchy couples in Lucas’s pack were bitchy because of where you live—I think they were bitchy because they’re all friends, and you don’t meet up with them for group dates or anything.”
Kai was quiet for a few minutes, but his heartbeat slowed. “The way you railed on them was hot,” he finally said.
“I didn’t even think you noticed.”
He scoffed. “It’d be impossible not to notice you. I was checking you out so hard even before I let you bite me, I should probably be in jail.”
A laugh escaped me. “At least if I died, I would’ve gone out having been recently-ogled.”
“Don’t talk about that. You’renotgoing to die.” His sharp words reminded me what we’d been talking about.
Whowe had been talking about.
“You’re right. Now that I’ve traded my underwear for daily feedings, I’m going to live just as long as you do,” I teased him lightly.
He scowled. “The deal’s off if you refuse to leave here. This place is a health hazard—and it smells awful.”
“You already said that last bit,” I pointed out.
“And I’ll say it again if I have to.”
I remembered the violence of his reaction—and how we had been making progress earlier.
“Fine. I’m not going back to Elle’s townhouse, though. I’ll try to figure something else out tomorrow. Tonight, I’m staying here.”
He scowled. “Tonight, you can sleep in my trailer. I’ll sneak you out before Lucas wakes up.”
Ugh.
“No. I’m your mate; I’m not being your dirty little secret. Doesn’t Lucas already know what we are to each other?”
“We haven’t had a conversation about it, but I’m sure he’s put the dots together.”
