Chapter Eleven

The drive from Cheyenne back to Laramie could be made in under and hour, thank goodness.

Silver snuggled deeper into the flannel Owen had declared now belonged to her, and checked the front of the coffee shop again. She was parked next to Owen's truck, and they had pulled into this parking lot just a few minutes before the coffee shop was set to open. It was still raining, and the fire ban had been lifted for Owen to work this morning. He had said he needed a pot of coffee to stay awake for his shift up on the logging jobsite, and told her to wait in the car out of the rain while he ran in and got them drinks.

Her phone vibrated with a text, and she smiled as she read Owen's name on the ID. Want caramel drizzle?

Yes please! Thank you! Send.

An image came through from him and she gasped and immediately blushed at the picture of her lying on the bathroom floor last night, completely naked except for her pair of shorts that was positioned around her ankles. She set the phone down fast, and smiled blankly at the front of the café, then pulled it back up and looked at herself again. Okay, she looked satisfied as hell. That man had fucked every thought of the outside world right out of her head last night.

She laughed and messaged him back. Don't be sending that to anyone else.

That's all mine. This one too. An image of her boogying on the dancefloor in the cowboy bar last night came through. She hadn't realized he had taken this one. Most of her body was a blur as she spun, and her smile was megawatt. She had one hand on her cowboy hat to keep it in place, and the other in the air as she danced.

She looked so genuinely happy.

Silver rested her elbow on the side of the window of her car and chewed the corner of her thumbnail as she remembered how much fun it had been to dance the night away with Owen last night. Best night ever.

The café door opened and Owen jogged out into the rain, holding a couple of coffees. Hers was iced and full of sweetness on account of her not liking the taste of coffee. Owen drank his black, which she would remember forever, just like he would remember her liking light olives on her pizza.

He looked so good in the rainy grey dawn light. His hat was on backwards, and he wore the T-shirt she'd bought him last night. His eyes were the stormy blue of his human side, and that smile damn-near stuttered her heart.

She rolled down the window and he handed her coffee through. "You're a lifesaver," she murmured after the first sip.

He leaned down on her window and pushed inside, kissed her. When he pulled back, he told her, "I'll get you settled at my place and then I'll have to bolt. I'm sorry to run, but Gunner will have my ass if I'm late."

"I don't know if you know this about my car, but it can go almost sixty miles per hour," she said of her little old rust-bucket. She reached through the window and slapped his butt as he began to walk away. The echo of his laugh through the parking lot pulled one from her too.

The rest of the drive up to 1010 Winding Way, where Gunner and Hallie had set up the Crew territory was only fifteen more minutes. She'd downed the delicious caramel macchiato by the time she eased her car up into the clearing.

"Whoa," she murmured as she took in the trailer park. The cream-colored singlewide on the left had a perfectly manicured yard with flower bushes and mulch, and even brick trim around the flowerbeds. There was a firepit in front of it, and three more singlewide mobile homes scattered around the clearing.

Owen parked in front of one in the middle that was painted dark brown on the outside, with lighter beige trim. There was a neon green plastic chair sitting beside a barbecue grill on a small concrete pad beside the stairs that led to the front door. It was cute!

Owen was waiting for her as she parked, and he pulled her suitcase out of the back without any prompting. He was a man who anticipated needs, and though Silver could do all this on her own, she did appreciate that he seemed to genuinely enjoy taking care of little things for her.

She followed him up the stairs, but just as he was about to go inside, a booming voice sounded behind them.

"Seriously?" Gunner demanded.

Uh oh.

Owen set the suitcase inside and made his way past her. Low, he said, "I'll take care of it."

She felt awful as she watched Gunner give Owen what for in the pouring rain. This was her fault. Gunner had ordered that she leave the territory, and here was Owen bringing her right into the heart of his property.

The others apparently had heard the commotion, because one by one, the doors to the trailers opened up. Hallie came out of the cream-colored house, hair mussed and looking sleepy with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. The trailer on the end, closest to the trees apparently belonged to Captain. He was leaning on the porch railing watching Gunner and Owen yell at each other with a grin.

"You're trouble, aren't you?" he called over to her.

"Not trying to be."

"Fuck, Owen! Why can't anyone in this Crew listen to one goddamn direction?" Gunner yelled.

"Because you're rules suck," Owen muttered, and Gunner looked like he would Change for a split second before Hallie said, "I'll keep an eye on her today. I'll get Corey to come over and hang out with us too."

"You don't have to do that," Gunner said.

Hallie shrugged. "I don't mind. I'm curious."

Gunner heaved a huge sigh and glared at Silver. She didn't know how to respond, so she waved and called meekly, "Good morning."

Captain laughed from the house beside Owen's.

"Um, I promise not to gather intel!" she called, hoping it helped.

"You have one minute to get in the truck," Gunner gritted out to Owen.

"I'm not riding with you."

"Yes, you are!"

Gunner kicked at the dirt and stormed back into his house, while Owen rolled his eyes closed and inhaled deeply. "This'll be a blast," he muttered as he made his way back toward his home. His hat and shoulders were soaking wet by the time he got inside.

"I'm so sorry—"

"No," Owen told her, squeezing her hip gently as he passed. "Don't apologize for stuff you aren't doing wrong. Gunner is being an asshole."

"He's being protective. He's being a good Alpha. He thinks I'm here for the wrong reasons."

"Well, he'll get over that when he gets to know you better."

"It's just one day, and then I'll leave," she said. Probably. Just one date to the rodeo and then she would probably head to Texas to start her new rogue lion life.

Owen tossed her a narrow-eyed glance. "I don't like when you talk about leaving. We made a deal—one day at a time."

They had made that deal last night at the cowboy bar.

He leaned in and kissed her good, held the back of her neck, and then dipped down and play-bit her throat. It tickled so she giggled, and he lifted her suddenly off her feet and carried her through the living room. "This is the kitchen."

"Oh, you're carrying me through the tour?"

"And this is the bathroom," he announced, carrying her down a hallway. "And this is the bedroom where I'll be fucking that little I'm-leaving-in-the-morning attitude right out of you after the rodeo tonight." He smacked her butt and she laughed and kicked her legs helplessly.

Owen set her down on her feet and pulled a dry shirt out of his drawers, put it on and changed into some work pants that looked like they'd gone through hell and back.

He pulled on socks and disappeared into the bathroom, finished getting ready for the day before he jogged to the front door where a pair of dirty boots sat right beside it.

He sat on a bench there and began tying his boots quickly. A honk sounded from outside, and he growled, and then looked up at her as he tied the second one. "Send me nudes all day long."

"Owen!" she exclaimed, laughing. "I don't do that. I'm a proper lady."

"I have a picture of you lying on a bathroom floor, smiling like you got drunk on dick that says otherwise. Two nudes."

"You're negotiating?" she joked as he stood and pulled her in against him.

"One before lunch, and one after," he said.

"I'll think about it."

"Good enough. See you after work. Pray for me, I have to deal with Captain Dipshit all day."

"Hey," Captain complained from outside.

"I'm talking about your brother," Owen barked as he jogged down the stairs. He threw Captain the bird, and Silver bit back a smile as she stood on the porch and watched Owen climb smoothly into the passenger's side of Gunner's truck.

Gunner peeled out, spinning his back tires through the wet gravel as he sped away. "They're going to fight all day, aren't they?" she asked Captain.

"It'll be a miracle if your man comes home in one piece. Want to bone?"

She pulled a face at him. "Gross."

"Gross?" he asked as she closed the door behind her. "What do you mean? It would be awesome!"

She shook her head and looked around Owen's house. Clearly Captain was still going to try and get under Owen's skin by using her.

She hooked her hands on her hips and looked around the little home. This place was really cute, and homey, and comfortable.

Her apartment in the Pride was a small studio above Rook's garage that had a mold problem and plumbing issues she had to fix all the time. She had been able to afford something nicer, but he insisted that his Queens live on his property so he could access them easily.

Barf.

Bright side, once he'd brought her back from her escape, he had withheld physical affection from her. She pursed her lips against a smile at the thought. She'd had to act like it was some kind of punishment, but it was actually the best part of her being dragged back into the Pride. He just told her she was ugly all the time, and that he wasn't attracted to her, and bla, bla, bla. It had hurt her feelings for a while, and then it didn't. She wasn't attracted to him either. Ever.

Things were so, so different with Owen.

She missed him already.

Her phone vibrated in her back pocket, and she lifted it up, hopeful.

I don't trust you anymore. A text from Rook.

She clenched her teeth and typed out, When did you ever? Send.

Her phone vibrated with an incoming call, and it was him—Rook. Her heart sank. She knew she had to pick it up, she couldn't avoid him forever if she wanted him to stay with the Pride, and far away from her and the Fastlanders.

The door creaked open behind her, and it was Hallie. She showed her the phone screen with Rook Holland's ID on there, and then pressed her finger to her lips.

She was not about to lose trust with Hallie.

Hallie got quiet and still as Silver connected the call and put him on speaker. "I can't talk right now," she said low.

"Where are you?" he demanded, a snarl in his voice.

Hallie's eyebrows arched up, and her face morphed to an expression that said she didn't like the way Rook talked to Silver. That made two of them.

"Why are you asking me that? You have my location. I have to go."

"What are you doing, Silver?"

She couldn't say, ‘my job' because he would hear the lie, so instead, she said, "I'm doing my best, Rook."

"You haven't given me anything on the Fastlanders," he gritted out. "I've been sitting here waiting on information you were supposed to provide, so no, Silver, you clearly aren't doing your best. It's easy. Text me anything you think I could use, like I've been asking you to do this entire fucking time."

"You are not just sitting around. You took on a new Queen. You're busy doing you, and I'm busy doing me—"

"Don't you fuckin' talk to me like that—"

"Enough!" Something snapped inside of Silver. Something just completely broke, and she lost all patience, and she didn't want to play this game for a second longer. Not if it allowed this asshole to talk to her in a way that none of the Fastlanders would ever talk to their females. "Listen to me, Rook. Here is all the information you need to know about the Fastlanders. Are you listening? I'm making sure, because you are a fucking horrible listener. The Fastlanders are going to kill you. They're going to gut you, Rook, and your only chance at living your miserably-ever-after is if you forget about whatever dumb vengeance you and your family have been planning. Coming after Ace won't make you a better King. You'll be a dead King. There are creatures in these mountains that will stay hidden until the exact moment you think you've won, and then they will eat you alive. Do you understand? Eat. You. While you are still living, and I know you can hear the truth in my voice."

Rook didn't answer.

"There's the intel. You don't stand a fuckin' shot. If, by some miracle, you work your way through the Fastlanders, you will have the Warlanders, the Ashe Crew, the Boarlanders, the Grey Backs, all of the shifters from Kane's Mountains, all of the shifters from Harper's Mountains, all the Sons of Beasts, all the Daughters of Beasts, every fucking dragon with fealty to these mountains, every fucking one of them will hunt every last one of our people to the ends of the earth. We, as a species, will not survive. You will go down as a legend, sure, but not the way you think. You will be infamous for getting every one of your people killed. Generations of shifters will remember the stupid King who thought he could take on Damon's Mountains. You bring war to the Fastlanders, you bring war to all of them. And from where I'm standing?" she asked, still feeling the burn of Wreck tingling under her skin. "They're ready."

Hallie was pacing, pointing up in the air, nodding, like Silver was nailing every word to her favorite karaoke song. I know that's right, she whispered.

She was doing this. Silver was really doing this. Hallie and Corey, and most importantly Owen had given her the confidence to stand up to someone who had caused her so much turmoil.

She blew out a breath, and finished it. "I won't be coming back. I'm going rogue. I thought about just running, but I don't need to play that game again. This is me saying it to your face. I don't want to be one of your Queens. I don't care that Katrina has been elevated above me. I don't care that I'm at the bottom of the Pride, and I don't care about digging out of that." Her lip trembled and she looked up at Hallie, squatted down and held the phone closer to her mouth as she admitted in a murmur, "My favorite thing about myself is the scar on my face."

Hallie knelt in front of Silver, and she held the phone between them in her shaking hand as Hallie held onto her wrists and searched her eyes. She was nodding. It's going to be okay, she seemed to be saying, and God, Silver was so glad Hallie was here while she was doing this. It gave her strength.

There was a heavy silence that hung in the air, and Silver waited, trying to steady her breathing so Rook wouldn't hear the shake in her lungs.

"You're different."

"I was always different."

"Did you fuck one of them?" he asked.

That was none of his business. "Please forget I exist."

"Silver!" he roared. "Did. You. Fuck. One of them?"

She felt compelled to answer. He was her King. He had a bond to her lioness. He'd been in control of so much of her thought process for so long. She parted her lips to admit it, but Hallie shook her head and grabbed the phone.

"Rook, is it?" she asked, standing. "This is Hallie, the Second of the Fastlanders, the mate of Gunner. You're no longer Silver's King and have no right demanding answers to questions she doesn't have to answer. You cut her face, you piece of shit. No forgivesies. She has the protection of the Fastlanders now. If you come for Silver, I will remove the leash from all of our people, and there will be nothing but a crater where you used to exist. She's going to block this number now. Haunt her, and we will fucking kill you." Truth. Truth. Motherfucking truth.

Chills covered Silver's entire body as Hallie hung up and poked some buttons on her phone. "He's blocked now."

"He'll find me," Silver uttered in shock, imagining how badly he was losing his mind right now.

"Well, he knows exactly where he can find you. Here." Hallie handed her back the phone, and Silver didn't understand the tears in the Second's eyes as she knelt in front of her to be eye level. "Do you know how I came to be here?"

Her emotions were overwhelming right now. Silver shook her head. "No."

This place was a sanctuary from my ex, who wouldn't stop hunting me. I see you, Silver. I know what that fear is. I understand the habits you form from running, and never feeling safe to connect with people. It's going to be okay. Not at first, you are going to feel like you are floating in a tailspin out in outer space for a bit, while you try to learn how to be ‘normal' again. Eventually, things are going to make more sense to you. I see you, Silver." She leaned forward and pulled her into a back-cracking hug, and Silver melted into it. She didn't know why she was crying, and she didn't know why it turned to sobbing. It just felt so damn good to have someone here during this moment who truly understood.

"Fuck your ex," Silver said thickly.

"Fuck your ex too," Hallie said with an emotion-filled laugh, and then released her, held her at arms' length and searched Silver's face. "Grab your luggage."

"You're making me leave?" she asked in a small voice.

Hallie shook her head. "No. The opposite."

Confused, Silver did as she asked and grabbed her suitcase from beside the door, then followed Hallie outside and across the clearing to the singlewide trailer right beside her and Gunner's home. Next to the door, there was a house number. It was a crooked one and then zero-one-zero. She recognized the numbers from beside Owen's door.

"Why are all the mobile homes here numbered the same way?" she asked.

Hallie pushed the door open and smiled back at her. "You'll learn all about the importance of ten-ten here. It means sanctuary. This is supposed to be Wreck's trailer, but he chooses to live separately."

"That's a probably a good thing," Silver said, wiping her damp eyes. "He's terrifying."

"Right? From my own experience, I think you should have your own space while you are figuring out which way is up. And no pressure to stay either. You could stay as long as you need and not feel trapped in a life. If you stay here, it gives you and Owen a chance to date if you want to, you know? You aren't forced to depend on him, or anyone else."

Understanding now what Hallie was saying, Silver stepped inside of the singlewide mobile home and looked around. There was a mattress in the living room with a sheet set and comforter folded up on the foot of the bed. The kitchen was bare, and there was nothing on the white walls. It was a completely new beginning.

"I know it's just an old singlewide—"

"It's perfect," Silver choked out. "I make money. I have a good job. I can pay rent."

"Would it make you feel better to pay rent?"

"Yes. I want to be independent."

Hallie smiled and nodded. "How does twenty-five dollars a day sound? That's about seven-hundred a month. No contract or anything, just stay here as you need. You can leave at any time."

"Sold," Silver said immediately. "Twenty-five a day is perfect. Oh my gosh, you have no idea what this means to me."

But when she looked back at Hallie, the Second of the Fastlanders was smiling with tears in her eyes. "I do know," she said quietly. And Silver believed her.

Silver dropped the handle of her suitcase and hugged Hallie up so tight. "Thank you," she forced out past her tightening vocal cords.

"Girl, thank you," Hallie murmured.

"For what?" Silver asked, easing out of the embrace.

"It was so damn good to see that moment when another woman broke away from something designed to break her. I'll think about the things you said to Rook for weeks to come. I'm ridiculously proud of you."

Silver just wanted to bawl. "What about Gunner? He'll be so mad that I'm still here."

"Nah. Owen will have him straightened out by the time he gets home."

"What do you mean?"

"Owen brought you back here knowing he would have to post up to his Alpha. He'll be fine. He'll make Gunner understand. Look, I've got to get ready for work. I know for a fact that Gunner forgot his lunch in the chaos of the morning, and I'm betting Owen forgot his too."

"He didn't have time to make one."

"Well, I've got a long lunch break at eleven. We can bring the boys lunch together if you want. That way you can see Owen's jobsite, and I guarantee that boy will be happy to see you. He feels…"

Silver sniffled. "Feels what?"

"He feels so much lighter around you."

Hallie left after that, and Silver got to explore the singlewide she would be staying in. Her mind was spinning, and mulling over the conversation with Rook, but even if she tried, she couldn't dredge up a single regret. Would the paranoia of being hunted set in later? Probably. But for now, she was familiarizing herself with every nook and cranny and drawer and cabinet of this old singlewide trailer. The floors were soft in some places, and the ceiling tiles sagged, and the paint was coming off the cabinets in strips, but this place was amazing.

Sanctuary.

What Hallie had said felt so right.

And as much as she wanted to spend every waking moment with Owen here between work hours, she did appreciate having a little space to get to know herself again. It had been a long damn time since she'd been truly free. Already she could imagine a half-empty bottle of red on the counter as she texted Owen from here. This place was freedom to grow with Owen without some forced living situation.

This place offered her choices.

She unpacked her clothes and stacked them in organized piles in the empty bedroom, and then pulled her notepad out and scribbled a grocery list of things she would need, just to feel like she was steadying out and getting organized. She had to flip past Owen's autograph to get to an empty page, and it made her smile.

When a knock sounded on her door at ten in the morning, she was surprised, and then shocked when she opened it to find Corey standing on the tiny porch.

"Hi, hey," she greeted her.

"I talked to Hallie," Corey said, her hands clasped behind her back. She lifted her chin into the air and looked down her nose at Silver, and for a moment, she thought she would say something scathing. But she didn't. Instead, Corey said, "I have another day off work today, but need to go to Moosey's to pick up my paycheck. Want to ride there with me? We can pick up Hallie for her lunch break."

Silver arched her eyebrows up high in surprise. "Um, sure!"

And ride together, they did. Corey seemed more at ease with her, and even talkative. She was funny, witty, she had those fast lines that drew a laugh from Silver before she'd even realized how funny they were. Corey parked right in front, in a spot that Silver was pretty sure wasn't even a parking spot.

Silver liked going into the barbecue and gas station combination building with Corey. She waved at people and greeted them like old friends, even people who stood in line waiting to order food. And she introduced Silver to people, which was shocking but also awesome. Hallie was bustling around the barbecue side, and Corey excused herself to pick up her paycheck and go say hi to her mate, Ace, who was managing the gas station half of the building.

Hallie waved her forward in line and handed her a bag of food. "For the boys," she declared. "Captain's been bitching all morning that he had to make them extra spicy everything," she said low with a giggle.

Captain was back messing with a row of smokers. He tossed them a dirty look. "I can hear you," he barked.

"What do you want to eat?" Hallie asked her. "I'll use my employee discount for you."

"Really?" she murmured, feeling like she was doing something scandalous.

Hallie shrugged. "Really it's a Fastlander discount."

Silver tried to control her smile as she scoured the menu, trying to remember everything she'd fallen in love with eating the first day here. "Brisket baked potato, butter and cheese only, and jalape?o sausage links?"

"Yep," Hallie said, typing her order into the kiosk. "You're going to try the sweet tea today too. Trust me, you want to."

"I'm in. Hey, Owen asked me to go to the last night of the rodeo tonight."

"Hell yeah, you'll have so much fun," Hallie told her.

"Well, if you guys want to go…I know you lost out on your tickets last night. I'll spring for some nosebleed seats if the Crew wants to go."

"Seriously?" Hallie asked.

"It's the least I can do. I already checked online and they still have some in our section available."

"Corey!" She called, and Silver looked over her shoulder to find Corey coming in the front door. "Rodeo tonight? Silver's paying for tickets."

Corey grinned and gave a thumbs up. "Me and Ace are in!"

"I'm in too," Captain said from where he was pulling what looked like foil wrapped briskets from a smoker behind Hallie. "It counts as a date if you're buying tickets."

Silver rolled her eyes heavenward. "Owen bought my tickets. Already got a date."

"Shit," Captain muttered, but Silver didn't miss the smile in his voice. He just liked to mess with her.

"I'll get you a ticket, wear your shortest cut-off shorts and boots," Silver teased.

"Don't joke, he will show up in that outfit. One hundred percent," Corey said, grabbing the handle of the enormous bag of food Hallie had set aside for Gunner and Owen's lunch.

"I'll have your food ready in a minute," Hallie told her as she paid the discounted price. "I'll meet you guys at the car."

Silver loved this. She loved that she was on her phone, tracking down tickets to the rodeo that were near each other for the Crew. She loved that she knew people in this bustling, happening restaurant. She loved that she had an ease with conversation with Hallie and Corey now that she hadn't been able to pin down with the lionesses of her Pride.

She loved the excited feeling that filled her at the thought of seeing Owen so soon.

She wasn't shunned here.

The rodeo tickets were purchased by the time Hallie met them back at the car. They were cheap right now because it was last-minute seats up at the top rows. It was okay if they weren't the best seats in the house. She had a feeling they would still have fun.

She liked that she could contribute to an adventure night, that would, God-willing, end up much better than the river-float-day.

She didn't know what she'd expected when Owen had told her he was a logger, or what to imagine about his jobsite, but as Corey drove her and Hallie up the rough, winding road that led up the mountain to the slope Owen and Gunner worked on, she grew quiet and observant. It was muddy from the rain, and the clouds above them were dark and churning, but there was a break in the rain, and it was perfect timing. The hum of big equipment engines grew louder and louder the higher up the mountain they drove.

Corey parked beside Gunner's truck, nestled right against the side of a steep hill, and she followed the girls toward a huge machine that was dragging logs by threes up the slope. It looked chaotic and dangerous, and she imagined if one of those cables snapped on a log, it could seriously injure someone, or worse.

Gunner was manning the huge machine, and there was a human loading logs onto a semi-truck with another massive piece of machinery.

She didn't see Owen anywhere, but Hallie pointed down the steep slope. "Owen's hooking up the logs!" she yelled over the noise of Gunner's machine.

The ledge was a steep drop-off, and down the mountainside, Owen and three other men were working to attach thick metal cables to felled tree trunks.

He was yelling at the guys, pointing, and they were running around the logs like sure-footed Billy goats.

Silver squatted down, and watched them in awe. Owen was running across huge uneven logs and dipping down beside them, pulling thick metal cords around the middles like they weighed nothing, and Gunner was pulling them up when he needed to.

Something touched her hand, and she startled, until she realized Corey was handing her a hard hat.

She pulled it low over her eyes and yelled, "Thank you," over the noise of the machinery.

She could tell the exact moment Owen realized she was there. He looked up the hill and said something into the walkie talkie to Gunner, glanced over at her, and went back to tightening a cord around a huge trunk. And then he froze. And then he jerked his attention up at her. From here, she could see the bright white of his smile.

He said something else into the walkie-talkie and Gunner gestured him up, then cut the engine of the enormous machine.

Owen was so sure footed as he made his way up the hill, cluttered with felled trees. As he drew closer, she could see how dirty his wet shirt was, and his muddy work pants. His hardhat had scuff marks on it, and the shirt he wore clung to his muscles.

Okay.

Okay.

She'd never given a thought to how sexy blue-collar boys could be, but Owen looked hot as hell right now. All muddy and sweaty and bright-eyed, and he kept smiling at her as he drew closer.

"Hey you!" he called as he climbed the last few logs to reach her.

She had so many butterflies as he picked her up and planted a kiss on her lips, right there in front of everyone.

Feeling shy, she slipped her arms around him and buried her face against his neck to ignore the rest of the world.

"Awww, woman I missed you. What are you doing here?"

"I have news and food."

"Life saver," he drawled out. "I'm starving. I'm about kill all these fuckin' humans…"

One of them was passing them. "Feed him please. He's an actual demon today."

She giggled. "Are you being mean to your work team?"

Owen set her down on her feet and tapped his hardhat against hers. "I didn't get much sleep last night. Someone kept me up."

"It was me," she whispered.

"It was totally you. What did you bring for food?"

"Moosey's."

"Ooooh my gosh," he drawled grabbing her hands and pretending to go weak at the knees. "Woman what do you need from me? My soul? You can have it. It's yours."

"You sure are easy," she teased as she walked with him toward Corey's car.

"Barbecue and blow jobs—"

"Owen!" she whisper-screamed.

"You said you have news. Spill the news, kitty."

"I am officially rogue."

His blond brows drew down and he stopped walking. "I don't mean to poo-poo on your news, but you already announced that."

"Yeah, but I told Rook."

"Yeah she did!" Hallie called from where she was organizing food near Corey's car. "She told Rook right off! I heard it!"

Silver couldn't help the giggle that bubbled up her throat. "And also, I have a new place to live."

"My house?" he asked, his eyebrows arched up like that should've been obvious.

She shook her head. "I'm renting out Wreck's mobile home."

Owen's face went blank.

"It's a good thing," she assured him. "I'm officially your neighbor." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "I can come over for midnight snacks."

Owen blinked slowly and deliberately.

"Yep," she said excitedly. "Hallie showed me the place earlier and I'm paying rent and everything. No more Pride. Oh, and also?"

"Can there be any better news?" he demanded in a joking voice.

"Also, I bought nosebleed tickets for the Fastlanders to come with us tonight to the rodeo. And also, I'm pretty sure me and Hallie and Corey are going to be friends." She canted her head. "And also, I'm happy."

"This is the best day ever," he told her.

"This is the best day ever!" she repeated excitedly.

"Gunner's going to freak out."

"Oh, Gunner's totally going to flip out."

"What the hell is going on?" Gunner barked from where he was exiting the huge logging machine.

"Don't be mad, but she's living with us now," Hallie said. "I brought you brisket."

Gunner's bi-colored silver and blue gaze drifted from Silver to Hallie, and back to Silver again. "What did you do?"

"I might have started a war," Silver said apologetically.

Gunner pinched the bridge of his nose and huffed a breath.

"But maybe not!" Hallie said, playing devil's advocate. "Maybe she scared the Holland Pride away from war. There's really no way for us to tell."

Silver pointed to her and arched her eyebrows. "I might've stopped a war."

"Maybe!" Corey chimed in.

"You too?" Gunner asked Corey. "Seriously?"

"Look, we've already decided we're going to keep her—"

"Corey!" Gunner exclaimed. "That's not up to you!"

"Hallie said we can keep her," Corey argued, "And since she's the one who lets you touch her boobies, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say we're winning this one."

Owen belted out a laugh beside Silver. "This is awesome. Look at his pissed-off face."

"Look," Hallie told her mate. "Eat some ribs, and some potato salad, maybe a few jalape?o poppers, a brisket sandwich or two, and then we can talk about this."

Gunner was just glaring, arms crossed over his chest. The air felt so heavy for ten seconds of torturous silence before Gunner spoke again. "Is there fried okra?"

"I got a double order for you," Hallie said, a smile breaking across her face.

Gunner glanced at Silver. "We will have a Crew meeting about this. Until then, I'm not talking about it anymore."

As the Alpha headed toward the food Hallie had laid out on a blanket beside Corey's car, Hallie tossed Silver a quick thumbs up behind his back.

This was a good thing, right? Gunner was at least considering it? And also, she was learning lessons—Bring food to big dominant male shifters, and get what you want. She looked at Owen and decided she needed to figure out all his favorite foods asap.

"I want to hear everything," Owen said as he pulled a pair of slightly damp camp chairs out of the back of his truck, and set them up for him and Silver near the blanket.

Silver hesitated, trying to figure out where to start as she dug through the bag of food for her and Owen, but Hallie took the lead on the storytelling for her. She had remembered word-for-word what Silver had told Rook, even the parts Silver didn't remember because her adrenaline had spiked during that encounter, and her anger had drawn things from her she didn't really think about.

It was awesome hearing the story from Hallie's point of view. Hallie was deep-down-to-her-soul a good woman. Silver could tell, just from the pride in her voice as she told the story of how Silver had freed herself.

Hallie made her sound…fearless.

She liked who she was around this Crew.

And as she settled into eating an enormous amount of food with the mother-freaking Alpha of the Fastlanders, two women who were quickly becoming important to her, and Owen who couldn't seem to stop looking at her with this proud little smile on his handsome face, she thought this was perhaps her favorite moment of her life thus far.

It was like she was on a high after being held under water for so long. She was breathing fresh air, and looking at herself differently, and she was proud. Proud she was here, proud these people seemed to be okay with her, proud to be up here on this jobsite where the man she was falling head-over-heals for was draping his arm around the back of her chair, comfortable, like he'd done it a hundred times before.

This made her old life seem completely unacceptable.

She was going to switch out her phone, and probably track down the Fuller brother she'd dropped the tracker on, and destroy that phone too. She was going to change her banking information, and switch over to her sister company, and start completely fresh here.

Twenty-five bucks a day to live somewhere she would feel safe, and oh, this felt like absolute freedom.

She smiled over at Owen, and caught him looking at her again. He didn't duck his gaze away. Instead, he grinned wider and dragged her chair closer to his. Oh, she liked him. She really liked him. She liked this version of herself she was around him.

Silver leaned over and rested her head against his shoulder, and he pressed a soft kiss to the top of her hair. With butterflies flapping wildly around in her stomach, she eased back just enough to grin up at him, but he leaned down and kissed her lips quick.

When she dragged her gaze back to the blanket to reach for her sweet tea, Gunner was watching her, chewing his food thoughtfully.

She dropped her gaze and exposed her neck, thinking she had perhaps angered him, but he sighed and said, "Fuck the Holland Pride. They're coming for us either way. Lucia saw it. Now we have another weapon. We'll see how you fight, girl."

Silver straightened her spine and lifted her gaze to Gunner. "If they come, I want Rook."

A slow, wicked smile took Gunner's lips. He nodded once, and then returned to the food, and chatting with the others.

Owen slid his hand over her thigh and squeezed gently, just a reassuring gesture. When she swung her attention to him, his expression had gone serious, and the color of his eyes was lightened to a frosty blue. "If Rook touches you, I'll kill him."

Truth.