Page 128 of Unforgivable

Lyri

I peek out of the window and drool a little. What is it about half-naked males lifting weights and wrestling in the front yard that is so damn sexy? My three males... oh my... ovaries.

Plus Carmichael, who's still an ass, but an ass who would be pretty sexy if he wasn't such an ass. I hope he enjoys this casserole I'm making. I already know I put too much flour in it. I'm not sure if casseroles even need flour, but after I added all of the veggies and the ground beef, it just seemed too runny, so...

I'm still going to make him eat it.

Thjis starts doing squats. Squats. With his thighs and buttocks. It's almost as impressive as the push-ups Rhet was doing earlier. Maybe it's the sweat gleaming on their bodies or the way their muscles flex and move... I sigh out loud. Whatever it is, it's gorgeous.

I see Ezra catch me creeping on them. Green eyes twinkle as he winks at me and very exaggeratingly flexes his biceps as he curls the weights up. When he's at the top of the curl, he waggles his brows at me before slowly lowering it back down.

I bite my lip and shake my head at him, admonishing. He just grins and does it again, clearly showing off. I'm blushing, but I'm determined to sit back and enjoy the show.

I'm laughing with my forehead pressed to the window before Rhet and Thjis notice their peeping Tom.

Both males stop wrestling to smile at me. I let myself daydream a little. They'll come inside, take me into the bedroom, strip me down. Oh, maybe I can ride Ezra again. That's always amazing.

"Baby?" I squeak and jump, spinning around to see Thjis standing in the door. I didn't even realize they had stopped working out, too lost in my wet daydream.

"Hmm?" I try to be nonchalant, but the knowing look in his eyes tells me he's not fooled.

"We're going to sprint, run a bit. You stay inside the house, doors locked, OK?"

I do not roll my eyes. I'm very proud of myself for that. "Yes, snookums-Bear," I say, fluttering my eyelashes at him.

A colossal finger points at me. "I mean it, Lyri Song. We'll be around the house only. Within shouting distance."

I pout but nod in agreement. I'm more afraid for my males than myself, anyway, but their alertness is sky-high after Liam's attack. I'm just upset because I can't run with them. They go too fast, sprinting at top speeds to push their wolves' stamina and endurance, and I can't keep up with my hip and the healing wounds on my thighs.

"We'll be back in an hour, OK?"

"Yes, Bear," I sigh.

"Love you," he says softly.

"Yeah, yeah, love you too," I mutter begrudgingly.

He grins and turns to leave before spinning around. "Ah, we'll grill later. No need, um... no need to cook or anything." He looks at the counter covered in ingredients with mock horror.

I toss a lemon at his head, but he escapes down the hall, his booming laughter echoing off the walls.

"Jerk," I mutter. Longingly, I turn back to my window and watch my males disappear into the woods.

Huh, I think I needed that lemon. I walk over to it and pick it up. It's squished and oozing juice. Oops.

"Boring," I sing out loud. I'm acting childish, I know that perfectly well, but I'm so anxious. My wounds are itching me, but Thjis told me not to scratch. My males are gearing up for battle. Daan and Cloe are returning within weeks.

How, exactly, am I supposed to react to them?

Can I really just pretend that nothing happened between us all? I kept the secret of my mate for years because I gave a damn about him, about our future together. Now it's all blown to bits, so how do I handle this?

Daan doesn't deserve to have my silence. Not anymore.

I shiver a little at the thought of telling the pack. I'm mostly not nullavenia anymore. If that makes any sense, which, to me, it doesn't. According to Rhet, Alpha Jaz effectively ended my outcast status when he tried to hand me that pie. And, damnit, I hate that Rhet was right about forcing the issue. Still, I've only been to town to see my parents once and to the clinic after Liam's attack. I'm not brave enough to go waltzing down Main Street, and I don't have the heart to force the pack to accept my presence. Not when Daan and Cloe will return and dredge everything up again, causing that inevitable conflict. He is the alphason, and I am the rankwhore. Who would they believe? Not me.

Thinking about them gets me more and more agitated until I just can't stand it. I need to move, to do something. I go into the attached sun porch next to the kitchen to play with my plants. Tiny little sprouts of tomatoes and pumpkins are mixed with marigolds and some other green things that I think are the peppers that I planted. Or, maybe they're squash or peas. Um... I lost the papers that kept track of them, and some of the pots haven't sprouted at all. So... I guess I just throw it all in the ground outside in a month and hope for the best?

I water them and check for new seedlings, finding only a few more pumpkins. I'm contemplating digging into one of the unsprouted pots just to explore what is happening under the soil when something catches my eye.

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