Chapter 20

"Gunner, you promised to take me to the Graham Plaza today. They're having that opening," Lilah said, sashaying into the living room.

"When did I agree to that?" Gunner's brows dipped.

Lilah frowned hard and held her hip. "Can't you leave the human long enough to do what you promised?"

"I don't remember making the damn promise."

I suppressed a smile and put distance between Gunner and me.

"Anyway, this human is going to get ready for work so you can go to the opening."

"Hold up." Gunner took two strides and grabbed my arm. "You're going to work today? Alone?"

"Cass will take me. Don't fret."

"No, I'll do it."

I glanced at Lilah. Her eyes were on the verge of going yellow. I turned back to Gunner's heated stare.

"No, you should do your Alpha duties and go to the grand opening. Cassidy will drive me. I'll be back at eight, okay?"

Gunner growled but he wasn't winning this battle. I smiled and ran upstairs before the argument could continue.

I still had three hours before my shift started but I'd had enough of the pack house plus I missed my best friend. I missed having a sense of normal in my life. Cass arrived to pick me up thirty minutes later. Gunner's truck was missing. He'd gone out with Lilah someone who obviously had a place in his life.

Kaleb had someone too and Gunner was the Alpha he was bound to have dozens of women around him. I would have thought being with Dash was easy but there was Rachel someone who may or may not be interested in him and our past and the small matter of the mate I had but didn't know who he was.

"I'm glad you're out of that house," Cass said.

"Cass!"

She waved me away. "It's too big for you to be alone and it's in the middle of nowhere."

"No, Dash doesn't live far."

She wiggled her brows at me. "That must be convenient for you."

I groaned. "Gosh."

Cass laughed. "Now Gunner's practically across the hall."

"They're all driving me insane."

"I'd go insane too if I had three hot guys to choose from."

I cast her a sideways glance. I hadn't told her about my supposed mate. I didn't know how she'd take it nor if I believed it entirely. What if I've met him before? When and how did he mate me without me knowing? He was a creep if he claimed someone without their knowledge. Eventually, he would have to make himself known or I would have to find a way to destroy the bond between us.

***

I waited for Kaleb so we could go to the insurance company. He texted me yesterday about the things I needed to carry. My birth certificate, driver's license and my parents' death certificate.

I waited in the quiet kitchen. The pack house was particularly quiet today. When I heard footsteps I stood, thinking Kaleb arrived to get me but I froze when a brunette wearing a body-hugging black dress with red lipstick painted on her lips strolled in instead.

She stopped and took me in.

"Oh, you're still here. I would have thought you'd gone home already," Rachel said.

"They're not quite ready to let me go yet," I offered her a small smile.

Rachel flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Dash told me what happened. Horrible. What have you gotten yourself into, Zora?" She stepped forward, her heels clicking on the tiles.

"Excuse me?"

"It's just us. You might be scared of the guys but I'm not in the Alpha's court I'm not obligated to tell."

"Why would I be involved in anything bad?" My pulse quickened.

"Vampires and break-ins? Doesn't sound good."

"Wow, Dash told you all that, huh?"

Did he tell her about the time he broke into my house and found a dildo up my vagina? I mentally rolled my eyes.

"We spend a lot of time together. We left here together yesterday, didn't you notice?"

I clenched my jaw and attempted to calm myself.

"Zora, I can understand you have some appeal, stay in your lane."

"I wasn't aware I left it, Rachel."

Rachel laughed. "You're going to get hurt. Gunner's an Alpha and Dash is a high-rank beta. They wouldn't dare look at a human for anything other than sex."

I laughed bitterly. Words that would get my head ripped off by a she-wolf were on the tip of my tongue when Kaleb walked in.

"What's up?" Kaleb stared between us.

"Nothing. You're late," I said, walking passed him and out of the kitchen.

He was hot on my tail. "What happened?"

"Nothing. Can we go?"

I opened the passenger door but his palm pushed the door shut.

"Rachel say anything?"

He must know by my heavy breathing that she did. Kaleb sighed and cupped my cheeks.

"Look at me. What'd she say?"

"Forget about it. She probably woke up on the wrong side of the bed."

"Fine, do you have everything?"

I nodded. Kaleb and I drove to the only insurance company in town. I was anxious because I'd never heard of my parents having life insurance. I knew the house wasn't insured Mr Thomas told me so. Kaleb rubbed my thigh, drawing my attention away from the empty parking lot to his blue eyes.

"Insurance will help."

I nodded.

"You want me to go with you?"

I clutched my documents. "No, this shouldn't take long, right?"

Kaleb nodded. "I'll be here."

The lady at reception to me to have a seat and wait for Walter. I knew Walter from town. When I worked as a waitress I got to know a lot of people in town. He was a man in his mid-forties. He walked up to me with a big smile.

"Zora, it's been a while," he said, holding out his hand.

"It has." He aged since I last saw him. His jet-black hair was now salt and paper but he still had a drop-dead gorgeous smile.

"I heard about the accident. I'm sorry about that."

I nodded. "Thanks, Walter. I'm not sure if my parents had life insurance, can you help?"

Walter's lips formed a thin line. "Didn't anyone call you when your parents passed? They had an account with us."

I shook my head. "I brought my documents."

"Let me have those. I'll help you, sweetheart have a seat."

I placed a hand on my chest and sighed. I waited for what felt like hours until Walter came back with my documents. He looked over his shoulders before handing them back to me.

"Well?" I asked.

"Uh… follow me to my office, please."

My pulse accelerated again. I stood and followed him to his office. A medium dull room with a view of the city. He settled behind his desk and squeezed a yellow pencil.

"What's wrong? Is there no money?"

"No, that's not it, Zora. It's your documents."

"Did I miss something?" I looked through my papers. I brought everything Kaleb asked me to bring.

"That's not it. Your birth certificate… is fake, Zora."

My heart slammed forward and the documents nearly slipped off my lap.

"What? How? This is the one I've used for everything."

Walter shook his head. "They listed their child as their beneficiary in case of their demise."

"I don't get it. What does this mean? I mean, I know I'm adopted."

"Zora," Walter said through gritted teeth. He ran a hand through his hair.

"Everyone in town knows you were adopted but this birth certificate is fake. Even if you were adopted you should have a legitimate one. You can't claim the insurance because, under the eyes of the law, you're not Janet and Martin Fisher's child."