Page 36 of Big Knot Energy (Shadowverse)

Twining my fingers through hers, I smiled warmly at her and let her lead me to a dining room that was off the kitchen. That was apparently where the second doorway in the kitchen led.

Then, she dragged me upstairs and started pointing out bedrooms, going so far as to open each so I could get a peek inside.

“This is Ax’s room. Across is Cyrus’s,” she said, pushing each door open and flipping on the light so I could step in and look around.

Cyrus’s room was immaculately clean. Ax’s looked the way I thought it would, clothes everywhere, bed unmade, and a towel laying on the floor near the hamper instead of inside of it.

The door beside Ax’s was Enzo’s. His room was tidy, but nothing like Cyrus’s.

Each of their rooms smelled so strongly of them, of wet wood that had sat out in the sun warming all day, of spiced rum that made me want to lay on a beach and listen to music, of sweet, tangy copper.

We left Enzo’s room and she pointed to a door. “That leads upstairs to the omega wing.” She started walking that way, but I pulled her to a stop.

“Nope. I want to see my beta’s room.”

I hadn’t meant to let the possessive term slip from my lips, but there was no reason to hide the fact I was highly attracted to her. As much as I would love for this pack to be the one for me, I would be as content to have Issa in my life.

Ifshe would accept me without the full pack being onboard.

She rolled her lips into her mouth and that sweet pink hue washed over her cheeks again. “It’s nothing special.”

“It’s yours. That makes it special.”

Glancing over her head, I eyed the door she hadn’t opened. Then, without waiting for her, I reached around her and turned the knob, pushing the door open and stepping inside, pulling her along with me.

The light flipped on and illuminated a room that was…well, lacking. As in lacking personality. The walls were white, the bedding was plain, the dressers and other furniture looked as though it was already here when she moved in with the pack.

The only way to know it belonged to Issa was her clean linen scent and a few pieces of clothing lying on her made bed as though she’d had a hard time deciding on what outfit to wear for our date.

“No art. No family photos,” I muttered, turning in a slow circle.

She carefully pulled her hand from mine and fidgeted with her skirt. “This was supposed to be temporary.” She shrugged and forced a wobbly smile.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

She shook her head.

“Can I ask another personal question that has nothing to do with your past?”

Her brows raised. “Sure. Can I plead the fifth if I don’t like the question?” Her smile was more genuine this time.

Crossing the small space separating us, I pulled her closer to me. “You want those alphas.”

She blinked a few times, and her eyes went wide.

“But when I asked that first night whether Enzo was your alpha, you started to deny it.”

“It’s kind of…it’s a long story. Complicated.”

“I like to think I’m intelligent. Give me the abridged version. Or at least as much as you feel comfortable telling me.”

She sighed and rubbed her cheek against my chest in an instinctual move, though I wasn’t sure whether she was scent marking me or borrowing mine to settle her nerves.

“I told you Enzo’s brother is my sister’s alpha.” I nodded. “Well, I was…hurt. And I went to Cora’s house – that’s my sister – to warn her. These alphas were there. They took care of me. Then offered me a place to stay while I got on my feet.”

I waited for her to continue.

When she pulled away and sat on the sofa on one side of the room, I followed her. And waited some more.

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