Page 83 of Haze

“I’m at your front gate,” Ezra says, enunciating each word and reining in his excitement. “And the asshole standing here thinking shitty thoughts about my truck”—the laugh resumes—“who is now terrified of me for reading his mind, oh... look, there he goes to open the gate. See you in a few.”

The phone disconnects with a beep.

“Ezra is here.” I laugh, uncoiling myself out of the chair. “What’s next? Really though. Who else is going to show up?”

“Uhm.” Cade stalls before standing from his chair. “Your mate tried and failed to work today at Doctor Thorpe’s request. I would expect him to be here within the next half hour, or less, depending on how fast he drives.”

My heart thunders in my chest, and I burn hot and then chill quickly. Wrapping my arms around myself, I step to leave Cade’s office.

He pulls me into his arms.

He uses his firm voice. “It’ll be okay. We’ve got each other, and Deacon.” I look up at Cade, and he laughs. “Okay, so Deacon has us. Whatever Aunt Alora and Uncle Elliot have to say, it doesn’t have to change anything between us.”

“Okay, but do I have to do this right now? The Alloways and Finn?” I lean against Cade’s chest.

Without a wolf, I don’t feel as comforted being held by The Leviathan, but as my older brother, Cade’s doing a pretty good job.

“Only because I love you.” Cade pauses before whispering, “Sneak out through the service hallway and get down to the archives.” He squeezes me tight.

“I love you too.” I squeeze him tightly before letting go.

I walk as light-footed as I can down the hallway back toward the kitchen.

“So clearly, she knows,” Aunt Alora says.

A click from some sort of dish on the counter echoes as my steps run the risk of being dangerously close to audible range. They seem distracted, but I stay light on my feet and finally take the left toward the guest bathrooms and the secret door to the front entry.

“So, Aunt Alora, Uncle Elliot.” Cade speaks loudly in the great room, being the best distraction of all.

Still taking care to quietly open and close the front door, it’s a breath of fresh air, literally, when I get out of the house and onto the covered deck. I pull a pair of my sneakers out of the deck box and slip into them.

Why would Finn be coming? I shake my head, trying to push the thoughts out of it. It’s the obvious reason: to break the bond. Lucky duck, doesn’t even have to worry about it. No wolf. No bond.

Walking downhill toward the archive is far easier than uphill, but it’s still zapping my energy. Definitely having an early dinnertime tonight. Healing takes way too many calories. I don’t even want to think about food, but I know I need to.

Taking a break, I sit down on the low retaining wall on the curve of the driveway. Across from me is where there used to be a path down to the rest of the packs’ houses. Now it’s cultivated with ferns and manicured hedges. Distant memories of playing as a child tug at my mind. But when they get too intense, I look down the paved driveway instead. There’s nothing down there for me. Never was.

“Kathleen!” An Irish accent comes at a full shout, and the use of my full name immediately tells me who it is.

Heavy footfalls quickly move toward me.

As I raise my eyes from the paved driveway, he comes around the last bend to where I’ve stopped to rest.

“Kathleen, where have you been? I found Dinah, and she said she hadn’t seen you in hours.” He stoops down to where I’m sitting and cups the side of my face. “You’re supposed to be resting. Fuck, I find you out here, and you don’t even have your phone.”

Finn’s worry is unexpected. Anger? Possibly understandable, I expected that, but the amount of concern throws me off kilter.

I shake my head and answer, “I am quite literally sitting and doing nothing. It’s resting.”

“Faolan, please don’t disappear on me.” Finn pulls my hands out of my lap before he helps me to my feet.

“You say this like I was purposefully hiding from you. You’re not even supposed to be here,” I grumble.

My body objects to taking a step. I could have really used a longer than two-minute break, but I’m not letting him see my exhaustion.

“Why do you insist on making everything a fight, Kathleen?” Finn takes small steps with me. “I am sorry—”

“Don’t.” I won’t let him reject me, not if I can reject him first. I push out hostility to drive him off. “Don’t apologize to me. I don’t need your patronizing, self-righteous bull—”

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