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He knocked on the door. It took a while before anyone answered, and when they did, it was Aiden, standing protectively in front of Rose.
“It’s just me,” I said. “And just Shaw.”
“Just Shaw,” Shaw repeated lightly.
Aiden stepped back, though he looked tense and wary. I wondered if my brother and sister could ever feel at home amongst the King pack.
As I walked in, I took in the simple but cozy interior of the cabin. We were in a living room with a small kitchen on the other side; a couch and two chairs faced the fireplace and the TV mounted above it. Two bedrooms, each with their own en-suite bathroom, flanked the living room. I could see enough of my sister’s room to know she’d somehow already scattered her meager possessions everywhere.
“Do you feel safe here?” I blurted out.
Aiden and Rose exchanged a look, and I knew they weren’t going to say a word in front of Shaw. I wasn’t sure they would tell me, period.
“We came to invite you to the big house for dinner,” I said. “They have family dinner every night.”
“Family?” Aiden asked cautiously.
“You’re Dylan’s aunt and uncle,” Shaw said cheerfully, as if he were the only one who didn’t feel the tension in the room. But I knew that was a lie. Shaw was just… being Shaw. “That makes you family, right? We all love Dylan and Amelia.”
He said that so matter-of-factly, as if it were so simple.
Rose worried her fingers nervously.
“You’re safe,” I assured them. “I know it must seem weird to be around the alpha, but…”
I couldn’t quite come up with the right words. After all, I didn’t make promises I couldn’t keep, and I didn’t know how much I could trust Stone.
“If we’re so safe,” Aiden asked dryly, “How come you ran away?”
“I’d been trapped,” I said. “I’d been framed, but Stone understands everything now.”
“Then how come you still want to leave?” Aiden pressed.
I shook my head. I was keenly aware of Shaw watching me, but I would have avoided that question even if it was just the three of us.
I didn’t want to leave and I couldn’t stay. There was nothing I could explain.
“I promise, at dinner you will see Karissa is the true boss of this pack,” Shaw said. “And she adores Amelia like the sister she never had. She’ll protect Amelia from anything, including the anguish of seeing you dismembered at the dinner table. Totally safe!”
I didn’t know what to make of Shaw’s light-hearted statement about how Karissa saw me. The thought made me feel both warm and trapped.
“No dismembering at dinner, got it,” Aiden said dryly. “I’ll save my anxiety until we get to dessert.”
Shaw flashed him a grin as if Aiden had been far more amusing than he really was. “And Karissa’s making her chocolate cake, so if youdoget taken out, it’ll be with a smile on your face.”
Aiden must be nervous Stone would blame him for Brennan’s death. I could addthatto the long list of things I needed to fix. I couldn’t make any promises about what would happen if Stone thought Aiden or Lawson needed to pay for Brennan’s murder.
Rose looked pale-faced, and as we walked up to the house, I slowed down so we fell behind Aiden and Shaw. I wasn’t sure why she was so quiet and nervous. After all, it was Aiden who was in danger.
“Stone’s not that bad,” I told her.
“I know.”
I flashed her a curious look, because I couldn’t imagine how she’d arrived at that conclusion when she’d only glimpsed Stone from a distance.
“So who’s going to be there?” she asked.
“Stone, Karissa, Liam and Shaw—the King siblings. And Teresa and Cole join us often too.”
