“I think Dash believes you owe him a favour for how he helped out that time.”
Marlowe perked up, grinning. “I’m happy to deliver! I can bake a birthday cake? Wedding cake? I’ve always wanted to do a wedding cake.”
Snorting, I shook my head. “We’re not having a wedding. Not that kind of pack. I’ll let him know you’re offering up baked goods, though. He might take you up on it.”
“Perfect,” he said, smiling. “I guess I should let you go. Lock down your pack, and all that.”
There would be no locking down tonight. Kiara had been asleep when I left the apartment, and historically speaking she would remain asleep until dinnertime. She was sleeping a little less every day.
“Your pack is getting antsy too,” I commented, tilting my head toward the glass cafe windows.
Denzel leaned against a pole outside the building, holding his phone but looking right at us. Marlowe pouted, making a shooing motion with his hand. All his mate did was put his back to a different part of the pole, facing the cafe door instead of us.
“He’s getting better,” Marlowe defended, affection clear in his tone.
“He is,” I agreed, giving the asshat more grace than I usually would.
As it turned out, packs were about compromise.
Marlowe compromised by letting his alphas follow him around occasionally. I compromised by letting Kiara stab a person on occasion.
At my statement about Denzel, Marlowe’s eyes widened in surprise, but he shook it off fast—in true Marlowe fashion. Standing from our seats, he politely took our dirty plates over to the counter, dropping them off and leading me outside. We stopped outside of the cafe doors for a hug, and he squeezed me extra tight.
“I’m really glad you’ve found someone, Leigh.”
He worried for me. I knew that. All I did was work, which wasn’t healthy for anyone—especially not when I was blackmailed into it.
“Thank you,” I murmured, making sure his alpha couldn’t hear. “For caring. We both know our parents never did.”
Marlowe laughed, pulling back with a glint in his eye. “Hey, speaking of, I hear Mother got kicked off all her event boards. There are tons of rumours about it. Would you happen to know anything?”
I grinned, shaking my head. A secretive smile passed between us. “No, but what a shame for her.”
“Yes, an absolute shame.”
He laughed again, waving over his shoulder as he went to link arms with Denzel, who gave me a shallow nod.
I finally kind of understood why Marlowe loved that asshole. Sometimes, when you love someone, you can work together and get past anything.
EPILOGUE 2
KIARA
About a week after that
“We can’t live here,” I said.
My alphas turned to me, eyebrows raised. Dash was only grinning, his form lounging back in a recliner.
“What do you mean, dove?” Leighton asked.
The guys’ apartment had been suitable while I was in heat—I’d been too out of it to notice—and in the time while I was recovering. Now that I was up and walking around, I kept noticing things that irked me.
There were too many… angles. Leighton’s place had too many angles too, but they’d been softer and more manageable. I also hadn’t had as much time to notice them. I had nothing but time, now. Plus, all the rooms were too big and dark. They didn’t have as many windows as Leighton did.
The caveat was that I couldn’t go back to Leighton’s apartment, either. I’d tried, but hadn’t made it past the elevator before I had Nyla clenched in my fist, my body shaking.
All I could remember from there was how I’d been dragged from my nest when I should have been safe. It was a shame the one incident was overshadowing all the good memories. I bet it would fade eventually, but it was so fresh.
