Page 8 of True Wolf

I blocked my thoughts as soon as she left me at the coffee shop. Allowing access was dangerous considering all the mixed emotions and fears circulating through my head about Zion. There would be hell to pay if I mistakenly let someone in and they were privy to how I didn’t prevent their beloved Alpha from fleeing. After all they had done to welcome me as a member of the Bennett pack, they would surely turn against me in light of my betrayal.

“This is my mess to fix, not yours.”

“We’re not having this discussion again.” She did a slow perusal around the room. “Do you have everything?”

I nodded stiffly. “Yes, I didn’t have much.”

When I was exiled from my pack, the only thing I was granted was a duffle bag, where my mother pulled together a few articles of clothing, a handful of cash, and the keys to what my father considered a disposable vehicle. It was an older model, with decent mileage, and not befitting of the new image they would take on once my sister mated our pack Alpha. Who I was promised to until they found out I wasn’t fit to marry him.

“Okay then…” She flashed a smile. “Let’s get out of here.”

I nodded once more, lifted my bag, and followed Mina out of the room, taking in the small, cozy apartment I’d called home for the past couple months. It was nice. A modern high-rise apartment, where every square foot was designed for comfort and style.

I instantly fell in love with the open-concept, bathed in natural light, thanks to floor-to-ceiling windows that offered stunning city views. The decor created a serene atmosphere, while plush furnishings made it possible to unwind after a long day. The Bennett pack took care of their members. It hurt my heart that we were leaving.

“These are only things, Nessah. They come and go. We’ll have them again.”

I scowled at Mina. “Would you stop that?”

“Stop what?” She arched her brow and paired it with a teasing smile.

“Reading me.”

Her laugh was contagious. “You’re easy to read, even without access to that pretty little head of yours, now let’s go.”

She crossed the room to the door and I followed her only to freeze in place when someone knocked. My pulse quickened andbased on the look Mina delivered she felt the same rush of panic. I quickly took possession of her suitcase, yanked the backpack from her arm, and pulled open the coat closet. After dropping and shoving our things inside, I motioned to the door.

“Answer it.”

“We shouldn’t,” she whispered back.

“No, we should. If it’s important, they won’t go away. They’ll come in and find us gone. We can stall and explain away whatever they want but we don’t need anyone coming in to find out we’ve packed up all our things. It would look odd. You’re happy here. I’m happy here. With no explanation as to why we’re leaving, they’ll be suspicious. Answer the door, Mina.”

She exhaled a slow breath and nodded, plastering on a smile as she walked to the door. “Yes…”

“Mina, hey, it’s Jo. Can I come in?”

Oh shit.

Our eyes fastened again and I motioned for Mina to let her in. A short moment later we were face to face with Joelle Bennett, the pack Luna. She was beautiful with her wild orange hair and soft brown skin that glowed under the overhead fluorescent lights illuminating the hallway. Jo offered a tense expression.

“Luna…” Mina nodded. “Is everything okay?”

Jo’s smile expanded. “Yes, everything’s fine. Sorry to interrupt but I wanted to see if you could help me out with something. Last minute, of course. So if you can’t, I totally understand, but if you can, I would be forever grateful.”

Mina glanced at me over her shoulder then turned back to Jo. “We were kinda busy. Is it important?”

Denying Jo wasn’t something most did. Not simply because she was Luna but mostly because Jo was so kind to everyone. She went above and beyond for the entire pack and never presented herself as the Luna she was. Jo was just Jo no matter how much of a leader we all understood her to be.

“Very, actually. I’m sure you heard earlier that Zion is coming home. We’re doing a pack dinner and celebration for him. I had someone in place to decorate but they’ve had a family emergency and can’t do it. She already purchased everything but she had a vision that I can’t begin to pull together. That’s not really my thing but Camren mentioned you were good at stuff like that. You know, seeing a vision and bringing it to life. I really want tonight to be perfect so if you could, I would be forever grateful. And when I say last minute, I truly mean last minute. You only have an hour…”

“An hour…oh wow. I’m sure, Nessah wouldn’t mind delaying our plans for a bit.”

She glanced at me and I shot her an evil glare because what the fuck. She understood the importance of us leaving now.

“Thank you so much. One less thing I have to stress about. Laz has been pushing for me to delegate this celebration, and I considered, but it’s Zion. It’s personal and I want everything perfect for his return considering…” She paused and her brows pinched but the expression was quickly replaced with a smile. “He’s family so we should welcome him home as such.”

“Understood and we’ll do just that. I love a good challenge so don’t worry about the last minute part.”

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