Page 28 of A Heart in Knots

I didn’t expect Skye to bring a guest so the table only had two seats. I pulled the empty chair out for Skye, then offered my chair to Halo.

“I insist,” I said.

Halo accepted my chivalry and I got the feeling that she was used to such offerings. Not just because of her beauty but also on account of her being a rare female alpha. I grabbed an empty chair from an unoccupied table and sat between the two women.

“So,” Halo began after we were all seated and ordered our lunch. She rested her chin on her perfectly manicured hand. “Skye tells me you’re a barista at Fair Grounds.”

“I am,” I said. “Pretty uninteresting. But it keeps a roof over my head. What I really wanted to do is get into healthcare, but the timing was never right.”

“What do you mean?” Halo asked.

“Just, life gets in the way, you know?” I knew it was a vague response, but a lunch hour first time meeting wasn’t the right moment to trauma dump. “It’s a lot of education, expensive, too.” I shrugged. “I feel like I missed the boat on it.”

“You’re still young,” Skye said. “There’s plenty of time.”

In response to her encouragement, I gave her a tight grin and a nod. I didn’t tell her that none of us knew how much time we really had, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to spend mine on 36 hour shifts among the sick and wounded. Not anymore. I had, once, but recently I didn’t know what I wanted to do with myself.

“Maybe you’re right,” I said. “What do you two do?”

“Halo is a fashion model,” Skye answered. “I’m, well, freelance could be a word for it. I’m usually her personal assistant.”

“Really? So you’re probably well traveled.”

“I suppose so,” Skye said. “I think the farthest we’ve been was Paris?” She looked at Halo, who nodded. “We just moved here a couple of months ago. How long have you lived in Port Haven?”

“A few years.” The waitress brought our food and I sipped my soda. “Been thinking of relocating, though.”

“Oh?” Skye sat up a little straighter and tilted her head. A swirling lock of golden red fell over her shoulder. “Why?”

I couldn’t tell her, not really. I couldn’t admit that whenever I drove along Chariot road, all I could hear was the unmistakable scream of crashing metal and feel road rash grinding like a cheese grater up my thigh and the heat of sparks and the spray of–

“Wanderlust, probably,” I answered. “I mean, you two know. You travel.”

“Just as we’re getting to know each other,” Skye said. “That’s too bad.”

When she put it into words like that, it was all so surprisingly unfortunate.

“So, how did you two meet?” I asked, wanting to change the subject.

Skye brightened at the question. She was one of those girls who loved to tellthe storyof how she met her pack. It was common among loved and treasured omegas.

“I was assisting my aunt Charisma at a fashion show when Halo and I caught each other’s scent,” Skye said. “I smelled her, and her two packmates' smell in her hair.” A dreamy, sweet look glimmered in the omega’s blue eyes at the memory. “It wasn’t an easy road, but my other two alphas accepted me, and the four of us became a pack.”

Halo smiled at the dainty omega, and Skye returned the smile, her fair cheeks brightening a little.

Then, Halo slid her cool, aloof gaze in my direction. “How about you?” she asked. “Are you in a pack?”

My aura threatened to flare and I reeled it back, forcing it tight to my body. “No. No pack, or bonds.” Sometimes I forgot the present, and still placed myself in the recent past. Under the table, I gripped my thigh with my hand, nails pressing through the denim and scorching the mostly healed wounds there.

I was reasonably sure that Halo, at the very least, sensed something about me and my damage, but if she did she kept it to herself. Maybe the two would talk about it in the privacy of their own home.

A quiet awkwardness followed, conversation having died.

“Oh,” Skye broke the silence. “I brought your jacket back, just like I said I would.” She rolled one bare shoulder out from under my coat. The memory of her scenting it before the car drove her out of sight played in my mind.

“Keep it,” I said.

Skye froze, her one hand gripping the right lapel of the jacket as she prepared to peel it off. “Are you sure?”

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