Page 89 of Forever Mates

She’s not wrong. Staying might be a risk, but the land is unclaimed. Anyone who wants to stay can, and we won’t stop them.

“You don’t. We’re getting ready to head out, though. Actually, that’s why I was hoping to see you before I go.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. You were telling me how you wanted out of the district. Now that you can go, what are you thinking? What are you going to do now?”

Elizabeth gets a far, distant look in her strangely silver eyes. “I’m… I’m not so sure.”

I understand. The night we had that dinner with Walker, she told me how easy it was for him to trap her here. She was a lone wolf with a gift. No pack. No family. She believed she found a new one when my bastard bio-dad invited her to stay in the Wolf District, but it wasn’t long before she realized that his offer came with strings attached.

Maybe if she had somewhere else to go, she could’ve escaped him long before now. And no matter what happens between her and Aleks, I know exactly what it’s like to leave the life you knew behind with nothing but my Jeep and my few belongings.

Aleks had been a gift from the Luna to me when I ran from Accalia and risked death by fang in Muncie. So what if he thought I was someone else? He saved me.

If I can return the favor by helping out Elizabeth, I’m going to.

“Come back to the East Coast with us.”

She gives her head a clearing shake, her strange gaze suddenly coming into focus. “What? Me?”

I think I know why she’s so caught off-guard. For Luna’s sake, two minutes ago she was sure I came to challenge her. And, yeah, she did try to break the bond I have with Ryker—on Walker’s command. Something like that should probably piss me off… and maybe it would’ve if Elizabeth hadn’t already warned me. She was the one who explained that her touch only worked if one of the mates wanted the bond broken. If it snapped, I couldn’t really blame Elizabeth for obeying her Alpha.

Oh, who am I kidding? I totally would have. Good thing it didn’t work, though. I like her. I feel sorry for her, and I can’t wait to watch as Aleks starts pursuing her instead of me, but I like her.

And I owe Aleks. He’d never agree, and Ryker would give me a warning nip if he knew I was playing match-maker, but I owe my ex-roomie.

I shrug. “Why not? My mate is Alpha of the Mountainside Pack. He’s already invited a couple of your packmates to join us. We’ve got plenty of cabins. You’d be welcome there.”

Elizabeth lifts her hand. Her fingers are slightly trembling as she tucks a lock of mahogany brown hair behind her ear. Her eyes dart away, careful not to meet mine as she admits softly, “I don’t know if I’m ready to be part of another pack.”

Fair enough.

I gentle my voice. She’s not an omega, she’s something different, but I figure treating her like an omega is probably the best way to go if I want to keep from spooking her.

“I get that. And if you don’t want to join our pack, there’s always Muncie.”

“Muncie?” she echoes. “Isn’t that—”

“A Fang City? Yup.” Huh. How does she know that? A lone wolf with a strange gift who spent the last few years on the West Coast… how does she know about a vamp settlement three thousand miles away? “You’ve been there?”

“No. But I’ve heard of it.” She bites down on her bottom lip. “It’s not very shifter friendly, is it?”

Most Fang Cities aren’t. Then again, after everything Aleks just told me, Elizabeth has nothing to worry about.

“I live there. No one’s given me any trouble.”

I guess being able to tell when someone is lying to you is an alpha gift, and not one that Elizabeth has because she doesn’t call me out on my blatant lie.

“Really?”

I nod, biting back my mischievous grin. “Oh, yeah. And, let me tell you, if you need a place to stay, I know just the spot...”

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