CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER TWELVE

Hearing a knock at the door the following evening, Bree paused in rolling up her yoga mat. Alex had gone to his apartment to get a change of clothes for tomorrow, since he intended to stay over again. She’d have thought it was him at the door if it wasn’t for one thing—he always just let himself inside.

Bree stuffed her yoga mat in her bag and then headed for the front door. Glancing through the peephole, she frowned. Well, this was indeed a surprise. And not a welcome one.

Opening the door, Bree forced a smile. “Drina, hi.” If the woman was here for Alex, Bree would so rip her a new asshole.

Having had a long chat with Drina, Vinnie had assured Alex that she’d no longer be a problem. Drina had kept a low profile since then, which gave Bree hope that the female had listened to their Alpha. But this … Bree didn’t know what to make of it.

“Why are you here?” she asked, deciding to be blunt.

Drina tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “I need to talk to someone. Out of all the omegas, you seem like the best bet.”

She’d come here to … talk? Really? She’d come to the girlfriend of the guy whose bed she wanted to jump back into?

“I get why you might find this awkward,” said Drina. “But please don’t turn me away. The others will faff over me. I don’t want that.”

Ah, shit. “Come in.” Bree stepped aside to allow her to pass, closed the door, and then led her to the kitchen. Pulling out the tequila, she grabbed two small glasses from a cupboard and then took a seat at the island. “Drink?”

Drina snorted. “Yeah, sure.” She took the seat opposite Bree and quickly downed a shot.

Bree chugged back her own shot. Her cat paced, unhappy to have one of Alex’s ex bed-buddies in her home. Particularly since the feline wasn’t convinced that Drina had fully accepted the “ex” part. The moment wasn’t exactly fun for Bree either. But she’d be damned if she’d let Drina sense her discomfort. “What’s up?”

Drina looked down at the empty glass in her hand. “I keep messing up.”

“Don’t we all?”

Another snort. “I guess.” She set her glass on the island. “You know what happened with me and Giles, right?”

Bree nodded and refilled their glasses. “It sucked balls.”

“Yeah, it did. I cared about him a lot. Even from the early days of our relationship, I could totally see us bonding and moving in together. But I’m not truly heartbroken that the imprinting process reversed itself. Is that bad? Does that make me cold?”

Bree shook her head. “You get to feel how you feel.”

“I don’t know why I’m not as devastated as everyone assumes I am.” Drina knocked back her second shot. “Giles thinks … Giles thinks I have feelings for someone else, and that those feelings got in the way of the bond. Do you think that could have happened?”

The someone else was no doubt Alex. What Bree couldn’t understand was … Did Drina think Bree wouldn’t guess it, or was she building up to something? Curious enough to let this play out, Bree replied, “Possibly.” She chugged back the contents of her glass. “Do you have feelings for someone else?”

Drina bit her lower lip. “Yes. I care about him a lot. He says he doesn’t feel the same, but I don’t think that’s true. It’s not that I think he’s lying to me. I think he’s lying to himself.”

Okay, now Bree just wanted to smash her glass over the bitch’s head.

“I tried talking to him about it, but he shut down. Some people … they’re just not good at letting others into their lives. He’s like that. Honestly, I think even his true mate would have struggled to fully bond with him.”

Bree felt her gut twist. There might just be a lot of truth to those words.

“I can’t be sure if that’s why my bond with Giles didn’t form, though,” said Drina.

“I can give you the clarity of mind you’re looking for, if you want.”

Drina straightened a little. “All right.”

Bree laid her hand on hers. “I have your consent?”

“Yes.”

Bree lowered her shields. It was a little like taking a slam to her soul—there was just so much emotional turmoil. Anguish. Hurt. Despair. Loneliness. Longing. Hopelessness. They bled into Bree, striking her with such severe heartburn-like pain that she sucked in a breath.

… a dream …

… strawberries and cream …

… on and on and on …

Bree frowned. The girl was singing in her head, as if to guard her thoughts. Just when Bree was about to bring up her shields, she sensed an undercurrent of something else. A darker emotion—one Drina was striving so desperately to hide that the only way to “read” it would be for Bree to delve further into Drina’s “emotional heart.” Nah, she’d swerve that option.

Slamming up her shields, she took a moment to study Drina. The creases on her forehead and around her eyes had smoothed out. Her shoulders were no longer hunched, and her eyes were much clearer.

“Now, you’re sure you want me to be straight with you about what I think?” asked Bree, pouring them each another shot. “Because people say they want bluntness, but that’s often only until I say something they don’t like.”

“I want your honest opinion.”

“Okay.” Bree set down the bottle of tequila. “I don’t think that the reason you didn’t imprint on Giles is that you’re hung up on someone else. I think it didn’t happen because you want the bond more than you want Giles—that’s not enough to imprint. You need to ask yourself if it’s the same with this other person you say you care for. Do you really love him, or do you love the idea of being mated?”

Drina double-blinked. “I … I don’t know.”

“I think, then, it’s a case of the latter. If you really loved him, there’d be no doubt in your mind.”

“Maybe you’re right.” Drina grabbed her glass. “He said I didn’t really know him; that you can’t love someone you don’t know.”

“I think it’s easy to convince ourselves we love someone who we don’t know, because we can attribute qualities to them that aren’t truly there.” Bree downed her shot, feeling a nice little buzz enter her system. “If you really knew this guy—like really, really knew him—you might feel differently about him.”

“I don’t think so. I might not truly love him, but I do care a lot for him.”

“If he’s told you he isn’t interested, why chase after him? Why not find someone who will let you in; who sees a future with you?”

“Because I don’t know how he truly feels. He sends me mixed messages.” Drina sighed and rubbed at her forehead. “I think we both know I’m talking about Alex here, right?”

Bree only inclined her head.

“Sometimes he’d turn me away when I went to see him after the mess with Giles. Other times, he’d let me in; agree that we could talk. We ended up in bed together a few times. This hasn’t happened since he started dating you—he has not cheated on you. But before you … well, he blew hot and cold with me. I never knew where I was with him.

“Once, he said that he only kept his distance from me because he thought I might go back to Giles. But another time, he said I should go back to Giles. It was like the closer I got to him emotionally, the more he felt the need to push me away. Or, at least, that’s how it felt.

“You’re thinking I’m bullshitting you; that Alex wouldn’t have kept us sleeping together a secret. But he said that we had to keep it to ourselves until Giles had moved on. I know Alex never promised me a relationship or anything, but it didn’t feel that all he wanted was sex. And then he started dating you and … I can’t help but think he did it to push me away again. Obviously, I could be wrong. Guys do weird shit like that, though. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have come to you about this.”

Bree folded her arms, resisting the urge to follow her cat’s lead and snarl at the little bitch. “Why not? Your purpose was to make me doubt that Alex feels anything for me; to make me worry that he might not ever be able to fully commit to me. You couldn’t have done that if you’d talked to one of the other omegas.”

Drina’s mouth bobbed open and closed. She was, what, surprised by Bree’s forwardness? She shouldn’t have been. It was common knowledge that Bree didn’t dance around crap.

“I’m not saying he doesn’t feel anything for you,” said Drina. “But you’ve got to admit, he struggles with commitment. He doesn’t know how to bond with others. Doesn’t know how to let them in.”

Bree cocked her head. “I guess I should pity you.”

“I’m sorry?”

“You have so much trouble accepting that he didn’t want more than a fling that you’ve convinced yourself he can’t bond with anyone. That’s sad. Also shitty to him. I bet it really got to you when you heard he and I are together. It made you face that you’ve been lying to yourself. And now you’re lying to me. I don’t like it.”

Drina’s mouth firmed. “Oh, you’re so sure I’m lying?”

“Yep. Alex isn’t the most ethical creature, but he wouldn’t sleep with someone whose head is as messed up as yours is right now. You’re vulnerable and confused; he’d never take advantage of that. That’s not the kind of guy he is.”

“Maybe you don’t know him as well as you think you do.”

“And maybe you should give up trying to plant seeds of doubt in my head. It’s a waste of time.”

“You just don’t want to face the truth.”

“Oh, sweetie, I’m the only one here who’s concerned with the truth. Did you know that every time you lie there’s an ‘off’ note in your voice; one that rings with deception? You need to improve on your lying skills.”

The bitch leaned forward, her mouth set into an ugly twist. But then she froze, finally sensing what Bree herself had already sensed.

Drina’s head slowly turned. She offered the male standing in the doorway a shaky, awkward smile. “Um, hi—”

“What in the everloving fuck are you doing here?” Alex growled, stalking into the kitchen.

“You told me I needed to get help from one of the omegas,” she said, rising from the stool. “You even inadvertently suggested that Bree could be a good person for me to talk to.”

“Don’t give me that shit. This is no different from you turning up at my apartment. Only this time, you’re trying to get my attention through my woman. That is far from fucking acceptable to me. I want you out of here. Now.”

Drina’s spine snapped straight. “Your woman? You can’t really be serious about her. She’s your cousin’s mate, for God’s sake! A cousin who’s back on the scene, who’ll want to claim her!”

Bree’s cat hissed. Like Bree, the feline wanted to believe that Calvin was responsible for leaving the necklaces. The alternative was just too much of a mindfuck.

“Hell, everyone knows she’s going to snap like her mother!”

“Looks to me like the one close to snapping is you,” sniped Alex.

Hissing, Drina unsheathed her claws and went to swipe out at him. Bree got there fast—restraining her arms and pinning them behind her, angling the feline’s wrists toward her back so that her claws wouldn’t stab anyone but herself.

“That was a really bad idea,” said Bree, her cat’s snarl echoing loud in her ears. “Now, it’s time for you to go. I wouldn’t bother coming back—the enforcers guarding my house will be instructed not to less you pass. Do us all a favor, Drina, and concentrate on your own life instead of obsessing over Alex.”

A flush swept across the bitch’s cheeks. “I can’t go anywhere until you get the fuck off me.”

“Sheathe those claws, and I’ll let you go.”

Drina did so with another hiss.

Wicked fast, Bree released her and shoved her toward the door. “Seriously, don’t come back.”

Glaring at her, Drina clenched her fists. “Fuck you both.” She marched out of the house, slamming the door shut behind her.

Alex rounded on Bree. “Why the hell did you let her in?”

“She said she wanted to talk to someone. I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. It quickly became clear that she had an agenda, though.”

“You didn’t suspect that already?”

“Yes, but I’m an omega, Alex. I can’t turn someone away unless they give me reason to, even if that someone is harassing the man in my life.” Bree leaned back against the island. “The snapping of the imprint bond has left her feeling incomplete. Hollow. Fragile, even—though she’ll never admit to it. It makes sense that she’d try latching onto someone strong and solid like you.”

“I’ll be reporting this to Vinnie tomorrow morning,” he said, crossing the space to Bree. “He warned her to stay away; she didn’t.”

“Well, technically she hasn’t disobeyed his warning. I mean, she came to me. Not to you.”

“She came to you to get to me. We both know it. I’ll tell the enforcers guarding the house not to let her pass again. I’ve already instructed Greg to never allow her to enter Pot of Gold. If she approaches you in the street—”

“I’ll deal with it. I’m not a wilting flower, Alex.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed that.” He lifted her and set her on the kitchen island. “But I’ll always worry about you,” he said, insinuating himself between her thighs. “Always want your life to be free of that kind of bullshit.”

“Sweet of you, but this is a pride of pallas cats. We’re mean. You know that.”

He snickered. “I do. Mila proves it every day.” Sobering, he added, “Don’t let Drina shake your faith in me. I heard what she said. You have to know none of it was true. You have to know I haven’t slept with her since long before she and Giles even got together.”

“Of course I know that. She pissed me off, but she didn’t shake my faith in you. I have to say I’m glad it bugs you that she might have done, though. It tells me you’re at least reasonably content with what we have.”

“I’m not sick of you yet, so I’d say things are going all right.”

“Yeah? Hmm, well, you know something? I’m starting to think you detest me even less than you used to.”

“Maybe a little less. But just a little.”

Bree flapped a hand. “Oh, stop with the romantic stuff, Alex, you’ll make me blush.”

“If I said some corny shit like you’re a damn candle in the fucking darkness or something, you’d laugh your gorgeous tits off. See?” he said when she burst out laughing.

“It was just the last thing I expected you to say.”

“Hmm. Now, give me that mouth I’ve missed.”

Bree pressed her lips to his, and Alex instantly took over. He thrust his tongue into her mouth and devoured her like he’d been starved for her. He buried his fingers in her hair as he angled her head, making the kisser deeper. Wetter. Hotter.

Alex kissed and nipped his way down her neck. “You smell of cherries.”

“New soap.”

He hummed. “I like it. What I’d like to know is … did you use it everywhere?”

A smile tugged at her mouth. “Maybe.”

“So, basically, I won’t find out until I have you spread out beneath me.”

“I need to go earth in the yard first.”

“I’ll go with you.” He slid his hands under her thighs and lifted her; she curled her limbs around him. He walked to the back door, adding, “Then you can relax on your recliner and read.”

“Read?”

“Yeah. Of course, you’ll be naked, and you’ll have my mouth on your pussy.”

“Of course.”

“You always have this really serious look on your face when you’re reading—it’s like nothing else exists for you other than whatever book you’re holding. So I’m curious to see how well you can concentrate on it while I’m eating you out.”

She wouldn’t be able to do it “well” at all—something he quickly learned and seemed rather smug about. Bastard.

Strolling into the break room of the daycare center the next morning, Bree frowned. Because the only other omega present was Dani. The primary had texted her half an hour ago, summoning her to the center, despite Bree being at work. Usually, all omegas were required to attend meetings—no excuses. So this, yeah, it was highly unusual.

“Good afternoon, Bree,” greeted Dani, seeming incredibly official. There was no emotion in her voice or expression. “Please sit.”

Uneasy, Bree took the seat opposite her. Her cat was tense, perturbed by the break in protocol. “All right, so what gives?”

“I received a complaint about you.”

An unnatural stillness struck Bree’s body. Her cat bared a fang. “A complaint? Are you serious right now?”

“Sadly, I am.” Dani crossed one leg over the other. “Drina turned up at my house yesterday evening in tears.”

The little bitch had apparently also spent time at The Tavern last night getting shitfaced and declaring that she’d see Bree “dead” one day soon—it was a hot topic among the pride. The bartender had apparently had to walk Drina home in the early hours of the morning, she’d been so out of it.

“And what exactly was she upset about?” asked Bree.

“She was upset that she went to you for help last night, confided in you, told you things she hadn’t admitted to anyone else, and that you laughed at her.”

Bree felt her eyelid twitch. “Laughed?”

“Yes. She also claimed you threatened to kill her if she went near Alex ever again. Worse, she alleged that you tried to infuse negative energy into her—she believes your intent was to worsen her depression.”

Oh, what a precious little story spinner. “And you believe her?”

“I don’t believe you did the latter. You watched your mother spiral into a state of such deep depression that she was unable to dig her way out of it. I don’t believe you would visit that fate upon another person.”

Well that vote of confidence was a shocker.

“But can I imagine you laughing at or threatening her? Yes. Some would even consider it understandable. No female would find it easy to overlook another woman trying to make moves on her man. I don’t believe you’re the sort of person who would.”

Bree totally wouldn’t have overlooked it if it weren’t for the sad fact that Drina was in terrible pain right now. But Bree had fully intended to have words with the female if she didn’t seek help and leave Alex be.

“Well, not that you’ll care about what the truth actually is, I didn’t laugh at her. I also didn’t threaten to kill her, despite that she’d only come to me for two reasons—one, to make me doubt Alex; two, to get his attention. But after the session was over and Alex appeared, she started in on him. He ordered her to go. She wouldn’t. When she unsheathed her claws and went to swipe at him, I intervened and insisted she leave. If you can honestly tell me you wouldn’t have reacted in the defense of someone you cared for, I’ll be very surprised.”

“In what sense did you intervene?” asked Dani, still reserved and formal.

“I didn’t use my gifts, if that’s what you’re asking. I pinned her arms behind her back and kept them there until she sheathed her claws. I could have quite easily hurt her, but I didn’t.”

Dani sighed and clasped her hands together. “The problem here, Bree, isn’t that you acted in anyone’s defense. It’s that you did so during a session.”

“I told you, the session was over. At that moment, she was simply someone who wasn’t welcome in my home but refused to leave. Someone who also might have tried to hurt Alex.”

“He didn’t require you to intervene—we both know that. He could have easily subdued her himself.”

“So, you wouldn’t have complained to me if Alex had manhandled her? You wouldn’t have then told me that I should have intervened?”

Dani’s gaze briefly darted to the wall.

“We both know you wouldn’t have liked the situation, whatever way it went down. I’m not going to justify what I did, because it doesn’t need justifying. I didn’t act whatsoever inappropriately. If you disagree with that, complain to Vinnie. It wouldn’t be the first time, would it?” Bree clipped. “Maybe you could even request that I have some of my omega duties stripped from me. Again.”

Dani exhaled heavily. “I didn’t want to do that. My request to Vinnie wasn’t personal, Bree. If any of the other omegas had threatened to force an emotion into someone, I’d have reamed their ass for it and then reported it to our Alpha.”

“Well, since the other omegas don’t have that ability, I guess we’ll never know how true that is. But you have to know I wouldn’t do something like that unless it’s a matter of self-defense.”

Dani shrugged. “I’d like to believe that, Bree, but some of the things you do … I sometimes wonder if your gift asks too much of you. I mean, you rose in power very fast—that alone would be hard. Your ability to read thoughts can’t be easy, and then you also have the gift to induce emotions into people. Some omegas would find it difficult to cope. Especially when they don’t have someone to compare notes with about those extra little abilities. I worry for you. I truly do.”

The hairs on the back of Bree’s neck stood up, because she sensed where this was going. “Don’t you dare.”

Dani’s eyes widened. “What?”

“Don’t you dare put a little case together to suggest I’m ‘overwhelmed’ or ‘going bad’ or some shit like that just to get me out of the way.”

“You don’t often feel overwhelmed? Your shields aren’t weakening? They don’t fall in your sleep?”

“No, no, and no.” Bree raked a hand through her hair. “God, I can’t believe you’d actually stoop so low as to try and build a bullshit case like this.” Her cat was livid.

“I’m not conspiring against you, Bree, I’m just concerned for you.”

“You can’t honestly think I’d buy that.” Laughing a humorless laugh, Bree slanted her head. “What happened to you? You weren’t always like this. It’s almost like you lost a piece of yourself somewhere along the way.”

Dani’s face hardened. “I’m who I’ve always been.”

“No, you’re not. I get no support, no help, and you’re actively working against me. I wish I could go home knowing you’d think hard on that and try to change. But you won’t, and that just makes the whole thing sadder.” Bree pushed to her feet and skirted the table.

Dani rose from her chair. “We’re not finished here.” She grabbed Bree’s arm.

Bree shook her off and hissed in her face. “You going to make me stay? Try it.”

Cheeks reddening, Dani jutted out her chin. “You will stay because, as your primary, I’m ordering you to stay. You’ll show me the respect I’m due.”

“And what have you ever done to earn it?” Before the other omega could in any way respond, Bree stalked out of the room. Whatever the daycare workers saw on her face made them part like the red sea as she marched out of the center.

Outside, she sucked in a calming breath, knowing better than to let Dani’s antics get to her. But it was hard to cool down when she was also dealing with Drina’s antics.

Leaning against a lamppost waiting for her, Alex frowned. “What’s wrong?” He crossed straight to her, every muscle tense. “Bree?”

She took another long breath. “It’s just Dani being Dani. I’ll tell you about it when we get back to the store.” Not right there, where any pride mates passing could overhear.

Minutes later, they were back at Pot of Gold. Alex shepherded her into his office and folded his arms. “Tell me.”

So Bree did.

Alex growled. “That fucking bitch.”

“She just keeps pushing and pushing. It’s almost like she wants me to challenge her. Which would be dumb of her, since I could kick her ass on my worst day.”

A muscle in his jaw flexed. “I need to have a little chat with—”

“No. This is for me to deal with, Alex. I know you want to help, but all you’d do by meddling is make me look weak.”

“You expect me to stand back and do nothing?”

“Yes, just as you and Vinnie expect me to stand back while you all go check out any tips he’s been given.”

Alex’s mouth snapped shut. “That’s different.”

“No, it’s not. Not even a little. Compared to everything else that’s going on right now, Dani’s no more than a minor hindrance.” Sighing, Bree rubbed at her forehead. “She never used to be this way, you know. She taught me how to shield. Helped me learn to control my abilities. She wasn’t mean to me, didn’t put me down. Well, not until I was around twelve.”

“Because at that point, you were growing in power at a fast rate. Everyone talked about how possible it was that you’d be stronger than her. Dani would just smile and say it wasn’t likely, but then you developed those abilities that the other omegas don’t have. It was obvious she wasn’t happy about it, so she put a negative spin on it.

“She’s spent years trying to convince you that you’re bad at what you do. You’re not, Bree. You just work differently than she does. It’s not wrong that you went your own way. And it’s good for the pride that they all have someone they’d feel comfortable going to. You appeal more to some while Dani appeals more to others. As primary, she should recognize how that benefits the pride; she should want what’s best for us all. But she’s too damn scared of losing her position.”

So scared of it, in fact, that she was prepared to stoop so low as to build a “Bree is gonna crack under the pressure if we don’t strip her of her duties” case. Skank.

Knuckles rapped on the office door.

“Come in,” Alex called out, his tone clipped.

Vinnie, Tate, and Luke prowled into the office, closing the door behind them.

“I hope you’re here to tell us that you had a long talk with Drina,” said Alex. “Bree just had a meeting with Dani. Apparently, in addition to all the other shit she did last night, Drina also made a complaint about Bree to her damn primary. Seriously, Vin, tell me you got through to her.”

The Alpha exhaled heavily. “Drina’s gone.”

Bree blinked. “Gone?”

“I went to her apartment to speak to her, but there was no answer when I knocked on the door,” said Vinnie. “I thought she was ignoring me, hoping to evade punishment. I let myself into the apartment with the master key. There are signs of a struggle. Even some blood stains on the carpet.”

Bree’s stomach knotted. “Blood?”

Vinnie nodded. “There are also a few bloody handprints here and there. Looks like someone took her. Her passport, purse, and clothes are still there. So is her phone, but it’s in pieces. From what we can tell, Drina went straight from your house last night to Dani’s apartment, Bree. After that, she headed to The Tavern, got a little drunk, and blabbed to people how she was going to ‘end’ you one day soon. She apparently planned to either shoot you or hand you over to the hyenas, if she could find a way to contact them.”

“And you think I might have killed her to protect and avenge Bree?” Alex asked him.

Vinnie frowned. “What? No. And I haven’t heard anyone else throw your name around either. The only name being mentioned is Paxton. The people who believe Calvin’s story are theorizing that Paxton must have heard about Drina’s behavior at The Tavern and decided to … eliminate her.”

Bree shook her head. “That’s a dumb theory. I mean, it would be the biggest overreaction ever. She was plastered, Vinnie. People say shit they don’t mean when they’re in that state. She probably loathes me, but I doubt she truly wants me dead.”

“Maybe, maybe not. But Paxton might not find that an excuse.”

“You think he took her, don’t you?” Alex asked Vinnie.

The Alpha twisted his mouth. “She certainly had reason to flee—she had to know I’d punish her. But she could have just packed some of her things and left. There was no need to make it look like she’d been taken. And Paxton, well, he might not have felt the need to get rid of her. But I do think he wouldn’t require justification to hurt someone—he’d do it just because it pleases him; any excuse would suffice.”

Bree looked around the room, studying each face. And she saw that, like Vinnie, they were leaning toward the explanation that Drina was snatched from her home.

Snatched by Paxton.

Shit.

“He will not get near you, Bree,” said Alex. “Look at me. Breathe.”

It wasn’t until that moment that she realized her breaths were coming sharp and fast. She took a deep, shaky breath, searching for calm. Her pacing cat was just as anxious. “You really think he’s back, don’t you?”

Alex rested his hands on her shoulders. “I told you about the brutal state I found Marino and his receptionist in. They were shot and then mauled. I’ve been thinking … What if the person who shot them and the person who savaged them wasn’t the same person? What if the client—who could only have been Dale Bray—went there, shot them, and then wiped away all evidence of his involvement from the agency? What if someone else later went there intending to get that information, realized they were too late, and got so pissed that they shredded the corpses in a rage?”

She stiffened. “By the second someone, you mean Paxton?”

Alex gave a slow nod. “If he’s close, he’ll have known about the attack; he may even have witnessed Vinnie interrogating the fox. As a lone shifter himself, Paxton would have the kind of contacts that would lead him to a lone shifter’s agency far faster than us. Maybe he went there to find out who tried to have you kidnapped—or, more to the point, he wanted verification that the hyenas were responsible.”

“But Paxton said he’d be better off killing me. If he’d gladly see me dead, why would he care what happens to me?”

“He talked of killing you when you were a kid, yes, but that’s the thing—he only talked of it. Paxton has no conscience—killing an eleven-year-old child would have been nothing to him, but he didn’t do it. He took himself away from you, probably thinking that distance would dull whatever hold he felt you had over him.”

Vinnie’s gaze sharpened. “I can see him doing that. It wouldn’t have worked for him, though. Once you’ve met your mate, they’ll always call to you on some metaphysical level unless you imprint on someone else.”

“Exactly,” said Alex. He looked back at her. “I don’t think he’s here to hurt you, Bree. If he was, he wouldn’t have snuck into your house to leave you jewelry. He’d have snuck in it to kill you. He didn’t. He didn’t try to harm you in any way. You’re probably the person who’s safest from him.”

“I agree,” said Luke. “It’s others who need to worry.” He shot a meaningful look at Alex, who only shrugged.

Vinnie took a step toward Bree. “I will still have my enforcers log and follow every move Calvin makes. After all, there is a chance heleft the necklaces at your house, just as there’s a chance that Drina simply left the pride. We won’t take any chances here.”

“But you’ll also be on the lookout for Paxton because, like Alex, you think he’s back,” Bree said quietly, her gut all tied up in knots.

The Alpha sighed. “Yeah, shit as it is, I do.”

Fuck.