7. Drew

Chapter seven

Drew

Sam leaves, and Kieran and I sit in silence for a while. He seems perfectly at ease.

I can't stop my mind from working.

Can I stay here? It's all I've been thinking since Lucien, Adam, and Elle left this morning. I only caught a couple of hours of very restless sleep.

What if I have to join another pack? The thought makes my stomach twist. It might be fine, of course it might, but I don't know if I can risk it. I feel bad enough for all I've left behind, but what if it catches up to a pack full of strangers?

Being a lone wolf, though… Silly as it might seem, the thought makes me want to cry. Lone wolves have nothing. No pack. No packmates. Being in my pack and distancing myself from them was hard enough.

I won't survive it.

"You okay?" Kieran's voice breaks me out of my thoughts, and I nod quickly. Too quickly.

"I'm fine."

"Good to know you're still a shitty liar."

I bristle despite myself. I don't want to cause trouble. I don't want to risk being kicked out. Still—

"I'm not."

Kieran laughs. "Yeah, sure." His expression is teasing, and nothing about his scent suggests that is a lie. "That's why I had to cover for you when we were kids, huh?"

I cross my arms over my chest. I'm not sulking. "Not fair. I'm younger than you."

His grin never fades as he leans over, nudging me with his shoulder. Whether he has a wolf or not, we both grew up in a pack, and it's never more clear than when he does things like that, using touch instead of words. I lean into him, and Kieran drops his head to my shoulder with a hum.

I never expected him to be smaller than me. I'm only noticing it now, I know, because I'm not bearing the full brunt of his personality.

As much as I hate it, Dad was right. If Kieran had a wolf, he'd be an alpha. Nothing like Hale. Hell, nothing like Dad either, who goes around terrorising the rest of the pack so they won't ever realise it wouldn't be that difficult to oust him.

I rub a hand over my face. I could've done it, right? I could've challenged him and taken our pack and told Hale to leave and—

Kieran's hand squeezes the back of my neck as he turns his face into my throat, breathing there just for a minute. Scenting me, even if he can't smell it himself. I take a deep breath, the movement grounding me.

He moves back a little way to speak. "You won't have to go back, Drew," he says, and I know he believes it. I know he can make others believe it.

"Thanks."

"We do have to talk to Deacon at some point, though," he adds, a touch of reluctance in his tone. "I don't know if you can live outside a pack unless you're a lone wolf. I mean, you can stay here if you're not in a pack, but I don't want that to be the reason you decide."

I look at him when he sits up again. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you're a pack wolf. If you just live with us, is that going to be enough?"

I'm quiet for a moment, but my wolf bristles. It feels like… Like there's another option, somewhere, and my wolf knows it, but I can't parse it right now. There are two paths, and I have to choose one of them.

"I don't know," I admit. Maybe I should say yes, to make Kieran feel better, but he's already said I'm a shitty liar.

"We'll work it out," Kieran says. "And we can ask Deacon about it, too."

"Isn't he really important?"

"Yeah, and?"

"Why would he give us advice?" I pull a face. "We won't even talk to him, right? Just one of his betas?"

Kieran tilts his head to one side and lets out a heavy breath. "No, it'll be him. I actually… I met him, a few weeks ago. I think he's all right, Drew. Really."

"How can you be sure?"

"He seems to care about his people, and you'd be one, you know. Are one."

I open my mouth to protest but close it again when no words come out. We're brothers . We're both Deacon's people, with wolves or without them.

Although, maybe Kieran's clan. Lucien's a chieftain, they said last night. If nothing else, he's clan-adjacent.

"I guess we'll see," I say finally, and Kieran squeezes the back of my neck again.

"Yeah, okay." He gives me a long look and I frown when I see him bite the inside of his cheek.

"What is it?"

"What did—What did you think of Lucien?"

The question is all a rush, and my eyes widen when I realise what he said.

Still, I don't answer right away. He wants an honest answer, and I don't want to rush.

"I like him," I say after a moment of silence, and it's the truth.

I catch a rush of surprise in Kieran's scent and duck my head in response. He thought I wouldn't?

Part of me hadn't wanted to like Lucien before I met him; I can admit that to myself. Even though he's Kieran's mate, he's still a vampire, and there was a moment where I thought I'd vibrate out of my skin when the three of them piled into the cramped living room. But then Sam pressed his feet against my thigh, and I relaxed—just a little, just enough to listen to what they had to say.

Lucien radiates serenity. He looks at Kieran with the kind of love written across his face that I hope our parents once shared.

His scent spiked with nervousness, too, when he took my proffered hand.

I liked him immediately.

"Is it gonna be weird, having him around here?"

"Kieran, it's your flat."

"I want you to be comfortable here."

He does. And I have no problem with Lucien, but the others… Elle and Adam are off-putting in their own unique ways.

Elle's dangerous. Not to me, maybe, or at least not right now, but I'll make sure I'm never in a position to make her lose her temper. There was an edge to her gaze when she first looked at Kieran that still sends a shiver down my spine.

Adam makes me shiver too, but for an entirely different reason. Sure, he and Lucien are as close as I expected them to be, but he looks like he laughs easily, and I wonder what it sounds like when he does. I was tracing the freckles on Adam's face, freckles that pour down his throat, when he caught me looking.

His smile is nothing like Sam's. Sam is more hesitant but also sly and knowing and makes my stomach clench. Adam is bright, almost ironically sunny, and I wonder what his lips taste like.

"I am," I say, and it's only a little untrue. "I don't have to see your mating bond to know it's real."

"It's not just that."

"Yeah, I know. You both seem happy when you look at each other. You smell it, too. I'll get used to them being here."

"Them?" Kieran says, like he'd stop Lucien's two closest friends visiting with him.

Besides, I didn't miss the look between Sam and Adam, and it jolted through me, a combination of oh-that's-hot and well-they're-off-limits . Not that I think anything will happen between me and… either of them. They're both way too connected to Kieran and, I'm sure, more interested in each other than they could ever be in me.

"Adam and Elle will come by too, won't they?"

"Yeah, I guess." Kieran sighs and lets go of me, leaning back on the sofa. "Believe it or not, things weren't this complex a month ago."

"Yeah, I bet."

I know, too, that Kieran is still hiding something . All of them are—some dark, unnamed thing they didn't want to approach with me in the room, but that brought them together all the same.

I don't want to know.

Kieran will tell me at some point, but for now, I'm ignorant and blissful about it.

"You wanna go get some food?" Kieran asks. "We can make something for when Sam gets in."

The smile he gives me is tentative. Hopeful. I smile back easily. "Sure. Sounds good."

I'm on edge when we cross through the wards, Sam's magic prickling over my skin.

Now that I can pick out his magic, I know he used it to get back in the flat without waking me yesterday morning. He wanted to hide, and I can't blame him. For all that I'm Kieran's brother, I'm essentially a stranger to both of them.

Besides, he'd clearly been out and—I drag my thoughts away from where they're heading. It's not my business where he was or who he was with.

Kieran grabs a basket as we enter the shop and I know straight away that it's not the one he works at. He smelt different when he came back last night. I follow him for a moment, breathing in the mix of different scents—the food, the people…

There's a mage over by the fridges. He's as tall as Kieran, with a narrow waist and messy brown hair. I offer him the faintest smile when our eyes meet; his own widen and he turns and strides out of the shop.

Kieran's hand on my arm shocks me back to where I am. "All good?" He frowns at the spot where the mage was standing.

"Yeah, sorry. I—"

Kieran waves me off. There's no irritation in his scent or body language, and I allow myself to relax. "No worries. What should we get? It'll have to be veggie, I guess, if that works for you?"

"Yeah." I glance around, but there's no one standing close by, and the shop is small enough that I know we're now the only two supernaturals in it. "Unless I'm a wolf, I eat vegetarian most of the time, anyway."

Kieran idles near the vegetables, eyes moving over them as he lets out a surprised hum. "Really?"

"Sure. I was cooking a lot, so it wasn't a big deal."

Except when it was. Dad didn't mind some of the time, too caught up in his own thoughts to care what I put in front of him, but that changed when he invited Hale in.

I like meat, little prince. The words echo in my head and my skin prickles as though his heavy gaze is on me again, assessing me like I'm the meat in question.

I bite back a growl.

He's not here.

I trail after Kieran as he picks out food for dinner and then some other bits and pieces we need. Guilt swirls inside me as we pile everything onto the conveyor belt—I don't have much money now, and I don't know how I'll get more without a job. At least I don't have to shift often, so it's not like I'll be eating heaps more than the other two.

Kieran grins up at me like he knows what I'm thinking. "Don't worry about it," he says, voice a low murmur as he brushes against my side. "Seriously."

A hint of command in the last word has me nodding before I can think twice. I don't have time to dwell on it. The person before us is being served and Kieran pulls a neatly folded carrier bag from his pocket.

"Don't think we'll need another," he says, but my attention moves past him, to the window we're facing.

The mage I sensed by the fridges is standing out there, watching us. He frowns when I meet his eyes, and I can't feel the prickle of magic from this distance—not through glass—but something about the way he shifts his weight makes me think he's calling on it.

"Drew?" Kieran looks up at me, then peers out the window. The mage is gone. "Can you help pack?"

"Yeah, sure." I grab the bag and pile things into it. My back is to the window and my wolf begins to pace, letting out a low growl that fills my mind.

"Let's go." Kieran takes the bag from me and steers me out of the shop, one hand on my elbow. Once we're a few steps away, he stops, looking up at me. "What just happened?"

"I saw—I thought I saw—" I shake my head. Why am I worried? Mages live in this city. It doesn't matter that I saw one.

"Who? Dad?" Kieran whips around, shoulders tense like he's gearing up for a fight.

"No!" My hands shake. "No, not him. I don't—I think I'm just not used to this many people."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah. It's all good. Let's go back."

Kieran gets right to cooking when we get back to the flat, telling me to get my things sorted before I come and help. He wants to do a couple of loads of washing and there's no point in the three of us doing it separately.

I put my dirty washing in the bathroom, hesitate, then set to sorting out everything in there so it can be done properly. Kieran grins when I emerge with a full basket.

"Put it by the door. Washing machine's downstairs, so I'll do it in a bit."

"There's one in the building?"

"Yeah, thank fuck," Kieran says, chopping some celery. I cross back over to the sofa and reach into my bag, moving things around. "Don't have to go running out to the laundrette every couple of days."

My fingers brush my phone. I sent Jeremiah a text saying I'd made it to the bus, then turned it off. I haven't turned it on since, but the urge is suddenly strong.

Oh, I know Dad will have sent me messages. Left voicemails, even.

But Quinn… I left him there. He's not defenceless, and I don't necessarily think he's in danger. But he's probably worried for me.

I turn my phone on. It's on silent, as ever, so it doesn't chirp as the texts roll in.

I'm right, of course. Most are from Dad, the previews becoming increasingly irate. My stomach twists at the sight of them, but the dread I expected to feel never materialises. I risk a glance at Kieran, who is still chopping vegetables and humming to himself.

Quinn's sent a few messages, too. At first, he's trying to check I'm okay—then he just says he hopes I'm safe. My fingers hover over the keys for a few seconds, but I only send him a thumbs-up in response. I want him to know I'm fine.

I don't want them all to find me.

I hope he can come here, one day. Or go somewhere . Our entire pack needs to leave, to rebuild far away from Dad, but it's not up to me to decide that for them.

I frown when I see I have a text from an unknown number. I don't have Jeremiah's or Paxton's numbers saved in my phone, but I know them by heart, and this isn't…

There's an image attached, and the preview hasn't downloaded, so I tap through to see what it is.

As soon as the message loads and the image downloads, my blood runs cold.

You can run, but you can't hide. I'll find you soon, mate of mine.

My hands shake. It's a selfie, Hale looking as impossibly gorgeous and vicious as ever as he stands in the clearing where I met up with Jeremiah and Paxton.

There's no way he's found them. He can't have—if he had, he'd have sent a photo of them, and besides, they're not amateurs. They can take care of themselves.

I turn off the phone, hands still shaking, and put it face down on the table.

"All good?" Kieran glances at me, standing by the oven now. Something is sizzling; the smell of onion fills the air.

I paste on a smile, hoping it's not too bright. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."