Page 9 of Out of My Flocking Mind

He blew out a long breath, his shoulders drooping in something that almost seemed like relief.

It made me frown. “Why are you so happy about that?”

“I didn’t like you going to him,” Galen admitted softly. “After I’d offered, and you rejected me, the idea of you choosing him and binding yourself to him didn’t sit well.” He refused to meet my gaze, instead staring at the floor, until he let out a quiet chuckle. “I probably sound pretty pathetic, don’t I?”

“Maybe a little,” I admitted, charmed despite my best efforts. Something about Galen sounding like a jealous teenage boy was rather sweet, to be honest. “Look—I didn’t go to Kelvin, either.” I paused, then shrugged. “Well, I went to the vampires to find the real killer, and he caught me when I was there. In the end, when it seemed like there weren’t any other ways out, Kelvin made me his thrall all on his own.”

Galen lifted his gaze to mine then, a darkness in his eyes that seemed so at odds with his youthful face. “You’re telling me he forced that on you? That he made you a thrall by force?”

I froze in the face of that anger, the threat his words made obvious.

As quickly as he’d startled me, though, he jerked his gaze from mine and stared off, as though giving me a bit of space. It let me swallow once and shake off the nerves from seeing him like that.

Somehow it still startled me each time I glimpsed that other side of him, the Spirit that rested inside him. It wasn’t him, was nothing like his normal personality, and I damn well knew it. It meant those times when it slipped free, I had to come to terms with the truth—that he wasn’t just one man, but two different souls. Worse, as arguably the most powerful of the Weres, at least in this country, his wolf was far from something innocent and sweet.

“Sorry,” he muttered, his voice barely above a whisper.

Acknowledging his apology would have forced me to admit he’d bothered me, so I ignored the words and moved on. “Kelvin was trying to do what he thought was best.”

“So you’ll just forgive him for trying to take your free will away?”

“Forgive? Fuck, no. I just don’t think you need to get so pissed. I can get mad all on my own, thank you very much.”

Galen snorted, the sound breaking some of the tension between us. “You never change, you know that? Even when you’re in trouble, when you need help, you always refuse to take any. You are, without a doubt, the most frustrating person I know.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“You really shouldn’t.”

“But if I didn’t take insults as compliments, then I’d never get any compliments,” I pointed out before picking up the toast and taking another bite, savoring the contrast between the crispy bread and sweet, cold jelly. Maybe I needed to take back my complaints about the healthy fruit spreads he used, because this was actually pretty tasty.

We didn’t speak for a while as I ate my make-shift breakfast and drank the sweet tea he’d given me. It felt oddly comfortable, as though none of the last few weeks had happened. I’d never gotten put on trial, hadn’t almost gotten myself killed—a few times—hadn’t ended up on the council.

Nope, it was just me and Galen here. Me being a nuisance and him somehow not killing me over it, just like old times.

“So what are you going to do now?” he asked.

I could have acted as though I had no idea what he meant, but why drag it out anymore? “Ruben said I could still be a courier.”

“Even with your position on the council?”

“I’m the leader of a group of one. I guess no one’s really worried about me causing problems—at least, no more than usual. Besides, I need the money. Mama needs liquor and porn, and those don’t come cheap.”

Galen rolled his eyes but didn’t respond to my joke, which was only partly a joke. “So when will you start?”

“Ruben put me on contingency. I can work when I want to. I’ll probably go back in a week or so.”

“You could just come here.”

“Are you offering to buy me liquor and porn? Because if so, I want to see you go in and buy it.” I smirked at the thought of the youthful looking and strait-laced Galen walking in anywhere to buy such things. It would be a sight worth partaking in, for sure.

He looked my way again, his expression serious. “I’m serious, Grey. You wouldn’t have to work, to deal with the Justice Department. You could stay here and it would take away most of your problems.”

I tapped my neck. “Didn’t this teach us that that sort of thing doesn’t work?”

“So you don’t officially join my clan? I don’t care. I’ll still protect you.”

And just like that, I sighed, leaning back.

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