Page 63 of Predator

I nod. “I don’t want to leave the pack house. My home is here.” I slide my leg between his, caressing his ankle with my toes. “It’s with you. But if we can fold the witches in, making the coven part of the pack… what do you think?”

Lucas lowers his hand, settling it on my hip, giving it a possessive squeeze. “I think that, if you’re still awake and worrying about this after what we just did, you have enough energy to let me mate you again.”

“Lucas!”

He swallows my laugh with a kiss. By the time he’s done, I’ve almost forgotten what we were talking about—and that we’d just finished mating only a few moments before.

And as Lucas guides me to my back again, easing his weight on top of me before returning his lips to mine… hey. I’ve put the decision off long enough. What’s one night more?

EPILOGUE

Lucas is willing to go along with whatever I decide. So long as I understand that he won’t let me leave our territory and walk onto the witches’ without him, he’s game for anything I decide to do.

It’s a compromise I can live with. Honestly, I expected as much. I was able to make it up to him, leaving the way I did to confront Marie on my own, but that just means Lucas is firm in putting his one condition on this: until we can trust the witches completely, we’re a package deal. If they want me, they have to take him.

I’ve never had someone who has my back as much as that. I agree with him over breakfast, then go looking for Jeannie when Lucas goes out for a morning run.

I’m pretty sure he’s trying to get a hold of Tristan. Since the other pack members have all left, the Beta’s been quieter than usual, and I know better than to get involved. We made our peace over pool after I chose Lucas. We’re friends, but I don’t know him nearly as well as Lucas does. If someone is going to find out what’s going on with Tris, it’ll be Luc.

Right?

Right.

Jeannie, on the other hand, is my responsibility. She’d probably roll her eyes at me if she knew I thought of her like that, but I can’t shake the feeling that there’s more to her staying in Winter Creek than because she wants a vacation.

I find her in my old room, standing at the window, watching the back of the house. When I let myself in, she turns to look at me, then raises her eyebrows.

Yeah, yeah. I’ve finally got the nerve to talk to you again. Big deal.

When I went off in search of Jeannie, I did so because I wanted to let her know that I was going to give in and at least talk to the other witches about what they expect from me. However, despite the way she raises her eyebrows at me like that, there’s something about the wistful expression I caught for a split second before she walks away from the window.

Was she watching someone? Or just thinking?

I don’t know, but I want to.

“Can I ask you something?”

She snorts. “Can I stop you?”

Probably not. “I just… I’ve gotta know. I fell in love with this place because I fell hard for Lucas. A place with no TV, no phones, no Youtube… why are you so eager to stay?”

“Are you trying to tell me you want me to go?”

“Not even a little. We’ve had our ups and downs. You know that. I do, too. But no matter why you and Lorelei became my friends, we are friends. You can stay as long as you want. I just… I want to make sure there’s not another reason why you are.”

I want to say that I mollified Jeannie with my words, and I did a little bit. But the way she winced slightly when I mentioned her sister… followed by the way she says, “I like the peace,” has me echoing her snort.

“Jeannie, babe, I’m sorry. I love you, but you’re a shit liar.”

She always has been. Her face gives her away. Just like I suspected, there is something going on that I’ve missed.

Jeannie has her own defense mechanism. As quickly as I called her out on it, she resorts with, “I’m a shit liar, but you had no idea you were sharing a dorm room with a pair of wolf shifters for four years.”

“Well, yeah. Because I’m gullible.”

She laughs, immediately catching the meaning behind my comment. “Shit, Fal. I still can’t believe you checked the dictionary.”

“I knew Lorelei told you!” When her laughter cuts short, I’m not sure what it was I said. I go to stand next to her and bump her shoulder, knowing Lucas will probably be rubbing his sweaty cheek along mine later on. “You’re the one who told me my picture would be next to the word. I was seventeen. Of course I’d check.”

---