“When I look at you, I can’t decide if I want to kiss you or punch you in the eye,” I admit.
We stare at each other for a moment. He lets my words sink in and watch his expression go through the works, Guilt, shock, and finally humor. He laughs and it lights up his whole face. He looks just as tired as I feel. Maybe even more.
“Well, you’ve earned both options. Dealer’s choice,” he grins.
“The situation is dire and I can’t stop flirting with you,” I roll my eyes. “I want to be so upset with you and myself. Why can’t I do that?”
“You just lost your dream job,” he whispers.
“This is my fourth one,”
“What?”
“My first dream job was to be a mermaid. And from the ages of eighteen to twenty, I was a mermaid at the aquarium here. It led me to my first design job that paid for my school. I made mermaid tails for little girls and other mermaids. From twenty–one to twenty–three I was a costume designer for various plays and operas. I loved that job so much. I cried when I did my last ballerina costume. I loved it more than the mermaid thing and that one helped me shed my baby fat. I used to be chunky. And when I met you, I had just gotten a job that allowed me to tour all of Paris,”
“That’s pretty cool,”
“I’m not showing off. I’m just saying that’s what jobs do even if they’re your favorite thing. They come and go. I kind of have a new one in mind already
anyway,”
“Really? And what would that be?”
“A fucking werewolf. You guys make it look so cool,” I motion his body.
“Can you be serious at all?” he glares at me playfully.
“Not when I’m upset,” I finally laugh. “It’s how I grieve. Be glad you didn’t know me the Summer after I ran away from home. Mermaid Phoebe was a bitch,”
“Me in my teenage years, maybe he could have used a bitchy Mermaid around. I had double zero gages,”
“Eww,” I laugh. “I like the tattoos, but I would have made you take those out,”
“The more you asked, the bigger they would have gotten,”
“That sounds about right,” we both laugh. “I can’t believe she threatened me like that. I thought she was my friend. I looked up to her,” tears fill my eyes. “I didn’t expect that in the slightest. She was in no way concerned for me or my kids. She just wanted to hurt you. I saw it in her eyes,”
“I’m so sorry, Phoebe,” he wraps his arms around me. He’s so warm and I didn’t know I was this cold. I lean into him letting my emotions get the best of
- me.
“Alpha?”
I’m quick to pull away and try to lift to catch my stupid tears so they don’t smear my makeup.
“What is it, Adam?”
“Aizen wants to see you two,” the guy says.
“We’ll be there in a second,” he nods. The guy excuses himself. Knightly looks down at me and smiles. “I’ll find a way to fix this. Even if you don’t go back there. I promise. I don’t like making promises if I don’t intend to keep them,”
1/2
Chapter 36
美容 1%个
“Thank you,” I nod. He holds his hand out and I take it.
As soon as the twins see us, they run over to us and I feel a million times better. Aizen wraps his arms around me tightly. Ayrie has a piece of chicken in her hand. She holds it up for me when Knightly lifts her up.
“Your favorite, Mommy. No more mad,” she says with a bright smile and holds it to my face. I take a bite and nod. “All better,”
“All better,” I agree. She lets out a little excited screech and offers me the rest of the chicken.
“Not mad anymore?” Aizen whispers in my ear.
“I’m not mad anymore,” I rub his back.
“Je veux rentrer à la maison,” he says for the second time since we arrived.
“C’est notre maison,” I hold him tightly. “Nous retrouverons nos marques,”
He lets out a heavy sigh and nods. For the rest of the night, Maria and Freddy introduce me to some of their betas in the city. She explains how they have groups all over the city. They own clinics, law firms, stores, spas, and completely normal places. He tells me that while this is their day job, they’re highly skilled in protecting other wolves.
They have something called omegas that are deep in government jobs that help them locate werewolf kids in child protective services. Some of them help men and women who have lost their mates. Betas and deltas mostly work in the police force. It’s insane how everything is set up. But I can’t help how intrigued I am by all of it.
It’s just past their bedtime when I get the twins into the bathtub. They’re so tired they don’t play or protest as I get them cleaned up and dry their hair.
“I think it would be better if we sleep in my room,” Knightly says when they get to the bed. “Beds bigger,”
“Mhm,” Ayrie nods and goes over to him.
“Sure,” I agree and lift Aizen.
He curls into me and almost immediately starts to fall asleep. She refuses to let go of him when he tries to set her down and he has to get in the bed with her on his chest. Aizen wiggles between the two of us and curls in next to him. It catches him off guard because he rarely gets too close.
“Thank you for making Mommy not mad,” he whispers patting his arm before falling back to sleep.
“You’re welcome, buddy,” he runs his fingers through his hair. I lay back feeling exhausted. “Try to get some sleep,”
“Ayrie is going to wake up soon,” I whisper. He looks down at her.
“How do you figure?”
“I just know. She has nightmares. It happens when she clings to me like that,” I look up at the two of them. Her little fists are holding onto his T–shirt.
“Does that happen often?”
“Toc
