Betrayed Forced Mate (Rosecreek Special Ops Wolves #4)

“Hey,” I say back, playfully hitting her on the shoulder. Rosa knows me better than anyone in the world, which means I’m sure she was watching me just now, watching Byron, and knew what I was thinking. What I was feeling.

Are you okay? She sends it privately so nobody else in the room can hear it.

Sure, I say, but I think that cider is really getting to me.

You need to drink more water.

Right.

And, also, you need to talk to him.

“No,” I whisper, shaking my head. I tried talking to him. Byron doesn’t want to talk. Doesn’t want anything to do with me. That is, unless he’s creeping on me through surveillance.

Are you ready to go?

I nod against her shoulder. Watching Byron from across the room is a specific kind of torture, like pressing on a loose tooth, the pain exquisite, waiting for the moment it finally pops free.

Except, in my situation, that moment never comes. It’s just pain, and pain, and pain.

Rosa gathers up Kaila, who has just finished Veronica’s nails, and rouses Bigby, who bravely tries to act like he never fell asleep in the first place.

“Right,” Percy says, “Bits was scared of the snoring. She thought it was a bear.”

At the mention of Bits, we all look at Byron, asleep on the rug, his feet propped up on a chair, Bits curled contentedly on his chest.

I love him so much.

“Let’s go,” Rosa says, gesturing for Bigby and Kaila to get a move on. “We can come back tomorrow for leftovers.”

“You have to,” Linnea laughs. “We can’t have all this food going to waste.”

I climb into Bigby’s Jeep, trying to keep my mind blank, but it’s pointless. All I can see is the number of happy couples around me, pairing off and having their kids, celebrating their mates, and building their futures together.

And here I am, nearly thirty, with nothing. Sitting in the back of Bigby’s car with Kaila, like we’re both kids.

For eight years, I molded my life around Rosa’s—it’s what we had to do, to survive. Living with them, hiding out, it may not have been fun, but it was best.

But now? I don’t want to keep sitting in the backseat of her life. It’s not her fault, but I’ve spent so long prioritizing other people that it’s like I’ve forgotten that I’m the main character of my own life.

When we pull up outside Bigby’s house, I take a deep breath, deciding I’m done moping over Byron. The thought occurs to me that, if there’s a way to erase your scent, like Linnea was going to do, there must be a way for me to be free of the blood bond with Byron.

My body rebels at the thought of it, but I don’t care. Getting rid of these confusing feelings, and my body’s innate reaction to him, would change my life. I make a note to approach Triste about it as carefully as I can tomorrow. I don’t want her to go telling Linnea or Aris about it, thinking I want to leave the pack.

But would I? If it was necessary?

I glance at Rosa as she comes around the side of the car, helping Kaila out. The only reason I’m in Rosecreek at all is because of her—I realize, with a start, that I haven’t had a say in my own life for the past decade. I even stayed in Rosecreek because my best friend was here. Because Byron was here.

Maybe it’s time to find a way to move on.

“Wait,” Bigby says, just as Kaila is about to jump out of the car. He lifts his head, tilts it slightly, then runs inside the house.

Rosa looks at me, then grabs Kaila and gets back in the car.

“Olivia!” she says, gesturing for me to get in with her. I ignore her, turning on my heel and running after Bigby, who’s left the front door to the house wide open.

I stop just inside the threshold, my mouth hanging open.

The house is destroyed.