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6:25 a.m.
“Look at that walk of shame, or is it lack of shame?”
The low grunt after Lana hit her brother in the stomach almost, but not quite, made up for Zhair’s obnoxious remark. But she did smirk watching him catch his breath before she slid in next to Lana and far away from Axel.There was an awkward silence at the table until Nubia joined them, swooshing her strawberry in the sweet fruit dip before speaking.
“You sleep okay, baby? Get settled in?”
“I did. And you?” She hadn’t slept a wink. Up most of the night tossing and turning, she worried for her mate, the feeling of anxiety and fear taking over. She hadn’t unpacked—her suitcase was still by the door because she knew he was sending her home this morning.
“I will admit, I slept like a rock. That wine you brought made my night.” Nubia smiled cheerfully, then looked over at her mate, squeezing his forearm. “Go on, Axel. Don’t torture her anymore.”
She knew he was about to send her home, to get her out of his hair, and her instinct was to argue, to beg, to do whatever it took to give her this last week with Nassau. But she knew it wouldn’tmatter to him, and the knot in the pit of her stomach turned. She couldn’t touch the fruit and toast she had slid onto her plate.
“Tell me about this competition you have with Nassau and a horse. If that’s even true.”
Her eyes shot up to meet his, almost unsure what to say. “Ursula. She’s been giving him a hard time—”
“I know Ursula. Everyone knows that horse. He was ordered to set her loose or find her another home months ago.”
“Months? He said she’d only been there a couple of months.”
“This time around. Overall, how long has he been working on that horse, Zhair?”
“Over a year. Almost two at this point. She’s a pill, and he’s crazy. Won’t give up on her.”
“She’s been through rounds at the training arena at least five times, with breaks in between. She’s wild—not trainable.”
“No. He’s just doing it wrong.”
The Alpha scoffed before eying her carefully. “Before he got her, she’d already been handled by several other trainers with no success. He was the last-ditch effort before we got rid of her. He’s convinced she only needs time.” The Alpha took a long sip of his coffee before addressing her again. “What makes you think that you can train this horse in a week? That you can do something none of us have done in years?”
“Just like I told Nassau, you men are looking at her all wrong. I know what I’m doing. It took convincing, but he gave me one week with her, and then I would admit defeat.”
“That’s why you insisted on coming back.”
She hesitated, but took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. “Partly, yes. I won’t pretend or lie. I also enjoy being around Nassau. He’s made me feel safe and not chased after. He has a calming effect on all my nerves. I absolutely believe the psycho stalker will show himself this weekend at the party as long as I stay away from Aisling, so I wanted another week ofthat feeling before I go back on the road. Sitting in my house by myself all day made me feel…lonely and vulnerable. And I think you were right when you sent me over as bait. He was still over there watching. So I made a big show of coming back here. Of leaving.”
“You think he was in Aisling this weekend.”
“Yes. But he knew I was guarded. I packed and drove around like I was leaving for a while, like I would go through Tuisa before I left. I need to stay away from Aisling for more than a couple days to flush him out, to send him back on the tour to find me.”
“Why didn’t you share this plan?”
“Because no one was including me in any of yours. You’re all assuming that I’m just a face and this persona. You’re assuming I don’t know what I’m doing. I do. Kinda.”
She cleared her throat, unsure if anything she was saying mattered, but she had to try. “My dad always said my problems could all be solved in the saddle, and my mom showed me food was the gateway. And hell, Ajax taught me to fight for what I want. So, here I am, just trying to get by for another week.”
There was a long moment of silence, the chewing of food and clinking of silverware playing on her nerves while she waited on his answer. She was about three seconds away from begging when he finally spoke.
“Then it sounds like you need all the help you can get. Zhair will be joining you this week, use him however you need. He could use a refresher on our horses. Between him and Nassau, don’t leave their sight, and don’t get too relaxed in your surroundings again.”
Her heart leaped, and she could barely contain her excitement before letting out a huge breath of relief. “Really? You got me sweatin’ like a whore in church over here. Keep it up, and you’re gonna become my new favorite twin.”
She grinned when Lana snorted, then giggled. Nubia’s kind brown eyes turned to her in amusement. “When you head over, take my nephew breakfast. He took last night real hard. He doesn’t like letting anyone down. Pretty sure he was outside till the sun rose.”
Axel grunted, putting a slice of melon in his mouth before adding on. “He shifted and ran the woods, then his wolf took up security watch under your window. I might have been a little hard on him, but he won’t take yours, or this pack’s safety, lightly again.”
With that, she froze for a second before recovering to nonchalantly wave her fork at Zhair, like she didn’t care what Nassau did. “So, you’re going to be my little training assistant. Think you can keep up?”
