Page 136 of Awakened
“You’ll never guess who showed up this week.”
Pinching my lower lip between my thumb and middle finger, I said, “Uh, Tech N9ne?”
Brian laughed so loudly that I had to pull the phone from my ear. “What? No.”
“It’s not an unreasonable guess. He’s from KC.” Annoyed, I nearly hung up.
“No. Becca came back.”
“Huh.” My drunk mind tried to process what that meant for Seth.
“That’s all you have to say?”
I couldn’t hide the annoyance in my voice. “What do you want me to say?”
Instead of getting mad like I thought he would, his voice was quiet and restrained. “I don’t know. I don’t know what to do.”
I traced the cracks in the sidewalk with the toe of my shoe. “What do you want to do?”
“I want to punish her and tell her I don’t love her, but that’s a fucking lie. Then part of me wants to pretend the last two years were just a bad dream.”
I gnawed my bottom lip, trying to hold back from asking the question I was dying to ask. “What about Seth?”
I lasted all of two seconds, so much for self-control.
He sighed. “She says it was a big mistake and that her parents pressured her.”
“So, she ended things?” I stared down at my fresh manicure, holding my breath.
“Not exactly. According to Becca, when Seth sent her away from The Gathering, they decided things weren’t working. Then he said he wasn’t coming back to the Mountain Pack.”
“He left?” Shock. Confusion. Anger. I couldn’t land on any one emotion.
“Apparently. Word is he’s in Europe bumming around. My uncle is livid.”
So much for becoming worthy of me. Fucker’s eating croissants in France and touring castles or whatever while I’m here alone.
“I can imagine,” I murmured, eager to end the call. “So, what are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. I love her, Les. So fucking much.”
I nodded, my eyes tearing up. “Then I think you know what you’re going to do. Try.”
A shaky breath came through the phone. “I’m pathetic, aren’t I?”
“Duh.” I laughed to soften the truth.
“Thanks.” I could hear the smile in his voice.
“Anytime, bud. While I got you, would you be interested in accompanying your pack members to my retreat? I would feel better with you there.”
“Of course. I’ll be there.”
“Excellent. Well . . . I should get back to the party.”
“Sounds good. See you soon.”
“Bye.”
