Page 120 of Scent of Home

It’s a command. It’s a demand.

I won’t accept anything less.

Chapter thirty-six

Locke

I stand on thebridge and smile, remembering that day when we came and watched all the river games. I hadn’t known then how happy I could be. It never crossed my mind that I would give up everything just to have them. Walking away from Derision? It’s not upsetting me at all.

If anything, I feel free. It’s a relief to know I’ll never have to go back to it.

I shiver in the icy wind and stick my hands in my pockets.

I love making music, but I hate the pressure. I hate performing. And gradually, that bled into all forms of musical creation. Now that the control has been dissolved and I’m no longer under Jason’s thumb, I can breathe. Maybe like Finn says, I can have music one day.

And I’ll be free of her.

I glance down at the note in my hands.

Bray wants to meet me here.

I wonder why?

Excitement makes me smile. I do that now. Smile at nothing and for no reason. It’s a whole situation, but I can’t even be upset with it. I want Lia and Ryn to come and visit. I’m going to call Raider and Kelly tomorrow. Perhaps Bethany can bring her pack to come visit?

I lift my hand to the bite mark on my neck. I can feel Erin’s emotions spiking through the bond, but I haven’t figured out what it all means yet. Fuck, I miss her already. My complete codependence on my alphas surprises me, but I love it.

We’d be useless without her. She’s close. My alpha. I never dreamed I’d find someone who matched my energy so perfectly.

I turn my head and see her jogging towards me, her dress flowing out behind her. She looks beautiful, like some kind of angel. Lyrics flow in my mind, twisting and turning.

I smile and lift a hand, but I pause, seeing the fear that fills the link, understanding what it means in a sudden terrifying rush.

I glance around, suddenly feeling uncomfortable in the night. I’m poised to flee, but I don’t know which direction to go. A sound behind me has me freezing in place. I’m too scared to turn, but I can feel her there. I know it’s her. There wouldn’t be anyone else.

I stare at Erin and wish with all my heart that things could be different.

“Don’t move, lover,” a voice whispers behind me.

I stay perfectly still, my eyes locked on Erin. Ah, shit, I really fucked up this time. Bile rushes up into my mouth, and the hope that I had turns to dust inside me.

I close my eyes. The familiar voice is one I know almost as well as I know my own.

Delilah.

“You really fucked us all over,” she hisses. “Did you think you could walk away from the band, from us?”

I snort. “Because I didn’t want to fuck you. Because I refused to be forced into a pack with you? Yeah, I fucking thought I could.”

“You belong to me.”

“No, I don’t. I don’t want to be in a fake pack with people who aren’t mine. You lied to Jason. You manipulated everyone. I don’t want to fuck you anymore. I never did.”

She snorts. “You got hard.”

“What you did was rape,” I hiss. “I never wanted you.”

I feel a sharp something cut into me. I cry out, and Erin stumbles, running even faster. But she’s too far away.

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