Page 51 of Stripped

The whole room seemed to expand with those words and the tension flowed out. “Thank you,” Zane said. “Thank you, alpha.”

Axel nodded, but he looked weary. “The town's running tonight,” he said. “Aron and Payne can guard Abby. You should run with us.”

“No,” Zane said. He pulled me against his side. “I'll stay here.”

“You should go,” I said. “Don't wolves need to run regularly to keep from going crazy?”

“I'll be fine,” Zane said.

“You will run,” Axel said. “That's an order from your alpha.”

Zane huffed, but I could feel no tension in his body. He was relieved. “Yes, alpha. But if anything happens to her—”

“You'll rip off Aron's balls and feed them to Payne. Yada yada yada,” Julie said. She looked at me and rolled her eyes as if to say, “Men.”

I smiled in agreement.

“Hi, all,” Iris yelled into the living room. “I've got grub.”

Iris and Zeke had stopped in to give me hugs and wish me well before Axel and the rest had shown up. I liked them both, and their hugs… It made me feel like I was part of a family again. I had to remember it was temporary, it wasn't real.

No one needed to be told twice. We all rose and headed into the kitchen. Well, I tried to, but Zane held me back. “You won't see him again,” he said. “I swear I won't let you get anywhere near him again.”

I looked up and met his gaze. He looked so worried and I hated it. He should always smile. I brushed a hand along the side of his face and pinched his cheek. “I know, Zane. I trust you.”

“Even if I have to challenge the alpha—”

I pulled his head down and kissed him hard. When I pulled away, I looked into his eyes. “I won't allow you to challenge your alpha. We'll figure this out together, okay?”

Finally, he smiled. He smiled like I'd given him a pony for Christmas. Something in my chest pinched tight. I was getting in too deep and I needed to tread carefully.

“Come on,” I said. “I'm starving.”

The others were already seated at the kitchen table or standing with loaded plates. I headed for the counter, where Iris had food set up, buffet style, but Iris grabbed my elbow and pulled me to the side. “How are you feeling, honey?”

“Exhausted. But much, much better.”

She smiled warmly, the way a mother might smile at a sick child and, for the second time in less than ten minutes, my chest pinched. I missed my mother. “I made some chicken soup,” she said. “In case you aren't feeling up to a heavy meal. It's one of the few things I can make well.”

“That sounds wonderful.”

She nodded and looked around. “You can't be expected to stand. Go have a seat in the living room and I'll bring the soup to you.”

I've never been one of those super friendly, touchy-feely people, but Iris just broke through all my barriers. I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her tight. “Thank you.”

She patted my back. “You're welcome, honey. Don't let these boys keep you up. You eat and go to bed if that's what you want.”

I stepped away, biting back a smile. It was amusing that she thought I might be intimidated by the boys. I wondered if she knew I was a stripper and what she thought about that. I'd never been ashamed of my profession, but I wasn't an idiot, I knew stripper wasn't the first profession any mother would wish for her son's girlfriend. Not that I was her son's girlfriend… I shut down that train of thought and headed for the living room.

I sat on the couch and curled my feet under me, getting comfy.

“Here you go, dear,” Iris said. She put the tray with the soup on my lap. “I hope you like it, but don't force yourself to eat it if you don't.”

“Really.” Zane walked in and sat next to me. “Don't worry about hurting Mom's feelings. Her cooking is an acquired taste.”

Iris swatted at Zane, but she was smiling. “He's right, I'm afraid.”

With both their gazes firmly planted on me, I felt pressured to both eat and like the soup. I lifted a spoonful to my mouth, blew on it, and ate it. Thankfully, it was delicious, salty and warm and yum. My stomach grumbled for more. “It's perfect,” I said. “Thank you.”

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