Chapter 32
“The pack?”
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I’d like to know how many there are. They seem to live in a different world. So many things have changed and yet everything seems to have stayed the exact same. Things that had once seemed strange to me make sense. I’d become accustom to them but now that I know I’m not insane, i see the threats all around me I remember things I couldn’t explain. I’d brush them away making nothing of them, but here’s the evidence.
“Yeah,” she smiles like it’s the greatest thing thing in the world and I suppose it is to her.
“How many of you are there?”
“A lot,” she laughs. “Thousands. My parents take care of a lot people,”
“You’re going to have to teach me all this,” I sigh.
“I promise,” she agrees without hesitation. I add a little pink lip gloss to her plumpy lips.
“You’re all set,”
Tessa jumps off the table and turns around to see what I did.
“But you didn’t use all this stuff,” she looks back at me.
“Because you don’t need it,” I laugh. “Women all over the world would kill to have skin like yours“,”
“Stop, Phoebe. You’re making me blush,” she laughs and turns to face me. The pink warmth in her cheeks just adds to what I did. She really is beautiful. “Don’t hide them tonight,” she says looking down at my neck. “For all our sakes.
“They need to see it. It shows he has every intention to keep you at his side. It won’t be enough to fully push them back until he marks you, but it’ll make them hesitate and that’s all the opening we’re going to need if we get through this with minimal damage. You’re not doing this for him. It’s for your protection and my niece and nephew. Thank you for that by the way. I think I have a couple of more years now before my parents start demanding more,”
“My pleasure?” I shrug.
“I bet it was, little human,” she pokes my side. “Oh, my god. You’re bright red,”
“You are definitely his sister,” I roll my eyes.
“Never question it,” she beams.
“Phoebe?” there’s a tap on the door. She rips it open and steps out smacking Knightly on the chest.
“You owe me big time, superstar,” she skips out of the room.
“Did she shame our family in front of you?” he asks playfully. His eyes zero in on the marks on my neck.
“No more than you already have,” I smirk.
“Walked right into that one,” he grins. “You are relentless,”
I take him in. Knightly is very handsome. So much about him has changed, but there’s so much of the boy I met that night still there. His hair is cut shorter. Almost like he’s attempting to try and be a little more adult–ish. He’s usually wearing straight jeans and sneakers. But tonight, he’s swapped them for trousers that are tailored to his powerful legs. The black shiny fabric is perfectly paired with a dark charcoal gray button–down. His sleeves are in place but the sleeves are a little short on him. It’s a common predicament with men his size.
“Here,” I say removing the button to fold them up.
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16.4
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Chapter 32
“You don’t like my shirt,”
“You look amazing in the shirt, but you’re going to have to fix these if you’re going to make a habit out of wearing them. If you let me, I’d like to take your measurements properly,”
“Okay,” he clears his throat.
“What?”
“Nothing. I’ve never been insecure about what I wear until this very moment,”
“You don’t have anything to be insecure about,” I say using my nails to crease the fold and work on the other one.
“This actually feels more comfortable,”
“Because the seem isn’t poking at you anymore. You’re not a button–down wearing guy,”
“This is my brother’s,” he’s embarrassed. That’s cute.
“Give me a second to finish up?”
“I’ll be outside,” he nods.
I glare down at the black dress trying to calm myself. I’m about to go down there where there are a bunch of werewolves waiting for me to be presented to them as Knightly Blake’s mate. How did things turn out this way? My life is never going to be the same. Three weeks ago, my biggest concern was keeping my son from biting the other toddlers and now he’s the son of an alpha/ rockstar/ son of a fucking psycho.
Running doesn’t seem like an option. Where the fuck would we go? I don’t have anyone and there is no way I’m going to be able to fight like them. The best I can do is get myself a shotgun and pray I never have to use it in front of my kids. I don’t want to live like that.
Remember what that old fuck said, Phoebe. Take in your surroundings. Every movement counts. Feel the elements and let them guide you. You’re not some little damsel. You survived sixteen years in a house with a homicidal cat lady who tried to kill you on more than one occasion. What’s a night with a bunch of werewolves?
With my lame attempt at a pep talk, I slip my black maxi dress on and reach for my white gold accessories. I remove the clip of my hair and shake out the waves. I am going to need to let my hair grow if Nightly is going to be doing this to me. It might mean something different to them but where I come from it means something shameful.
“Not tonight. Tonight you’re the alpha’s mate,” I whisper in the mirror. “Our lives kind of depend on that,”
I slip my necklace into place and put my hoops on. It’s both casual and elegant. I look good. I’m so nervous and it has nothing to do with the people. I promised myself that I wasn’t going to make it about us, but here I am wondering if he’s going to like it. I can’t afford to realize that this is a mistake. It would be the end of me.
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