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Thirty Seven
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FATED ESCAPE Thirty Eight
“Then what compelled him to clue me in on where my daughter had run off to? Surely there was something he wanted out of it. No one acts without wanting something.”For a moment there’s silence, then Bennett speaks. “The garage is a hobby, not a job. And what I want is not in your power to give me.”I glance over at Mack to see how he’s taking my father’s attempt to steal his beta. I’m not expecting to find him shaking his head with a faint smile on his lips.Instead of intervening, he turns to me. “You want more bacon, Aerin?”I lower my head to take in the dish of golden, crispy bacon in the middle of the table. It’s my weak spot, and he knows it.But today, no amount of crispy bacon is going to be enough to convince me to stay sitting at this table any longer than necessary. Not when I know that it’s only a matter of time before someone says something that will trigger an argument, or even worse, a fight.And I know just who the two combatants will be.My eyes go to Connall to disc
FATED ESCAPE Thirty Nine
A moment passes in silence as if everyone’s picturing what that would look like. Or maybe they, just as I am, are thinking of the Raleigh pack and how quickly the aggression spread without Connall there to exert his control to stop it.Why would he leave? He had to have known what would happen if he walked away from a pack as aggressive as the Raleighs were. Was it grief for his dead mate that made him not care anymore?Connall breaks the silence. “Well, whatever this training guiding thing is doesn’t sound the least bit interesting to me. Certainly not as interesting as that other thing Aerin can do.”Now I know someone told him about what I did to Faith, and one swift glance around the table reveals Penny ducking her head. But not before I glimpse her flushed cheeks and the guilt in her eyes.I should’ve known it’d be her. No one likes to gossip the way Penny does.I clear my throat. “It was an accident. I didn’t—"Connall interrupts me. “I’m sorry I missed it. Who’d have thought
FATED ESCAPE Forty
I’m not expecting to find Adela sitting with a tranquil expression on her face, as if we aren’t about to have an epic alpha challenge blow up in the next two seconds.Before I can offer to go get Mack, or suggest that we, you know, run for our lives, she murmurs words so low beneath her breath that I almost miss them. “Pay attention, and close your eyes.”Closing my eyes right before a battle between two alphas erupts behind me is the absolute last thing I want to do. But I trust Adela enough to do as she says.As soon as I close my eyes, I feel her tap my head. A sign to pay attention, to focus.It takes a few seconds because I’m anything but calm right now and my heart is racing as panic kicks in, but eventually I do.And that’s when I see the thin silvery threads swirling around her. I know there’s physically nothing there. What I’m seeing is her gift, or rather, a physical representation of it.I track those strong, silvery strands to a soul pulsing with so much red and orange tha
FATED ESCAPE Forty One
My intention to tell Mack about her attempt to kill me goes right out of the window. “Yes. She has. So, like your father, maybe it’ll help if I’m not here so much. I’d still come back to the house in the afternoon to talk to my father.”Even though I wish I could stay at Adela’s house and not return until Connall and my father have left, it isn’t fair for me to abandon Mack to deal with everything on his own. What I’m doing is already making me feel guilty as it is.Sighing, Mack scrubs a hand over his face. “What is it?”“Family,” he murmurs. “Just family.”I move close enough that I can tuck myself under his shoulder. “I’m sorry. If it’s any consolation, I think mine is just as bad as yours.”He offers me a tired smile. “Yeah, I got that. I still can’t believe he didn’t tell you about Shane and Bree.”I shrug as if it doesn’t matter. Although the pain isn’t as sharp as it was when I initially found out, that doesn’t mean it’s gone. “With hindsight, it kind of makes sense for him. A
FATED ESCAPE Forty Two
When I first met him, I thought this shifter with the big build and heavy muscles would be just as gruff as Bennett was at first, but he’s always been so kind to me. He’s a gentle giant with the sweetest smile, and I’ve never known him to raise his voice even once.“It’s okay to be conflicted about me being with Mack instead of Faith,” I tell him. “I understand.”For a second, his eyes meet mine through the rearview mirror. “I’m not done. Finding our fated mate is something we all dreamed about. I never thought that years later Mack and I would have a conversation saying we hoped for the opposite.”My eyes flicker to Tina, who’s staring out of the window, and return to Warren. “You spoke about that? When?”“After I met Tina a couple of years ago, and not long after he met you.” I frown. “I thought you’d been together longer than that.”“We were misfits,” Tina says in a soft voice, still not looking at me. “Or strays, I guess. Mack collected us and formed us into a pack.”Knowing Mack
FATED ESCAPE Forty Three
Over a meal of lasagne and salad that Adela and I made, all my efforts to ground myself crumble under the pressure of my father’s pointed remarks about me failing to live up to the Boone reputation, and Connall making sly digs at my expense despite Mack’s repeated attempts to stop him.Faith doesn’t look at me, and Tina doesn’t either. I get why Faith wants nothing to do with me, even if she did try to kill me, but it hurts that Tina is treating me the same way.I doubt she’s the only one of my packmates who thinks I’m failing in my role as Luna by staying with Adela. No one will say it. Not Chris, who’s busy eating, or Warren, or Penny talking with Faith as Mack talks to Adela, but I’m sure they’re all thinking it.By the time we’ve all eaten and are outside, all shifted and ready for the pack run, the only place I want to run is right back to Adela’s.Although Mack and I tried to talk earlier, two minutes later our fathers were back to snapping at each other, which meant we couldn’t
FATED ESCAPE Forty Four
First, I head upstairs to pack a few more clothes, clothes I have thanks to Mack’s generous shopping trips, and then I go to say goodbye to Mack.He’s in the lounge with Tina, Warren, Penny, and Faith, getting ready to watch a movie. Ordinarily, I’d be joining them, but since Adela sleeps early, it isn’t fair to ask her to stay just so I can watch a movie with everyone first.After I say goodbye to the rest of the pack, Mack walks me outside. “You sure about this? I could always drive you over to Adela’s after the movie? Or you could take the car?” He kisses my brow. “Or you could just not go at all.”I smile up at him. “Nice try, but it makes the most sense for me to go with Adela now. I’d only wake her up if I come back later.”Already, I can see her fighting back a yawn as she waits for me in her car.Mack peers into my eyes, not looking convinced by my smile or my words. “Aerin…” “It’s what I want. It’s one movie night. Anyway, I could do with an early night.” Before he can conv
FATED ESCAPE Forty Five
After climbing the stairs and entering the room, I close the door behind me and move to sit with my back against the wall, my legs stretched out in front of me and a stuffed yellow bear cradled against my belly.With no idea whether this baby is going to be a boy or a girl, we’ve tried to stay neutral with a soft buttercup yellow paint for the walls, a white crib that I watched Mack build, and a matching baby changing table and dresser set up on the wall near the window.As the window overlooks the backyard, I hear Faith laughing as Mack explains his gardening process. My attempt at tuning it out goes so miserably that I regret not escaping into the forest.I know this is Mack being friendly so Faith will open up about why she’s come to Winter Lake in pain, but that doesn’t make it any easier to listen to when I also know how easy Mack is to love.When there’s a soft knock at the door, I turn to it with a smile. “You can come in, Moses.”A second later, the familiar lean figure of the
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