Page 27 of Secret Wolf Baby

“Everything all right?” Jackson asked.

“Yeah,” I said, trying to force a smile on my face.

Based on the skeptical look he gave me, it must not have come off as particularly convincing. “Who was that?” he asked.

“Oh, just my dad.” I tried to adopt an airy tone, as if it wasn’t that big of a deal. “He just wanted to check in on me and make sure I got settled in okay.”

I knew before he said anything that he didn’t believe a word. I hesitated, trying to come up with some way of deflecting or stopping him before he got too suspicious.

“I’m fine,” I insisted. “Really.”

He took a step closer to me. I sucked in a breath, fully aware of how close he was, the way heat radiated off him, and how all it would take was a half-step for me to fall into his arms.

I blocked out the image. I wasn’t going to let myself go down that path ever again. Just considering it was too much. I wasn’t going to let him hurt me again. I couldn’t.

“You know if there’s something wrong, if something happened between you and your dad, you can tell me,” he said. “I’m always here for you, whatever you need.”

Looking into his eyes, I could see the sincerity there. I desperately wanted to believe him, to confide in him. I wanted to tell him everything that had happened since I left all those years ago, including about Claire. I was tired of lying, and I didn’t want to burden myself anymore.

But I couldn’t tell him. I didn’t trust him. And even if I did, telling him would only put myself and Claire in even more danger.

“Everything is fine,” I lied.

He studied me for a long moment. Feeling like an ant under a microscope, I waited for him to decide whether or not he believed me or whether he would push. Part of me wished he would, because it wouldn’t take much pushing on his part to make me cave. Then I would finally be able to stop lying and could have at least one weight off my chest.

“Okay,” he finally said. “But you know you can tell me anything if something does happen, right?”

I wanted to laugh in his face. Tell Jackson anything? The man who had abandoned me and left me to fend for myself? The man who had betrayed my trust? It would take a miracle for me to ever tell him anything.

But saying any of that would be entirely useless. I forced a smile and gave a short nod.

He took a step forward, his hand twitching toward me as if he wanted to touch me. But he stopped himself, letting his hand fall back.

“Let me know if you need anything, okay?” he said.

I nodded. He turned and left, leaving me alone.

***

I paced around the house, feeling restless. So far, I hadn’t really gotten out of the house to explore Falcon’s Reach beyond going to the grocery store. I had nowhere else to go, and I was beginning to feel cooped up. At the same time, I don’t really want to go out and explore. It felt too much like accepting the situation.

Despite my reluctance, I couldn’t help but admit, if only to myself, that I liked the house. There was a coziness to it in spite of its size. I liked the high ceilings and open spaces. I liked being able to enter a room where I could go and be on my own without having to worry about someone coming to bother me. It felt safe.

As these thoughts ran through my head, the doorbell rang. Dragging myself from my musings, I headed over, assuming it was Claire and she had forgotten her key to the house.

I opened the door and froze. It wasn’t Claire.

My mouth dropped open as I stared at the pretty, curvy woman with blond hair as she beamed at me, her eyes the same shape as Jackson’s. I recognized her immediately, but shock,disbelief, and excitement rendered me mute as my brain tried to catch up with my eyes and assure me that, yes, I was seeing who I thought I was seeing.

Finally, I managed to get out a single word. “Mira?”

“Audrey!” Mira flung her arms around my neck and pulled me toward her. She held me tight, practically cutting off my air as she hugged me. “Oh my God, I can’t believe it. Jackson told me, but I thought he was bullshitting me or something. But now…” She squealed in my ear, shattering my eardrum. But I grinned, ignoring the dull ringing in my ear as I returned her hug.

“Oh my God, this is incredible!” Mira gushed. “I’m so happy to see you again!”

We hugged for what could have been an hour. Eventually, we pulled away from one another, both still giving broad grins.

Jackson had told me Mira lived in town and that she was Declan’s mate now. That didn’t change how bizarre it was to run into her again after all these years. When I last saw Mira over eleven years ago, she had been timid and insecure, pining over Declan. I couldn’t remember all the times she had whispered to me about her secret crush on him. She hadn’t been bubbly or effusive; she’d been too shy for that.

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