AllFreeNovel
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When I remember I’m supposed to be eating, I bite into the burger and my eyes roll back.
So fucking good. Makes the takeout we’ve been living on taste like plastic.
We haven’t had a home-cooked meal since we lived at the compound. Before Orion awakened and we moved to the country home the dads bought as a gift for our future mate.
We’d all pictured more of this. Family dinners. Domestic shit.
Nothing about our pack has followed the dads’ plan. I wouldn’t change a thing, but I can’t shake the nagging guilt.
I’m tempted to let the moment go on, to pretend that this could be a permanent way of life, because damn, I’d love to see Orion smile like this every day.
But I can hear the seconds ticking on Lilah’s time with us.
When the alarm rings, we’re in for a nasty wake-up call.
One whiff of Lilah’s pheromones, and instead of this happy fake family dinner, we’ll be looking at a war zone.
“How long until you awaken?” I may as well have pulled the pin on a grenade.
Lilah’s smile falls off her face like a hubcap spinning free on a bumpy back road.
She covers her arm, pressing right over the bullet wound hidden under her sweatshirt. “Never. I’m not going to awaken.”
I swallow at the sorrow in her eyes.
Finn flashes me a look that reminds me how many knives he carries. His dominance stabs at our bond. I take the force like a punch, not giving, my alpha rearing up to remind him who the fuck runs this pack.
He pushes one more time, and I can feel him shooting me two tall mental middle fingers.
When Finn turns back to Lilah, his voice is rough honey. “Don’t worry, Babydoll. We’ll keep you forever.”
“No,” Jett says stiffly, “After she awakens, she’s gone.”
Orion goes so still I can’t tell if he’s breathing.
Fuck. I shouldn’t have brought this up.
Maybe I was wishing we could keep her, but I know how ugly this ends if the guys start catching feelings. “You’re welcome to stay as long as there’s no change in your scent.”
Honestly, I’m starting to like having her around.
I like the way she lights up Orion.
The way I can’t.
“I’m earning money. I’ll disappear as soon as I have enough in my account.” Lilah fiddles with her napkin like she’ll find the answers by crumpling it into smaller and smaller folds.
“Earning money doing what?” Hunter asks in a too-worried tone.
“Accounting. Bookkeeping. I like math.”
“Forensic financial accounting,” I mutter, remembering the oddball line from her bio.
“And shiv whittlin’,” Finn says happily. “Where do I put in my order? You have an Etsy?”
Lilah looks past Finn, meeting my stare without a flinch.
A rumble of approval rises inside me. I bite it back, but shit. Not many alphas can meet my eye.
