Page 67 of Crossed Fates

Makayla just shook her head, but amusement shone in her expression. “I think Sapphire had something to do with it,” she admitted.

“The witch?” my dad asked.

“Yep.” Her lips popped on thep.

My dad gave my mom a brief summary of Sapphire being the witch Makayla had saved, and then added the bit about the witch’s penchant for fortune-telling.

“Hmm,” my mom hummed, doing that thing she loved to do.And passed on as a family trait.

“Don’t,” I warned her.

She merely smiled. “I did give you a week, didn’t I?” She looked at my dad. “I get to pick our next vacation spot when I win.”

“Win?” Makayla repeated.

“My parents are betting on us,” I muttered, shaking my head again. “I say we leave them now and let them go find something else to place wagers on.”

“I didn’t bet against you,” my dad was saying. “So you can’t exactly win.”

“I can,” my mother argued. “And I will.”

I bit my lip to keep from laughing, then tugged on Makayla’s hand. “We’ll let you two continue that conversation without us,” I said, already walking in the direction of my house. “See you tomorrow, Dad.”

“Five o’clock,” he called back to me.

“I know.” I’d been there when he’d made all the arrangements with the other alphas to meet tomorrow. Just as he’d been there for my conversation with the McKenzie Pack Alpha. That’d been… difficult. Yet I’d somehow found the right words to say.

Just like I had tonight with my parents.

Maybe I’ll figure this shit out, Ty,I thought with a glance upward.

I pictured my brother’s face and imagined what he would say back to me right now.Of course you will, bro, he’d say.But first, you need to go seduce that pretty wolf.

My lips twitched. It was like I could really hear him in my head. Probably because we’d spent many years glued to each other’s hips.

“What’s that look about?” Makayla asked, a smile in her voice.

“Tyler.” Which probably didn’t surprise her since we’d just spent all night talking about him. “I was thinking about what he’d say to me right now.” I looked at her, studied her gorgeous, perfect face, and grinned. “He had no filter.”

She leaned into me as we walked, her presence a balm I didn’t realize I needed. “What would he say to you right now?”

I allowed my eyes to roam over her long-sleeved black dress. My mother had brought it for her to wear, as well as a pair of black sneakers. Wolves didn’t really do heels. Not practical. And we liked to walk. A lot. But I imagined Makayla would look good in a pair of stilettos. They’d accent her calves nicely.

“You look rather famished, Alaric,” she said, a false note of concern in her voice. “Maybe you should have eaten earlier. Wouldn’t want you to pass out from starvation.”

My lips curled as a laugh taunted my chest.

This girl.

This fucking girl.

She knew exactly what to say to lighten my mood. And I sort of adored that about her. Hell, I loved a lot about her. The way she’d helped me with everything tonight. This week, even. How she’d essentially become my rock. The life-beat in my heart.

It all scared the shit out of me.

But fuck if I could be bothered to run right now.

I wanted more.