Page 9 of Breathe Again

I was ready to yell “No,” but Ruby beat me to it.

“Don’t you dare, Peyton. Or I will tell her about that—"

Ruby was cut off as Peyton’s hand slammed down across her mouth. “Okay, okay, okay. I’ll never tell another living soul, just don’t. Ever!”

Ruby laughed. “Fine.” Then she turned to glare at Milly, who threw her hands up in surrender.

“News that old is irrelevant to me. My lips are sealed.”

“That’ll be a first,” Ruby muttered under breath just as Milly was called away to tend to another customer.

“It really is good to see you, Cole,” Peyton said.

“So, we hear you’re some big-wig over in Westin now. Not really surprised by it. What are you doing here?” Ruby asked.

“Too many sisters have been snagged outside of the Westin Pack. Kyle gets nervous when any of them travel, even to some place as safe as Collier. Patrick came last time, so it was my turn to escort Maddie and the kids.”

“But Liam is with her,” Ruby argued.

“You try explaining that to Kyle Westin. He was adamant the family be escorted here safe and sound. I actually didn’t find out until I arrived that I was expected to stay.”

It was true. Kyle had asked me to see they arrived safely. I had, and Thomas Collier had met us at the airport. I assumed that was the end of the line for me and I was thankful I wouldn’t have to set foot in Collier territory, but when I’d turned to leave, Thomas informed me that at his dad’s request Kyle had agreed that I should stay and help with security for the celebration. Collier didn’t have any Betas or specific security-minded staff. I wasn’t in a place to argue with the future Alpha.

“Well, I’m glad you stayed,” Peyton said, reaching over to hug me.

It was in that moment that my wolf’s aggression heightened and I had to force myself to remain calm. I ended the hug quickly just as the tingling sensation hit me. I knew my wolf had sensed her before I did.

Elizabeth stood in the doorway. Our eyes connected across the room. She had clearly seen her sister’s arms around me and wasn’t happy about it. A part of me enjoyed knowing she was suffering.

I turned my back to her and flirted with her sisters instead, though it wasn’t long before she’d gained enough control to waltz right over to us. What the hell was she thinking? I could feel how aggravated and close to the surface her wolf was. She shouldn’t be here.

“Hey guys,” Elizabeth said cheerfully.

Peyton rose and hugged her, excusing herself and heading for the restroom. Of course, Elizabeth took her seat right next to me. When our knees touched, her wolf noticeably calmed, and though I didn’t want to admit it, mine did, too.

Elizabeth

Chapter 6

I knew he was going out of his way to ignore me, so much so that Ruby kept shooting me questioning glances. I tried to act normal and join in the conversation, but each time I did, Cole strategically changed the subject.

As soon as he could without drawing too much attention to himself, Cole excused himself and left. He said goodbye to everyone but me, and as he turned his back on me, a new kind of pain slammed into my heart.

Rejection.

Cole had never rejected me before, but I knew I had rejected him. Was that how he felt? Did he suffer physically as I did? No wonder he was determined to hate me. I had more work cut out for me than I’d realized, but after the empty life I’d lived without him I was ready to take that stand and fight for us, no matter the cost.

“That was weird,” Ruby said, bringing me back to the present. “You guys barely said two words to each other. What gives? I remember you being quite close.”

“Yes, I do believe you’re right. In fact, I remember quite vividly that you had an enormous crush on him that summer he stayed with us, Lizzy. Did you do something stupid or embarrassing? Is that why you guys were acting strange and why he never came back to visit?” Peyton inquired.

“Something like that,” I admitted.

“That’s ridiculous,” she said. “That was ages ago, more than half my lifetime. What could you have possibly done to deserve the cold shoulder all these years later?”

“Let’s just say you don’t want to get on Cole Anderson’s bad list. Besides, it doesn’t matter what happened then,” I said.

“You’re right about that. Don’t worry, we’ll come up with a signal of some kind to alert you when he’s around so you can just steer clear of him.”

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