Page 63 of Fragile Heart

My cheeks heat, and my heart races in my ears. I shove the idea of being wrapped up with Ethan away and pick up my pace.

The lake is calm, the small breeze that lifts the ends of my hair not marring its surface. I pause and soak it in, trying to absorb its stillness into my bones. I close my eyes, focusing on the small sounds around me—a bird’s high trill, the fish just breaching the surface of the water, the squirrels scuttling across the rocks. After a while, the soft footsteps of someone moving just behind me join the subtle cacophony.

I pause for a moment, waiting for the spicy cinnamon scent of Caleb to drift toward me on the light breeze. When it doesn’t, I glance behind me.

Faedra stands a few feet away, her hands tucked into the pockets of her jeans. She wears a light vest in a pretty dark green that offsets her red hair and highlights her freckles. Her lips curve into a soft, understanding smile. She raises an eyebrow when I don’t immediately say something in greeting.

I offer the same smile back to her. She closes the distance between us, stopping when our shoulders just brush. Her gaze is on the lake in front of us. It takes me a bit to relax into our friendship and admit the truth.

“I don’t need the bloodwork,” I say as quietly as I can to not interrupt the quiet morning unfolding around us. “It’s…”

I force a swallow, trying to dislodge the lump that’s settled in my throat. Faedra presses her shoulder harder into mine. Some of the nerves ease away.

“It’s the same reaction I had to Caleb. At first, I thought it was just me reacting to seeing him after… everything. Especially since I was touch-starved.” I cross my arms. “But Caleb and I have been together for a couple weeks now. And he’s done his best to alleviate all the mess I’ve been in. And still there’s thisachefor Ethan.”

She hums and leans her head against my shoulder.

“Yesterday was just confirmation for me. If you hadn’t walked up when you did…” I sigh and run a hand through my hair to keep from picking at my cuticles. “Well, we wouldn’t have stopped, realistically. Theneedfor him…” I trail off.

Faedra says, “I get it.”

I nod. Of course she does. She was one of the first Omegas to have her scent matches confirmed with the bloodwork that’s becoming more common practice with each passing month.

“What has you so unsure of everything?” she asks after a minute. “It’s not the time apart. I’m nearly positive. And I don’t think it’s Camden, either. You and him seem to be on really good ground right now.”

“When I first moved back, he acted like we had never met each other.”

She lifts her head and focuses on me, her eyebrows drawn low.

“And in the month I’ve been here,” I continue, “he hasn’t said more to me than a couple sentences. Last Sunday in the cafe? That’s every single interaction we’ve had. He pretends I’m not there. And when he doesn’t?” I blow out a breath and shrug. “He’s always been… grumpy isn’t quite right.”

I pause and purse my lips.

“He’s a lot like Jude, I guess. Stoic and closed off unless you’re part of his inner circle,” I say.

Faedra nods. “I’ve noticed that about him, too. He’s so soft with Camden. And warm with Beau and Emily. I bet in othercircumstances him and Caleb are as close as Caleb is with his brothers.”

I nod. “Yeah, so most of the time he’s closed off. You can’t tell anything from his face at all. I don’t…” I twist a strand of my hair around my finger. “Maybe all those years with Brett have messed up my ability to read Alphas. I don’t know. But shouldn’t my scent match be… less indifferent about it?”

“I wouldn’t call him indifferent,” Faedra disagrees, her voice still soft.

I glance at her and raise an eyebrow. “No?”

She shakes her head. “He seems wor?—”

She cuts off and glances over her shoulder. I follow her gaze, and my stomach clenches. Beau and Ethan are on the trail, their heads close together. Neither seem to notice where we stand at the edge of the lake. Beau frowns and stops, his eyes wide. Ethan nods in response to whatever Beau asks.

“Want to walk?” Faedra asks, her voice pulling my attention.

She points toward the trail that leads around the lake. With a shaky agreement, I fall in step with her. She tucks her hands into the back pockets of her jeans and glances over her shoulder before taking a deep breath.

“Have you talked about the Omega they were bonded with?” she asks once we’re a few hundred feet down the path.

“No. Caleb’s never brought her up. It’s… a weird gray area,” I say. “I met her, just once. At Brandon’s funeral.”

“That was the third Alpha of their pack?” Faedra double checks. She hums when I nod.

“Anyway, since I’m so close with Melissa, I know what happened,” I continue. “It feels weird to bring up something I already know.” I pick at the ends of my hair. “And it wasn’t like my whole dynamic with Brett at the end. They… I mean, they werebonded. It devastated the entire town, not just them.”

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