“Oh, my ever-loving goodness, this is the funniest thing I’ve seen all day,” Dany shrieks, laughing so hard the sound hurts my ears. She waves me over, so I hurry and grab the plate of chocolate chip cookies and join her back on the couch. “You’re going to die when you see what your zodiac sign means.” She takes the plate and hands me her phone.
The first line of the meme reads Ur Sign as a Smell. Then, below it is all the entries. I’m a Leo, so when I get down to mine, my shoulders shake with laughter. There are some zodiac signs where their scents are peaches and pears or a new car smell. Mine, on the other hand, is disgusting. “All right,” I cackle, rereading my entry, “open ass and hot dog water.”
Dany doubles over laughing and slaps her hands on her knees. “That is so freaking epic. I mean, what exactly is open ass? Is it where you spread your butt cheeks open, and a smell wafts out?”
We laugh so hard it makes my stomach hurt. “What about yours?” I ping back. “The Libras smell like sweaty balls. How nasty is that?”
Dany scrunches her nose. “Yeah, that’s foul. I don’t smell like crusty, sweaty balls.”
“Says you,” I tease.
She grabs one of the couch pillows and swings it at my head, but I dodge it. “Okay, Miss Open Ass. I’m going to start calling you that.”
Shrugging, I grab a cookie and take a bite. “Go for it. Two can play that game.”
I hand her back her phone, and she looks at the meme one more time. “The kind of shit people post on social media. It sure is funny, though.”
The chocolate chip cookies are still warm and gooey, so I grab another. “Ready to watch another episode of Outlander?”
Dany sticks a cookie in her mouth and fetches the remote off the coffee table. “Heck yeah. The last one was so good.”
The episode is about to play when I feel Stark close by. “That was fast. Pause the show for a second.”
I hop off the couch and move over to the window. Dany joins me and peers out. “Yeah, it is. Usually the guys run for a couple of hours. Hopefully, nothing’s wrong.”
Stark is nowhere to be seen, so I move back to the sofa and Dany sits beside me. “I’m surprised you and Soren didn’t complete the bond last night since it was the full moon.”
A twinge of pressure pulls at my stomach. Dany didn’t say anything about it last night, but I knew it’d come up eventually. “It’s too soon,” I confess. “I’m just getting used to being a part of the pack. Besides, there’s no rush. I want to get to know Soren better before I take that step.”
Dany tries to hide her smile. She probably thinks I’m scared, but that’s not it at all. Maybe I’m a little nervous, but I’m a firm believer that I’ll know when the time’s right. “When are you going to share blood?” she asks.
Sharing blood is a serious thing between shifters. It opens our minds to each other where your mate can see everything if you let them. Mine and Soren’s mating signs happened super quick, and I didn’t expect it at all. It’s all moving so fast.
“I’m not sure,” I answer in all honesty.
Dany bounces her shoulders flippantly. “There’s no rush. I was just curious. You know, I do find it odd that everyone here welcomed us the way they did. Most men would be threatened by Stark, especially an alpha.”
She has a point, but this situation is different. “Soren has no reason to be jealous of Stark. He’s our protector, and Soren knows that if anyone hurts Stark, they hurt me. Not all packs are going to be like the Yukons.”
Sadness emanates from Dany in thick waves. I hate bringing up the Yukon pack because I know it upsets her. We lost so much that day. I’d give anything to be able to see my parents again.
Dany looks down at her lap, and I notice her knuckles are ghost white from her clenching her hands so hard. “I have so many regrets from that night,” she hisses.
“So do I.”
Dany shakes out her hands. “All right, let’s talk about something else.”
“Something else, huh?” I say, smiling at her. “How about Archer? I’m sure you’ve noticed, but he seems to be into you. I’ve seen him staring at you on more than one occasion.”
Dany giggles, and it’s such a beautiful sound. I don’t like seeing her sad. “Yeah, I’ve noticed him staring at me, too.” Her smile dwindles. “But no mating signs yet. I know Lana has feelings for him though. Out of respect for her, if Archer isn’t my true mate, I plan to keep my distance from him. I don’t want to make enemies with the pack’s females, even if I could kick all of their asses. It’s not how I want to be.” Sighing, she glances over at me. “We’re the outsiders here.”
I can hear footsteps approach, and then there’s a knock on the door. “Hey,” Stark calls out, “I need you to step away from the men in skirts for a sec.”
Dany laughs and turns off the TV while I get up and open the door. “They’re not skirts,” I snap, pursing my lips at him. Stark loves to drive us crazy by making fun of our show. “They’re kilts. And when you add in the Scottish accents, those men are a lot sexier than you could ever be.” Leaning against the doorframe, I smile. “Then again, you’re probably just jealous. That’s why you like to talk shit.”
Stark scoffs. “Those guys have nothing on me.”
He steps in and opens his mouth to speak, but my phone rings. “Hold that thought,” I say to him. “I’m sure it’s of no importance anyway.” It’s probably another snide remark about my show.
My cell is on the coffee table, so I snag it up and look down at the number. A rock settles in my stomach when I see it’s Amanda. “Hey,” I answer quickly. “Is everything okay?” I have no doubt her husband didn’t like seeing all his belongings on the lawn, ruined by the snow.
“Oh my God, Raelynn, I’m scared. Jake is banging on the door, drunk out of his mind. I don’t think he’ll do anything stupid like hurt me, but I’m terrified right now. He’s never acted like this before.”
“Don’t open the door. I’m on my way.” I hang up and ran over to the kitchen counter to grab my car keys.
Stark steps in my way. “I’ll go with you. It could be dangerous.”
I roll my eyes. “Seriously? This is humans we’re talking about. I’ll be fine.” I move past him and rush out the door.
“Soren will want to know what’s going on,” he shouts, following me onto the porch.
I go down to my car and open the door. “I’ll call him on the way.”
Once I’m on the main road, I call Soren and he answers on the second ring. “Hey, sunshine.”
“I might need your help. Can you meet me?”
“What’s going on?” he asks, his voice serious.
“There’s a husband out of control.”
Soren growls. “Give me the address. I’ll be right there.”
Once I give him the address, I hang up and focus on the road. Amanda doesn’t live too far away, but it takes a little longer with the snow on the streets. When I pull down her road, I can see her husband’s SUV parked halfway in the yard and halfway in the driveway with the driver’s side door open. He, on the other hand, is at the front door, trying to kick it in, but ends up falling back into the snow.
Charles looks over his shoulder and jumps to his feet, almost falling on his face again. He points a finger at me and spits on the ground. “This is your fault. You’re the one who told her.”
I hold up my hands. “Not my fault. It was you and your dick that screwed up. You couldn’t keep it to yourself.”
I thought there’d be a fight on the way here, but Charles is just about as sad as they come. He flops down on his knees in the snow, sobbing like a baby. “They both left me. I have nothing now.”
“Rightfully so,” I grumble. “And you’re not going to gain anything by showing your ass.”
Charles flings his arms in the air. “I don’t know what to do. I’m lost.”
The sound of tires crunching in the snow draws my attention to the road. Soren pulls in behind me in his patrol car and gets out, dressed in his uniform. He looks at Charles, who buries his head in his hands and continues to cry.
“Guess I’m taking him to the station to sober up?”
“Yep,” I say, not even feeling sorry for the man. “He’s going to need to pay to get the front door replaced as well.”
Soren nods. “I agree. I’ll get him out of here.” He marches over to Charles and lifts him by the arm. “Come on, buddy. It’s time to go.”
I open the door to the backseat of the patrol car, and Soren tosses him in.
Once he’s in there, Amanda runs out of the house and hugs me. “Thank you. I’m so sorry I had to call you.”
“It’s okay.” I let her go and smile.
She peers over at Charles in the back of the patrol and sighs. He’s already passed out with his head hung back on the seat and his mouth wide open, snoring. “I’ll call Charles’ brother in the morning to pick him up from the station. I’ve always liked him.”
Soren places a hand on her shoulder. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
Amanda nods, but I can hear her heart racing. “I’ll be fine.”
“Actually,” I say, turning to Soren, “I think I’m going to stay with Amanda for a while.”
Soren smiles as if he already knew that’s what I was going to do. He kisses me, then leans into my ear. “Guess I won’t be tucking you in tonight.”
“I’ll make it up to you,” I promise.
“You don’t have to stay with me, Raelynn,” replies Amanda forlornly. “I don’t want to put you out.”
Turning away from Soren, I wave her off. “You’re not putting me out. I want to stay.”
Amanda smiles sadly and slowly backs up toward her front door. “Thank you. I’ll let you two say your good-byes without an audience.” She disappears inside while I walk Soren over to the driver’s side of his patrol car.
“How did the run go tonight? It didn’t last very long,” I point out.
Soren opens his door and leans against the car. “That’s because we had a visitor show up.”
The unreadable expression on his face makes it hard to figure out if that’s a good or bad thing. I guess a visitor could mean lots of things. “A visitor, huh? Do I want to know?”
His gaze narrows. “I should think so. It’s someone from your past.”
“Who?” My heart thumps hard against my chest. There aren’t many people from my past who are still alive.
Soren cocks his head to the side. “Stark didn’t tell you?”
“No. He came over, but I had to leave in a hurry.” My mind is reeling from the possibilities. There is someone who comes to mind, someone I would love to see again, but I can’t bring myself to picture his face. I feel guilty even thinking about him.
Soren slides into his seat and looks up at me. “Do you want to know?”
The words come out of my mouth before I can stop them. “Tell me.”
“Micah Lyall. He’s coming to hang out with the pack tonight.”
The breath escapes me, and I can feel my blood rush through my veins. I’ve thought about Micah many times over the years, more than I should have. When I met Soren, it was easy to forget until now. The last time I saw Micah was right before the Yukons attacked and killed our families. We had snuck away into the woods for just a few minutes, and it was there where we kissed. I had never felt so happy in my life, but then it all disappeared so quickly.
I push the thoughts from my mind and focus on Soren, hoping like hell he can’t sense the turmoil warring inside of me. He slides his keys into the ignition and lowers his window before shutting the door.
“If you have time after leaving here, you should stop by my house. That’s where we’ll all be.”
All I can do is smile and pretend everything will not be awkward when I see Micah. “We’ll see,” I utter, trying to keep my nervousness at bay.
Soren winks and backs out of the driveway, obviously not picking up on the tension. That’s a good thing. The less he realizes, the better. All I know is that I don’t want him around when I see Micah for the first time.