Chapter 42 — Bree

We’re still holding hands when we return to the kitchen. Rainn’s hand is warm around mine, and even though the smile drops from his face as soon as we’re no longer alone, he seems more relaxed, like holding me away has been a strain on him.

Someone has made coffee in our absence, and the smell fills the kitchen. All four pairs of eyes turn us.

“So, no more fighting, I hope,” Professor Denton says with a smile. “Derek here was worried about you, Bree. I had to stop him from going to find you.”

I feel Rainn tense beside me, and he eyes Derek with a stony face.

“Bree is always fine with me,” he says.

Derek scowls and lowers his gaze to the marble top of the kitchen island.

Caleb clears his throat. “We’re thinking of going to Cedar Falls tonight, to talk to the Alpha about Hugo and Gage. With their help, we can go to Falling River and make Hugo confess what he did to our parents.”

Rainn nods in approval. “We’ll go as a pack. With Bree.” He looks at me. “Are you ready to meet my pack?”

There’s something uncertain in his gaze, as if even now, he still thinks it’s possible that there’s any part of him I would reject.

“I’d love to.” I smile at Caleb. “I already like the ones I’ve met.”

Caleb grins. “Rebecca would love to hear that. She still feels bad about stalking you.”

“Stalking…?” Derek’s voice cuts through the amusement.

“It’s nothing,” I tell him, wondering if he has conveniently forgotten that he was planning to help Hugo drag me back to Fallen River. Against my will.

Derek faces Rainn. “I’m coming too. Tonight. To meet your pack and the other…the Cedar Ridge Pack.”

Rainn ignores him, but Caleb nods. “Of course. We also need you to help make the case against Hugo…and help convince your pack to turn against him.”

“My pack.” Derek’s face twists bitterly. “I’m packless now.”

“I think it’s better to be packless than to have a murderous tyrant for a leader…Alpha,” Emily-Rose says softly.

Derek looks at her in surprise, then sighs.

Rainn watches them for a moment before announcing. “So, we’ll meet here tonight.”

“You’re all welcome to stay,” Professor Denton adds. “We have a few extra bedrooms.”

Derek rises. “Thanks, but no thanks, I’ll find somewhere else.” He looks at me, then his gaze flicks to Rainn, challenging. “I’ll be back in a few hours.”

Emily-Rose rises too and yawns. “I think I’ll go back to the dorm,” she says. “I have a lot to process.”

“It was a crazy night,” I admit.

“No, it’s fine,” she says. “Now, I know what Sheri meant when she said you’d need me. I’m glad I was there for you.”

Without her presence, I would never have found the courage to shift, and then where would I be now? In Hugo’s hands, forcefully taken to Falling River to be scapegoated for the problems Hugo created.

Crossing the kitchen, I put my arms around Emily-Rose. “Thanks,” I whisper.

Beside her, Derek looks like he can’t wait to leave. I know he has nowhere to go and is only leaving because he can’t bring himself to trust Rainn.

“Are you sure you won’t stay?”

“Here?” He chuckles. “Your alpha boyfriend wants to tear my head off every time I so much as glance at you.” He lowers his voice. “He’s like a wounded bear, Bree. Is he what you really want?”

“Oh, for heaven’s sakes,” Rainn mutters from across the room. He’s glaring daggers at where I’m standing with Derek.

“You know he can hear you,” I tell Derek.

“I know,” Derek mumbles.

“Come on,” Emily-Rose says. “I can drop you off wherever you want.”

After they leave, I walk over to Rainn and Caleb.

“What a night, Bree.” Caleb grins at me.

“Yes.” I take a deep breath. “So much has happened.”

“Nothing we can’t handle,” he says confidently. “I’ll see you in a few hours. Gotta get home to the wifey.”

“Does Katie know?” I ask Rainn after Caleb has gone.

“Not yet, but he plans to tell her soon.” He shakes his head. “It’s an enormous risk, opening up to someone who isn’t one of us. Most wolves mate with wolves, but sometimes, like with my parents, they have to trust a human.” He looks at me, and his face softens in a gentle smile. “I was going to tell you about me earlier when I brought you here.”

“When you thought I was a human, then decided I was a suppressed shifter spy?” I tease.

He laughs. “Yes.”

I put my arm around his waist. “I’m sure if I were human and had never seen a wolf before, you could shift in front of me, and I’d still love you exactly as you are.”

“Erm…I’m still here,” Professor Denton announces, just as Rainn pulls me in for a kiss. At my blush, he sighs. “I’ll remedy that ASAP.” He starts for the door, then stops and gives me a gentle smile. “Welcome to our home, Bree,” he says

I feel a rush of warmth. “Thank you for everything,” I reply, and I mean it.