Page 60 of Knot My Sin

Why did I call him again?

“It’s kind of complicated,” I say instead. “Flynn wanted Wren in his nest during his heat, and your sister has major trust issues concerning alphas. Do I want to make your sister pack? Yeah, I really do. I can’t until she learns to trust me. So, instead, we’re courting her. I’m on my way to get pizza for everyone and we’re going to watch movies together. Tomorrow, we’re planning to take her out on a date.”

“Oh,” Jasper grunts. “I wasn’t expecting that for some reason. We’re made men, we don’t usually do flowers and courting, Shaw.”

“We did with Flynn,” I tell him. “Being a made man doesn’t mean I can’t court your sister. I’m just a little rusty at it. We’re also at a disadvantage in that I don’t know what she likes to do. Ten years of being closeted away from the world is a long time.”

“Yeah. It is,” Jas mutters. “I need to see her. The boss is giving me a few days to come out to you.”

“I can’t be sure she’ll want to see you,” I say gently. The gate slowly opens toward me at the end of the long driveway, and I drive through as soon as it’s completely open. Hurray for automatic sensors on my SUV. “I’ll bring it up to her tomorrow, and see how she feels about it. Wren has nightmares, Jas. She hasn’t had one in the last few days, but I think her memories are rattling in her mind.”

“You aren’t a mental health professional, Shaw. You can’t know that’s what’s happening,” Jasper mutters, though his tone is irritable.

“I also can’t say I’m not correct,” I remind him. “Look, let’s play this by ear, though I refuse to throw this at her without preparing her. I’ll discuss what you want with Wren tomorrow.”

“I don’t like the name she calls herself,” he sighs.

“Wren’ is what Trey called her,” I say. “She doesn’t really remember being Harley, or she’s blocked a lot of it. I’m not really sure. The things she has told me makes me believe that her alpha hurt her to correct behaviors he didn’t like.”

“Harley isn’t a fucking dog,” Jasper growls. Well, we’re on the same page there at least.

“No, she’s not. He was manipulative with her, and his punishments never fit whatever crime he thought she committed,” I explain. “Wren hasn’t told me much, but in her dreams, Ambrose says she screams that she’ll be a good girl. Let’s just say I want to drag out his murder.”

“I haven’t found anything on this guy,” Jasper complains. “There’s no real paper trail, which means it’s been manufactured for his needs. I’m going to an auction at Jefferson Auction House when I’m headed to you. I want to poke around and speak to the owner. Ophelia is her name I believe.”

“She’s a tough bitch,” I murmur. “Let me know what you find out?”

“Now that I know you’re not trying to keep my sister from me? Yeah, I’ll keep you in the loop,” Jasper agrees. “I remember my sister was one of the most stubborn girls I’ve ever known. You’re going to double down on patience, because the girl I knew also held onto her grudges.”

Perfect, just what I need.

“Thanks for the heads up,” I say wryly as I pull into the grocery store parking lot. The pizza restaurant is in the same plaza, but it’s not ready yet. “Keep me up to speed on things, and I’ll do the same.”

“I will,” Jasper promises before he hangs up.

I’m deep in my head as I go grocery shopping, though I pay attention to my surroundings. I want to get home in one piece, and bullet holes are a bitch on movie nights.

An hour later, I have snacks and our pizza, and I know I’ll have to talk to Wren tomorrow about her brother. Texting the guys as I pull through the gate for help, I make a list of things for our date too. As I said to Jasper, I’m a little rusty in the romance department, but I can brush up a bit on my game.

Everest meets me as I pull outside of the house, and I turn off the vehicle and open the door, handing him bags.

“Damn, babe,” he chuckles. “We are running a little low on things, this will tide us over before we do a full grocery shopping run.”

“We should take Wren and Flynn with us to make sure we get what they want. Usually, he just makes a list, but it’s dumb to leave him behind if we’re taking Wren with us,” I ramble as I grab the pizzas and slide out of the SUV.

“Breathe,” he teases me as he shuts the door for me. “I think that’s a good idea.”

“So what movies did we decide to watch?” I ask as we cross the yard to the front door.

“Wren doesn’t like horror movies,” Everest divulges. I can understand why. “She said she wants a rom com and an action movie, so we decided on Love, Actually and Fast and the Furious.”

“Flynn will be asleep by the second movie,” I say with a grin as we step inside.

Situating everyone takes some time, but listening to Wren’s moan of pleasure as she takes a bite of her pepperoni pizza makes it worth it. Taking a breath that I cover with my own bite of food, I remind myself that she’s adjusting. We need to do the work to help her heal, and along the way, we’ll have to show her that we’re the alphas who will adore and love her.

It may be early yet, but biology has a way of making things move fast. Ready or not, little Wren, we’re going to show you we’re worth the risk.

13

---