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Wednesday, November 17
6:25 a.m.
“You coming to breakfast, cuz?”
He was buttoning his shirt, fresh from his shower, when Keoni linked him. His whole life, he’d eaten weekday breakfasts with his cousins, since his mom left early to work at the packschool, and his dad headed to the ranch earlier than he did.It helped that Nubia was an amazing cook, and his mother…was not.
“Yeah.”
“Just a heads up. Bailey and the guys will be staying with us for a while. Her stalker somehow got past the Aisling wards, and she barely escaped him again. They haven’t caught him and are worried he’s hiding somewhere inside the pack.”
His stomach dropped, and he froze.“Is she okay? Did he hurt her?”
“She’s fine physically. No injuries. Haven’t seen her yet. She got here in the middle of the night. They put her in Makaii’s room and kept guards on her all night.”
Rushing, he grabbed his gear, running out the door.“Is she up?”
“Not yet, but my dad wants her downstairs for a breakfast meeting. I’m about to go wake her.”
Rushing to his beat-up old truck, he headed straight to the packhouse. He knew there was nothing he could do, and it didn’t make sense for her to want anything to do with him, but he couldn’t help himself.
Unable to stop thinking about her since Saturday morning, the constant thought of her was driving him crazy. He felt like Isaiah, obsessed and creepy, but everything in him craved her right now. Her smart mouth, dirty comments, infectious laugh…he shook his head to clear her from his mind. The important thing was that she was safe.
By the time he’d entered the packhouse kitchen, almost all the family was downstairs. Zhair was flipping pancakes and Lana was buttering toast while his aunt bent over Bailey, hugging her close at the kitchen table.Bailey’s blonde hair was piled on her head, stray strands falling around her pale face, the dark undereye circles making her eyes look huge and vacant. She nodded at whatever Aunt Nubia was saying, then offered a small smile before his aunt hustled away.Within seconds, her eyes rose to meet his, and she froze. He swore he saw panic flit across her face before she looked down at her plate.
“Hey, Auntie.”
“G’morning, baby. Grab yourself a plate—once your uncle and Keoni get here, we are gonna have a quick meeting. Lots to discuss.”
He forced himself to keep his gaze off her, filling his plate with food, and dropping into the seat next to Lana. “How’s online college going?”
“Boring as hell, but at least it’s something. Maybe by next year, Dad will let us go to a real university. Until then, study sessions with your mom are keeping me afloat.”
As Lana and Zhair argued back and forth about some mutual friend, Keoni and Axel came in together, Keoni sliding in nextto him, and Axel sitting at the head of the table. There was the usual good-natured chitchat and jokes while they ate, but he kept his eyes to himself, avoiding looking across the table until Keoni stole her untouched piece of bacon.
“Keoni Blackwolf. Bailey needs all the strength she can get. Leave her food alone.”
“She’s fine, Mom. She always looks like this in the morning. Like something the cat drug in.” He grinned and popped the bacon in his mouth all in one bite, and Bailey glared at Keoni.
“I won’t go into all the things I’ve had to see every morning for the past three months.”
“That’s enough. We have much to discuss. There’s been a change in how we’re handling your stalker.” Axel consulted his little notebook and peered over his reading glasses at Bailey. “Originally, we tried to lure him away and make him think you’d headed out of town, then hide you here out of sight. But your Beta called Gio and Travis back over this morning to do a debriefing. They searched your house again after they returned, and there was a knife stuck in your front door with a new note.”
“Were my parents there?”
“No, they were staying in the packhouse. But that means he is still in Aisling, unable to be found.”
“He’s using magic somehow, and he doesn’t have a scent. They’ll never find him. Not if he stays hiding.” Bailey’s voice was flat and emotionless, like she was giving up, and he squashed the urge to pull her in his arms.
“I agree. Which is why I think we should use you as bait and see if he tries it again. But now, we will be ready. We will make sure you’re never alone and make it obvious you are here.”
“Her Beta is okay with that?” Zhair looked over at Bailey, worry clear on his face.
“That’s a great idea. I’ve clearly held my own against him twice, and I refuse to let some old ass Alpha terrorize me. We catch him, and then when Ava gets back, she can torch him.”
Axel continued on, ignoring her comments. “So, your Aisling guards will go back and forth each day, establish a pattern to show you’re here. You will stay surrounded by my men, but out in the open.”
“I was hoping to get some work done, maybe stay in the room today and catch up on sleep. Haven’t been sleeping at night—”
