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“I doubt the alpha cares that I need a phone.”
The doorbell rings, and Nathan nearly drops into a defensive stance. I place my hand on his arm to settle him. As I walk closer, I can see the faint feathering of long hair cascading over a woman’s shoulders. The door blocks her from full view, but at least it isn’t more security personnel. I pull the door open, and my jaw drops. “Holy shit.”
Kinsey laughs. Her big mate, Jonah, stands behind her like he’s her own personal bodyguard. “Well, that’s quite a welcome.”
I throw my arms around her, sticking my face in her auburn hair. She squeezes me in return. I haven’t seen her since she left, and it’s been too long.
“I texted you this morning, but you didn’t write me back,” she playfully scolds as she steps backward.
I rake my gaze over her bright expression. Being free suits her. “I lost my phone.”
She drops her head. “Seriously?”
“Seriously,” I grumble. If she only knew how I did it…. Her open face makes me want to spill everything. From the very first moment she got to Greystone, I knew we were going to be great friends, and I also know she had her own issues with the mate laws.
As I mull that over, she says, “Jonah had to come here on business because of the Winter Solstice coming up, and then we heard about the wolf who tried to escape, which clued me in to the fact that you were here. You should’ve told me you were coming.”
Duh. Of course Jonah would be traveling to Daybreak. As part of his alpha’s security, it would only make sense that he would join them.
Kinsey glances past me and waves at Nathan. “Hey,” she greets brightly.
“Hey,” he states, and I can tell he’s trying to put effort into welcoming her, but there’s just so much shit going on.
“Sorry, a lot is happening,” I tell her.
Kinsey glances between the two of us. “I figured. That’s why I made Jonah take a break so we could visit you guys. You must be devastated.”
I peer at Jonah. I’ve only met him a couple of times, and the last time I saw him, he nearly took Nathan’s head off because he happened to be sitting on Kinsey’s bed. Obviously, the possessive mate thing was in full swing, so it was no one’s fault, but I also don’t know if I can trust him enough to mention something against mate law.
Kinsey recognizes my hesitation. “Let’s go for a walk. I hear you’re on house arrest.”
“Unless my mate gets me or a chaperone.”
“Well, call me a chaperone, then.”
“Kinsey,” Jonah warns.
“We’ll just walk around the house. No big deal,” she explains, tapping her huge shifter’s chest.
He bends to her will, and I totally love it. He’s so big and burly, but anyone can see what a soft spot he has for her.
Kinsey hooks her arm with mine, and we turn toward the door when she says, “You too, Nathan. Don’t you want to catch up with an old friend?”
What Nathan needs is a padded room that he can go crazy in. Tear shit up. Hit stuff. Yell into a void. We don’t have any of that here.
My stomach tightens in knots as we start a slow walk, skirting the forest. Jonah gives the three of us privacy, but he doesn’t actually leave us alone. After a while, Kinsey says, “Listen, I only had Jonah stay back since it looked like you guys were wary of him. He’s on Team Rejected Mate. Trust me. He gets it.”
I make Kinsey stop. I’m so full of pent-up bullshit that I have to get it out. I was there for Kinsey when she talked about Jonah, and I’ve missed that connection between the two of us.
“Alright, spill,” she demands when she sees my face.
“Everything’s so fucked,” I tell her.
“Mia,” Nathan warns, nearly echoing Jonah’s earlier caution.
“She can trust me,” Kinsey retorts, glaring at him. “And you can, too. You know it.” She lowers her voice. “I heard they’re going to punish Robbie. It’s bullshit.”
I wish that was the only thing I had to worry about. I run my hands through my hair. Jonah is respectfully keeping his distance, but I’m pretty sure if he wanted to overhear us, he could. “It’s so much more than that, Kinsey. Lydia Greystone decided to put a time limit on how much longer I’ll be welcome at Greystone. I have eight days to get my mate back or I’m going Feral.”