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“What do you think now?” I ask her.

“That my freckles must be growing because every time you kiss each one, there always seems to be more than the last time.”

I kiss the tip of her nose. “Is that right?”

She slides her arms around my waist. “It is. And the curious thing is whenever I look in the mirror, I’m almost positive that I have the same amount of freckles I’ve always had.”

I give her a look of mock outrage. “Are you accusing me of giving more kisses than freckles?”

She shakes before the laugh she must be trying to contain makes its way out of her. “This is the most absurd conversation I’ve ever had.”

I kiss her forehead and grin at her. “Probably. You hungry?”

I glance at the balcony window. We’ve left the curtains covered, and we’ve been in this bed long enough that it can’t still be morning.

I’m not hungry, but if Aerin is, I’ll grab her something to eat. Leaving her alone isn’t easy, and that isn’t just because I’ve missed her. I’ve hidden my angerandmy fear that if I’m gone too long, the man who tried to creep into her room will come back. Those feelings are still there, no matter how hard I’ve worked to smother them.

She shakes her head. “Not really. And we have to stop eating in this bed. It’s covered in crumbs.”

I grin at her. “If Adela was here, she’d attack us with her handheld vacuum.”

Aerin laughs. “She’d do what?”

“She has a little vacuum for her couch. Have you ever eaten anything on her couch?”

Her expression is thoughtful, then she shakes her head. “When my grandparents came back with cake, we ate it at the dining table, then brought our tea back to the couch.”

I nod knowingly. “Because her kryptonite is crumbs on soft furnishings.”

She laughs so hard that she has tears in her eyes. “That is ridiculous. She does not.”

“She does. Ask her the next time you see her.”

The moment her smile fades, I wish I’d chosen my words with care.

“Are you sure everyone is okay?”

I nod. “Everyone is okay. I wouldn’t lie about that, not even to reassure you.”

I decide not to tell Aerin about Adela’s bloodthirsty words when we left Winter Lake. We’re in a room with the door closed and I haven’t heard any footsteps outside in the hallway, but no one needs to know that my reason for being here isn’t to be the Alpha they expect me to do.

It’s protecting my pack at all costs.

“When are you going to tell me about the big house for the entire pack?” she asks suddenly.

I sigh. “Who told you?”

She smiles. “No one told me. That night you fell asleep in the dining room, I couldn’t help but see what you were doing. It was either look through the notebook or wipe the drool from your open mouth.”

Laughing, I pull her deeper into my arms. “I don’t drool.”

We hold each other for several second and then Aerin sighs. “I know you probably didn’t want to tell me because you thought I wouldn’t be happy anywhere but in that house, but I don’t love the house half as much as I love you.”

I squeeze my eyes shut as my heart… hurts.

Because I know what has to come next.

“Mack?” she peels her face from my throat and as she glances up at me, I summon a smile from somewhere deep inside for her.

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