Page 18 of Betrayed Mate

“If you don’t want to stand out to other supernaturals, you need to not look homeless.” Ryker arched a brow. “Standing out means your location will get back to Reid or whoever attacked your pack. Do you want that?”

Though I wanted to punch him because of his tone, I clenched my hands. “I wear medium tops and underwear, size eight in pants, and a 32D bra.”

“Nice.” Gage smiled and winked.

My face warmed, and I grimaced. Mud cracked on my face. Snatching the two items, I carefully walked to the bathroom. Bits of mud flaked off me and onto the floor, but no one complained.

In the small bathroom, I questioned how those large men managed to move around in there. Even for me, the space was tight, but I had enough room to pull back the yellowed white shower curtain and turn on the water. I peeled off the shirt, dropped it to the cream tile floor, and stepped under the water.

Brown sludge rolled down my body, filling the bottom of the tub. I ran my hands over my skin and worked on getting every bit of mud off. After what felt like hours, I’d managed to scrub my body clean, including my hair, with a bar of Dial soap. Of course four guys would use only soap to clean their entire body, but it didn’t matter. I was warm once again, my olive complexion a tad pink from the heat.

After quickly drying off, I almost felt like a person again.

Guilt nearly crushed me. Why was I alive when nearly my entire pack had died? None of it made sense.

I couldn’t let my emotions distract me from my tasks. Once I found Briar, we could mourn and plan our next moves. Until then, I had to keep myself together. I was now the alpha of our two-person pack.

Running my fingers through my hair, I combed it as best I could and then put on the shirt. I almost wondered if Gage had purposely given me a white shirt, knowing the situation I’d be in. I could already tell that he was a flirt.

When I opened the door, I expected to see the four of them still in the living room. Instead, I found the couch covered in a thick blanket and a pillow.

My heart ached.

I glanced in both bedrooms. No one else was in there, and their fading scents confirmed that I was alone.

That was more than all right with me.

I climbed into my makeshift bed and went right to sleep.

I was reliving the attack on my pack. Over and over, I saw Reid lunge toward Rosa, and then I was knocked down and forced to run.

It felt like I was missing an important part of the equation, but I couldn’t determine what.

Someone was chasing me.

However, this time, something felt different. Breath warmed my neck like someone was hovering over me.

Something tickled my brain, and then reality set back in.

One thing didn’t change. Someonewaswatching me.

I opened my eyes, and my jaw dropped.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Ifroze as Ryker straightened beside my bed. My head screamed that he was going to hurt me—after all, if my fated mate could turn his back on me, why wouldn’t someone likehim?

My hand clenched, ready to throw a punch, but something he was holding caught my eye.

A purple shirt that was clearly a woman’s cut.

I let out a gasp before I could stop myself.

He winced. “I didn’t mean to wake you.” He placed the shirt on the small table in front of me. “I just wanted to make sure your heartbeat was steady and leave out an outfit so, when you woke, you could change and get comfortable.” He reached back into the bag and brought out a pack of panties.

“It’s fine.” I sat up quickly. Even though I’d never worn any of the items before, a man touching my underwear seemed very intimate. I didn’t want to consider which one of them had picked them out, even though I had a sneaking suspicion. Nope… I would not be going there. Still, his thoughtfulness didn’t fit what I knew about him. I didn’t like him acting out of character; it made me unsure where I stood with him. “I can go through the bag, though I appreciate your help.”

He shrugged, dropping the clothes on the floor. “Fine with me. I just didn’t want you to fall and cause your healing to take longer.”

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