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"Should we go home and switch cars?" Ellie asked. Her voice was quiet and strained and I hated that I dragged them into it. But the idea of him following them home had me uneasy.
"No, just pull a few houses away. I don't want them following you home. Dad won't let them linger outside for long," I reassured him. He glanced over and studied me for a moment before nodding. By some miracle he actually listened. My gaze drifted up and down the street before we all hurried inside. Mom was waiting, watching us like we'd lost our mind since I wasn't the only one being vigilant.
"Someone's following us," Ezra explained, closing and locking the door before peeking through the window.
"I wondered why you were circling like a madman," Mom said with a chuckle before she processed what he said. "What. What? Following who? Why?"
"Me, and I have no idea," I admitted. For what felt like the hundredth time that day, I repeated the story for her. She frowned as she ushered us further into the house.
"Dad's out back, go see him, tell him what's going on," she urged. Ezra finally stepped away from the window to join us and I didn't breathe again until my dad was pulling me in for a hug.
"Hey, sweet girl. What's going on?"
Ezra answered for me this time and my dad's hug turned from tight to bone crushing. He didn't let up until I let out a squeak of protest.
"Stay here," he told us, grabbing Ezra and both of them stormed back through the house. I hoped for whoever was following me's sake, that they didn't try to come by again.
The guys didn't come back for close to thirty minutes. By that time Kat and I had taken over Dad's grill and finished the steak and potatoes he was grilling.
"I'll grab the table settings," Mom said. I'd never heard her sound so high pitched. She was clearly ready to go mama bear mode herself.
"Look, your family is just as protective as a pack," Ellie said low enough only I could hear. "Even if someone broke your heart before, it's worth it to try again."
"You would know," I said, giving her a smile. Even if I didn't believe that was in the cards for me I wasn't going to ruin her optimism.
The sliding door flung open and my dad came out, holding a man by the collar. He slammed him down into a seat and the poor beta looked like he might piss himself. Hell, I would be, too. My dad was a big dude and both he and Ezra looked downright terrifying.
"You care to tell us what this is about?" my dad bellowed, inches from the man's face. He tried to speak but his mouth could only open and close repeatedly. His face was pale and I tried to study him, hoping to place his face somewhere. There was a slight familiarity there but nothing was coming.
He had brown hair that was getting just long enough to fall over his eyes. Brown eyes pleaded with someone to help him but not one of us moved. Ellie and Kat flanked me while my mom stepped next to my dad, likely so he didn't kill the man.
"Let me repeat my husband's question. What do you want with my daughter?"
Then he uttered the one word that tilted my world on its axis.
"Evrin."
Serenity
Everyone in the room turned to face me, including the man in the chair. It felt like someone had gut punched me. Just hearing his name had all of those awful feelings flooding me again.
“What about him?” I managed to choke out.
“He wanted me to find you. We've been trying to tail you but you caught me," he said quickly.
"You didn't even try to hide," I countered with a hollow laugh. Just hearing my ex's name had my stomach in knots. He was the reason I didn't commit to men anymore. I'd spent the years since having one night stands or quick flings, no strings attached.
No one wants to relive the pain of a rejection like that.
“Who is ‘we?’” Dad demanded, cutting him off by chopping his hand through the air. The beta winced again and for some odd reason I couldn’t stand the sight of a grown man terrified and cowering like this. I knew how intimidating my dad was, even more so after the creepy picture taking. The alpha didn't play around when it came to his kids.
“My brother, best friend, and I. We're private investigators though, I was the one in town trying to make sure it was you. Ev paid good money for your location and wanted to make sure you didn't have a pack," he explained.
My anger flared at that. Who the fuck did Evrin think he was to 'make sure' that I didn't have a pack now? It had been years since college and he had made my life hell. Fuck him.
"Tell him I have a pack," I demanded angrily. "I don't give a fuck what he wants but you're not giving him my location."
The man swallowed hard and glanced at the two alphas still towering over him.
