As far as I knew, he wasn’t coming in for my wedding, either.
I didn’t blame him for skipping. Even if it made everything worse to be going through it alone. Artie had always been shittier than either of the beat-up trucks they were fixing. Especially to me.
I should’ve run away long ago.
But the skulkdidhave connections. If I ran away, I knew everything would end up a hell of a lot worse for me than it already was.
So I stayed.
Bo bumped the garage door button with his nose. I turned to watch as the door lowered.
The thing didn’t even make awful creaking or squeaking noises as it closed.
It had to have been fancy, because I’d never seen one lower without making a ton of noise.
Or maybe the ones I was used to were just crappy.
Both options seemed equally possible.
My dad had been at the bottom of the skulk’s power ladder until I was born. My gender was the only reason he had connections to the alpha now. And he wasn’t making any money off those connections until after my wedding, so he was still pretty much broke.
I’d moved out of the skulk’s neighborhood and into my own shitty apartment in Cub Lake as soon as I graduated high school. I wasn’t sure why the alpha let me do so, but I appreciated it. Almost as much as I appreciated that he hadn’t tried to mate with me the moment I became an adult. My 23rdbirthday had been our agreement.
Anyway, the only fancy thing I’d ever done in my life was take a two-week vacation to the Supernatural Resort. The alpha had paid for that as a mating gift for me after I asked him to consider postponing the ceremony for another few years.
Those had been the best two weeks of my life. I’d only cried a few times that I could remember, and the morning I had to come back home was one of them.
I’d made friends at the resort. I’d relaxed. I’d been free, for the first time in my life.
Tomorrow, I was supposed to be the opposite of that.
Bo’s garage door closed, and I let out a slow breath.
I had at least a few hours until the snow stopped falling and the alpha found me. I might as well try to enjoy them. Even if that was going to be pretty much impossible while staying with Bo.
The grizzly dropped my duffel bag next to the door that led into the cabin, then took a step back and plopped down on the garage floor. I noticed a few blankets and pillows piled there. He must’ve slept there sometimes.
He closed his eyes.
Relief made my shoulders sag.
He wasn’t going to try to talk to me.
Maybe we could make it through the night without fighting. Or interacting at all. I could slip out of his cabin while he was still asleep, and maybe I’d be able to make it to another city before the alpha found me.
I might still be able to get out of my arranged mate bond.
Grabbing my bag, I murmured athank youbefore slipping into the cabin. Bo wouldn’t care if I slept in his bed for the night, but I’d take the couch. His nose was sensitive, and even after washing the sheets, my scent would linger on the mattress.
If I covered the couch with a quilt or something, I should be able to prevent that.
Also, sleeping on the couch felt less intimate.
Which was definitely a good thing when it came to the bear in the garage.
I took a minute to look around after the door shut behind me.
Bo had definitely fixed it up.
