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“I have no idea, but I’ll figure it out when we get there,” I promise.

The road here has been littered with lies. Ellis is alie.There are things that he tells her that are real, in fact, I’m sure that most are within a certain context. Who he is is the biggest lie he’s told her, but there’s no other way to do this.

It’s all such a delicate balance, like a house of cards. One shift of the wind can fuck it all up.

Ethan

“Don’t let go,” Nina says, eyes wide as she wobbles on her ice skates.

“Straighten your back and fix your feet,” I say calmly, moving behind her while continuing to hold her hand.

We are out skating with Pack Mayor, which is Silas’ pack. He’s very serious and intense, and I’m surprised this is what he decided to do with her. He just said she needed to have some fun because he could tell she seemed tense on the phone.

Vivian is unhappy with Nina apparently because none of the packs have asked for a formal commitment. It’s been about a month of courting, so I’m unsure why she’s so frustrated. However, she’s decided that Nina needs to speak to the alpha who runs each pack more.

Therefore, she’s scheduled to take a call every night with a different alpha. Everyone has been telling me that she tries to keep the calls light, but that the stress bleeds out into her voice.

I can tell why Silas suggested they take Nina skating, because they’re all ex-hockey players. He sidles up to us, a small smile on his lips.

“Alright, Nina. Let’s take this slower,” he suggests. “I teach kids to skate now, I can teach you.”

“Just let me know when to let her go,” I say, smirking when she squeezes my hand.

Nina’s still not sure what to think about me, or why I’m being invited to things, or how I just happened to be here today. I told her I felt like ice skating because I missed my workout today. That’s not necessarily a lie, I really did.

“Nina, you’re going to be a big girl and stand on your own two feet,” Silas says gruffly, making me stifle my laugh against my shoulder.

“Really, Silas?” she asks, making him smirk.

“Yes, really. Ellis, go away so you stop distracting her,” he says.

At this point, I can stop the fight and let her go so I can skate away as I laugh. He may be a hard ass, but he also won’t let her hurt herself.

Lyle skates up to me, and we’re silent for a bit as we skate next to each other.

“So how long are we going to keep this going?” he asks finally.

“She doesn’t remember me,” I remind him. “She has to fall in love with me all over again. Otherwise, it won’t work.”

Lyle growls under his breath, making me shrug. None of us are particularly happy to keep up the charade, but it’s the way things are.

“I give it another month, and then I’m going to have to insist on pivoting,” he says.

“Ominous,” I say, brow raised.

“College boy, just because I now work in a courtroom and not on the ice, doesn’t mean I don’t know how to pivot,” he says. “I can be just as devious as a lawyer. Just watch.”

“I think that’s what’s so scary. You watch, plan, and execute when the timing is perfect,” I say. “You’re right, though. Her mom isn’t going to let things slide for long.”

“No,” Lyle grunts. “None of us are willing to put forth a fake commitment unless it’s absolutely necessary. She would need to know it’s fake if we did. We don’t want to hurt her.”

“No we don’t,” I agree.

His other pack member joins us as we continue to skate, and I have a feeling some serious war planning is about to happen. Over the last month, I’ve gotten to know the different personalities in this pack, and right now, Silas is a distraction for more reasons than I originally thought.

“Ellis,” Easton says, amused. “Is Lyle talking your ear off about pivoting?”

“He is,” I admit. “We appear to be in a holding pattern with a very impatient omega’s mother.”