42. Shay

FORTY-TWO

Shay

W e survived the walk of shame, but only barely. Leigh whooping like a psycho and then doing an off-key rendition of Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off was something I could have lived my entire life never experiencing.

But luckily, no one was mad about our brief escape. If anything, they were happy for us. Bri gave me a tight hug as soon as I pulled on a spare pair of sweats, grinning happily at me.

"How are you feeling?" she whispered, even though we huddled in an empty corner of a hangar.

"Pretty great," I admitted, a blush heating my cheeks as I stared down at the concrete below our feet.

"No more issues, no more pain?" She gestured to her own chest, mirroring where my mate marks lay.

"Well, actually, yes. So, my mate marks filled in a little more, but not completely. His started, but they're still small. The size of his fist, maybe? But I thought…" I paused, trying to figure out what to ask her. Then I decided, screw it, she was my best friend and a doctor, no less. "Did you and Kane have sex more th an once before your marks filled in? I don't want to make assumptions, but?—"

Bri chuckled, shaking her head before I even finished. "We'd barely done anything. A hot make-out session, really, and we had full marks."

My shoulders slumped, confusion and worry weighing me down.

"Hey, look. Our case was unusual. Our theory is that my wolf needed the bond because of the curse and pushed for it to complete early so we could lean on his wolf's power. My symptoms have gone way down since we completed our bond, and now I only really get hit with pain when we're either apart—hasn't happened much—or when I have to call on what I'm now realizing are my omega powers."

Interesting. And it actually made me feel a lot better that it wasn't crazy that we didn't just instantly bond like they did. Her omega designation really had changed everything, it seemed. Although that made me feel guilty for asking her to tap those powers for me.

"That makes a lot of sense, actually. Thank you for telling me. And are you okay, after helping us out before?"

She hugged me again. "You don't have to thank me, Shay. We're sisters. Nothing is off the table, so don't be afraid to ask. And I'm fine. Let's just say you two weren't the only ones who snuck away for a little connection time with their mate."

Grateful tears clogged my eyes, making her blurry.

"Hey, now, it's okay, honey." She hugged me tighter, and a soothing scent flooded me, billowing off her like perfume. Like fresh rain, or actually the waterfall. I gripped her back every bit as tightly, trying to shove down the unhelpful wave of emotion.

I was so not that girl, the one who cried. Not because there was anything wrong with it, more because… crying hadn't helped me survive. It made me feel weak, and I hated it .

Dirge's warm presence at my back a second later made me smile even as the tears escaped onto Bri's shoulder.

"What's wrong? Are you okay? Did the pain come back?" He rapid-fired the questions as he patted me down, as if there was a physical wound he could find and fix.

"No, I'm fine. Stop that." I batted his hands away as I turned. "Just… a lot of stuff to process right now."

His eyes were kind as he smiled down at me, but I only saw them for a second before he pulled me into his chest. "It's all going to be okay."

"Is it? What about the ODL?" I managed to peek away from his chest to include Bri in the question.

She shrugged one shoulder, trying to seem nonchalant even though I could feel her repressed worry. "So far, there's no news."

"Kane said there has been no word of the attack, no word of omega magic, nothing. Our working theory is that the ODL themselves are covering it up, because if word spreads that an omega slipped through the cracks…"

Shit . That would not go over well at all.

"So they're actually covering for us to cover themselves," I murmured.

"Pretty much."

"What do we do, then? Just go on hoping they don't sense Bri again?"

"What else can we do? If they do sense me, it's not going to matter where we are. We have to stay ready for an attack at any time, while hoping I don't accidentally trigger their senses again." The smile she plastered on was tight.

Kane walked over, interrupting our conversation. "The pilot says we're fueled and ready to go. We were able to procure some lunch from the local pack's chef. A bonding gift for the new high alpha and his mate. "

"So that's how the other half lives, huh?" Dirge playfully slapped Kane on the shoulder, eliciting a groan.

"Don't get me started. I'm not used to this level of politics. People have always tried to ingratiate themselves before, but it was to get in my father's ear. Now, they want to talk to me, and it's not an improvement. Did you know they have a border dispute with a pack out of Wyoming? Yeah, I didn't either. They want me to mediate their negotiations. I told them I'd send Reed when things settled down. He's going to be the one who murders me," he added with a mutter.

"Not funny," Bri scolded. "No jokes about anyone else dying, please. It's too soon."

"I'm sorry. Sometimes gallows humor gets me through."

"Did somebody say gallows ?" Leigh wandered up, a hefty sandwich in one hand, a bottle of lemon-lime soda in the other.

"It was nothing," Kane said, shooting a chastised glance at Brielle. She smiled up at him, never one to hold a grudge.

"Don't let her whip you this soon, man," Leigh said with a grin, then took a giant bite of her sandwich.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to eat that right before we fly again?" I asked, remembering her repeated retching through the morning's flight.

She shrugged. "I don't know, I'm just too ravenous not to eat. Bri gave me the good motion sickness meds, so we better all hope they hold." She took another bite, eyeing me as if I was going to steal her turkey sandwich.

"Let's move!" Gael barked from the airstrip.

Leigh handed me her soda, flipped him the bird over her shoulder, and then took an overly aggressive bite of her sandwich.

I was pretty sure she was imagining her wolf ripping a chunk out of Gael's hide.

"We're heading to Johnson City pack grounds. That way you three can gather more of your things, we can get the pack transfer paperwork finalized, and hopefully meet with Karissma," Kane told us as we headed for the plane.

"Great," Leigh muttered around a mouthful of sandwich. "Bureaucracy and long-lost relatives. What could possibly go wrong next?"

I really wished she'd stop asking questions we didn't want the answers to.

Despite our tension over the looming ODL threat, landing in Texas went off without a hitch. It had been four days since our escapade in Colorado, we were about done packing, and there was not a whisper of trouble in the wind. No sign of ODL retribution, or even the fact that they knew Brielle was the omega.

Meanwhile, the little plane— of death , Leigh added any time it was mentioned—had left, replaced by the full-sized Pack Blackwater jet, awaiting our convenience at the nearby private airport. The Johnson City pack didn't have an airstrip or a plane of their own.

My days were spent tying up loose ends together as a pack, but my nights were spent in my room with Dirge, making love and listening to classical composers until we drifted off in each other's arms. It was a little slice of paradise in the midst of turmoil, and each time we came together, a little more of our mate markings filled in. Mine had completed, finally, while Dirge's were slowly crossing the broad expanse of his chest.

To my surprise, where my marks went straight across, almost like the graceful curve of butterfly wings, Dirge's extended down, filling in over his left pectoral and skating down his abdomen. His eight-pack was starting to take on color, and I waited eagerly each night to see what would happen next, even though I hated that the markings hurt him .

I was pulling on my second-favorite blue sneakers when Dirge cleared his throat from the doorway. The scent of strong coffee and hazelnut creamer wafted my way, and I think I fell in love with him a tiny bit more. He was enjoying our foray into domesticity, and in between helping me haul boxes, he was studying my every move so he could learn how I liked things. He'd been working on my coffee order yesterday, and from the smell of it, he'd nailed it.

"Penny for your thoughts?" he asked, passing me the coffee once I straightened.

"Just reflecting, thinking about how different it is having you here with me than it was before."

"Good different, I hope."

I stood as I sipped the coffee, closing my eyes at the perfect blend of sweetness and depth. " Very good different."

He stepped up behind me and slipped his arms around my waist. "Well, I'll just have to keep working until I get to excellent, then." He rumbled low in his chest, a contented sound, as I leaned back into him. "What do you have left to pack?"

I sighed. "Me? Nothing. We all agreed to leave the furniture, and we took the last load of boxes last night after the pizza break. My instruments will be the last thing to load up on the day of. Alpha Todd's second has our transfer paperwork finalized. All three of us have to go sign at noon."

"Are you sad about the piano?" he asked.

I shrugged. "A little, but I got it secondhand, and it's over the weight limit for the pack jet with all our other stuff. I'll just have to buy one locally once we're settled down. At least I'll have my keyboard with us now."

He nodded gravely. "We'll get you a new one. A fancy one, on me, and you can pick out anything you want."

I arched an eyebrow. "I'm not spending your money. I have a little bit in savings, and the music store is buying this one back from me." He opened his mouth as if to argue, but I cut him off. " In the meantime, I really need to go help Leigh. She doesn't have a mate, and she's got way more stuff than me. Maybe more than me and Bri put together."

He chuckled. "I can swing by this afternoon to lend a hand, but Kane's asked any of us who are free to visit his loaner office. Apparently, he's expecting forensic results on the knife and wants to debrief with his people working on Alpha Varga and things overseas."

"Do you want me to come?" I spun in his grip so I could look up at him, careful not to slosh a precious drip of my hazelnutty perfection.

"Entirely up to you. If you want to help Leigh, I can fill you in after?"

"Deal," I said with a nod. Dirge smiled and pressed a kiss to my lips.

When we parted ways in the hall, I was humming the tune that had been playing on repeat in my brain since my night of meditation. Each time, a little more detail filled in, the song growing more complex. And now I finally had my instruments back to work on it.