“What? Why?”
We tell him what happened. And then Grey tells him,
“Riley’s gonna need us. All of us.”
***
Before we’ve left Savage House, it’s decided that Tyson will meet us at dawn for our usual run and a talk.
Greyson says he’ll call Joel and the others tonight before getting some sleep and then he’ll try to connect with Riley and offer to shadow and support him as well as keep in contact with us while on the road with him. So much for my plans to spend the day inside my mate tomorrow convincing her that what we have is real.
Almost to Grey’s place, my phone rings and it’s my father. There’s a lot of background noise.
“What’s goin’ on there?”
“We’re all over at Roxy’s.” He sounds amused. “Was waiting for you to call and check in so I could tell you.”
“My hands have been full,” I say, and my blood pressure is rising. I told my father to keep a close eye on her, said she might try to sneak off, told him and my mother to watch carefully and for Mom to holler for him if she vanishes. My father has exceptional tracking skills and he’s lightning fast.
“What? All of you? Amelia’s at Roxy’s?”
“She is. The girls are shit-faced. They’re having a great time. Amie is beating the pants off Jase at darts. About to take a hundred bucks off him and says she’ll use it to buy drinks for the girls. Gotta say, your girl fits right in, son.”
Well, fuck me.
“I’ll be there in five to pick her up.”
“See you soon.”
“I’ll drop you off,” I say to Grey as I turn the corner, “Then I’m headin’ to Roxy’s. Mom, Dad, Bailey, Cicely, are all there with my mate.”
“I heard,” Grey says with a smile. “After the day we just had? I could use a drink. And some entertainment. We’ll talk to Jase and then I’ll find my own way home.”
Snickering, I make a U-turn to take us to Roxy’s.
26
Mason
Roxy’s bar is the only food and drink joint in our little village, and while it’s far from a fine dining establishment, the food is decent, the vibe is relaxed, and most of all it’s exclusive to our pack and visiting shifters so everyone can let their guard down.
Roxy’s uncle, Cade, is one of our non-council alphas. He helps her with the place and watches the door for outsiders.
When I cross the threshold, his eyes hit me as he’s wiping down an unoccupied table. He smiles wide.
“Congrats, Mase.” He strides over to slap my back and then greets Grey with a fist bump. The place is buzzing with a nearly full-house, music and laughter and despite that there are a fair number of bodies in the place, immediately my nose and my eyes find my mate.
And plenty of other eyes are on her, too. I’m wondering if part of the reason why Roxy’s is so busy tonight is because word’s gotten around that Amelia is here. Folks would be curious.
She’s smiling wide, standing in front of the dartboard. She playfully punches Jase’s arm, and he throws his head back and laughs uproariously. She’s gloating over her win against him. My immediate reaction to this is a pang of ugliness.
Her smile is aimed at him. Her laughter is in the air, and she doesn’t know I’m here. Jase is obviously drunk. So is Linc, who stands to the side with a goofy grin, also aimed at my mate.
Mine.
Jason Creed would never lay a finger on what’s mine, but that doesn’t change the jealousy rising in me. While she’s laughing and joking with him, my father is in the vicinity, sitting at the bar, eyes on her and a smile on his face. I know he’s already clocked me, but when Dad looks my way, he jerks his chin up in greeting, and I know he reads me. His facial expression changes to one I know, one that tells me things are all right. Of course they are; Dad has had his eyes on Amelia in my absence and this is my pack, my people. But still… that my woman is giving positive attention to anyone but me stings.
This is why we need time. Quiet, private, uninterrupted time to bond with one another. So that I can then let her bond with the rest of her new pack without feeling like this – like they’re taking something of mine.
My mother sits with Bailey at a table near the darts area and Cicely is talking to Roxy who stands in front of the bar, one hand on her waist, the other hand holding an empty tray. Roxy’s eyes are on me. I catch the sadness in them briefly before she paints on a smile and looks back to Cicely.
Roxy was my first. I was hers. I was fourteen and she was sixteen. It was a sweltering hot summer night by the shoreline near the falls that started with skinny dipping and ended with losing our virginity. She’s carried a torch for me since then, though I didn’t realize how hot it burned until three years ago when we spent a no-strings night together after my thirtieth birthday party and she drunkenly revealed how she’d been waiting for me. Hoping. Based on my actions with her that night, she expected me to knot and mark her. She thought it was our mating night and when it didn’t happen, she couldn’t hide the disappointment.