Page 102 of Ensnared by the Pack: The Complete Series (Destined Realms #3)
AUDREY
Nova finished removing the stitches from my body then waited in the living room for me to get dressed so we could go to the kitchen together and have lunch. She said it was after the usual lunchtime, but too far away from dinner to just have a snack, and given how my stomach had grumbled when she’d mentioned food, I had to agree with her.
Except now I stared at the clothes in the wardrobe, determined to ignore my reflection in the two-person, full-body mirror sitting beside it.
I had more scars and they were ragged and thick, ugly pink patches marring the flesh above my heart, my right thigh, and my left forearm. I also had new scars at the base of my neck and a few more along my ribs.
Thankfully, those ones were thin and would be less noticeable once they faded. But the other scars were always going to be obvious, just like the thick claw marks across my chest and the puncture wounds in my back and chest from the monster’s claws when it had grabbed me.
Even if I could have hidden my lack of shifter power, the scars would always mark me as an anomaly. Shifters didn’t scar. They healed too quickly.
Only mating bites scarred, and those were rare in my realm, and from what Bishop had told me, they were pretty rare in this realm as well.
Which meant, as much as my essence said I was a shifter to those who could sense essences, I shouldn’t call myself one. I was, for all intents and purposes, a human.
Maybe if I thought of myself like that, I’d find peace. I hadn’t met a lot of humans before I’d walked into Kelna, but I hadn’t seemed weaker than them. In fact, if I just gained a little self-confidence, I’d probably make a decent human.
Of course, that didn’t address the fact that I was still surrounded by shifters. I could be the strongest human in the realm and I’d still be weak and pathetic compared to them.
But the point was not to compare myself to them. I’d never get close and I needed to leave all the ugly things Merrick had beaten into me behind. I had a mate and another man interested in me, and I had a fresh start. People in this pack would talk and look down on me and probably hurt me just like my other pack, but I wasn’t alone anymore.
I just needed to find my own path and keep out of everyone else’s way.
Which was easier said than done, but true, nonetheless.
I pulled on a loose cotton shirt and pants similar to what I’d worn traveling. From what I’d seen, the outfit wasn’t as common as the long, backless dresses most women wore, but I didn’t want to show off more scars than necessary and I wanted to feel comfortable.
Besides, I wasn’t competing with any of the women in the pack. Even if Bishop changed his mind about me — which would hurt, but wasn’t something I’d fight — I still had Knox. Our relationship was still rocky, but it was permanent. The warmth radiating around my heart and the strong, sure emotions seeping through our bond reassured me.
In time, everything between us would work out. We just needed to be patient with each other.
Holding on to those feelings to keep my tentative new confidence strong, I left the bedroom.
Nova sat at the dining room table, writing in a black leather-bound notebook, but she quickly put the book and her pen into her bag and didn’t keep me waiting. Beside her, the French doors were open, letting in a soft warm breeze scented with the flowers in the planter boxes and a hint of something sweet mixed with wood smoke… Knox’s scent. The mattress with its rumpled blanket still sat in the middle of the small patio, and heat warmed my cheeks with the memory of what Knox and I had done last night.
“So,” she said, flashing me a mischievous smile that made me smile in return despite my embarrassment. “You and Knox really are trying to make your mating work.”
“We don’t really have a choice,” I mumbled, the heat in my face burning into my scalp and down my throat.
With her heightened senses, she could probably smell our lovemaking. There was no hiding anything from shifters.
“You don’t have to have sex if you aren’t sexually interested in each other… but he is handsome.” She waggled her eyebrows at me, the action surprising me and making me giggle.
“He is,” I replied with a sigh. “I also think once he lets his gruff standoffishness go, he’ll be really sweet. I’ve already seen glimpses of it.”
“He’s just trying to protect himself,” she said, leading me out of my suite and down the hall. “Also, he probably doesn’t know what to do with you.”
Socially, maybe. But he’d known exactly what I’d needed last night and hadn’t asked for anything in return.
“He told me he’s never had a relationship before.”
“And very few friendships outside of his brothers. But that doesn’t mean he’s a bad person,” Nova replied, a hint of sisterly affection seeping into her tone, reminding me that even though she wasn’t technically his sister, they had grown up together and were close.
“I know. He’s just shy. I can feel it.” I pressed my hand over my heart. “Our bond is stronger than I expected. I can feel his emotions and he can feel mine.”
“Really?” Nova’s eyes widened in surprise.
A sudden flash of panic raced through me and I fought to school my expression. Had I said too much? If I’d said that to Merrick, he would have found a way to use that information against me. I didn’t know how, but he would, and if Nova wasn’t as trustworthy as I hoped, she could, too.
“If I hadn’t thought I needed to monitor you before,” she said, “I know now. Mate bonds aren’t supposed to be that strong. Are they that strong in your realm?”
“No. But—” Shit. I had to tell her something. “It could be the unusual way our bond formed. And I didn’t notice his emotions until we returned to Stonehaven and then on that first night Knox…” I trailed off, not sure how much more I should share. Almost going feral seemed like a really personal thing and Knox was a very private man.
“And Knox almost went feral,” Nova finished for me. “A high stress situation can strengthen a bond. It’s why Bishop and Knox are so deeply connected.”
I waited for her to say more, but she didn’t. Guess whatever happened to the twins to deepen their connection wasn’t Nova’s story to tell and one of them would either tell me himself or not at all. I wasn’t going to push the matter. It sounded like it was serious and life-altering and I didn’t want them to relive their trauma.
Sometimes it was better to just leave the past in the past.
Nova led me out of the maze of halls through the Residence’s grand foyer with its sweeping staircase and massive crystal chandelier and to the kitchen. She’d mentioned that it was past lunch so it didn’t surprise me that there wasn’t anyone preparing food like there’d been yesterday morning.
What did surprise me were Bishop and Velora sitting at the kitchen table with open file folders, leather-bound books, and an explosion of loose papers covering the surface.
“Audrey!” Bishop exclaimed the second I stepped inside. “How are you feeling?”
He rushed around the table to reach me and cupped my cheeks with his large palms. His warm brown gaze locked with mine as if he were seeing into my soul and learning whatever was wrong with me without me telling him. Warmth and joy rushed through me — and not just because of our shifter connection.
He was genuinely pleased to see me and concerned about my well-being.
Of course, he’d always been pleased and concerned when it came to me. I didn’t know how I’d doubted his intentions.
Except I did know.
I was afraid I was unlovable.
My life so far had proven I was unlovable, and to have someone like Bishop, someone beautiful and powerful, to express interest in me went beyond my wildest dreams.
I might not be able to trust anyone else in the pack, especially not his oldest brother, but I could trust Bishop.
“I’m okay.” I leaned into his touch and let my eyes drift shut. Our shifter connection blended with the heat from my mating bond, swelled around my heart, and flooded my chest.
“She’s healed, but she’s still recovering,” Nova said, her tone stern. “That means no tromping around town and wearing her out. She’s to say on the Residence’s grounds for four days.”
“I can carry her,” Bishop shot back. “She won’t have to walk anywhere.”
“It’s only four days and there’s plenty to do around the Residence that doesn’t risk exhausting her.” A hint of Nova’s power leaked from her control, not-so-subtly telling Bishop how serious she was about me resting. “She can look at the gardens or meditate in the sacred grove. Whil would probably appreciate a little company from someone who isn’t asking for something and there are all the public rooms in the Residence that she can explore. The library, the music room as well as the sauna and pool on the lower level.”
“We also have a gym,” Bishop added.
“Which you won’t use until your four days of rest are over,” Nova told me.
“I’m sure I’ll need more than four days to see everything,” I assured her. That and I needed to do some serious thinking about my future. I needed to figure out how I could be useful and be worthy of being mated to one — maybe two — of the pack’s alphas… I just wasn’t sure how to do that because it needed to be really good to make me stand out.
“But first,” Nova added. “Lunch.”
She turned toward the fridge and cupboards, but Bishop cleared his throat and stopped her.
“I’ve already got lunch covered. I was just waiting for you to wake up,” he said as he dipped close and brushed his lips across my forehead.
Nova crossed her arms and glared at him. “It better not involve taking her into town.”
“It doesn’t,” Bishop replied, beaming at her, clearly pleased with his lunch plans. “Grab the picnic basket from the fridge, will you?”
“Bishop,” Velora said, tapping her pen on the papers in front of her and shooting me an angry glare. “We need to get this done. The summer festival is only six days away.”
“It’s waited most of a month,” he replied as Nova got a wide wooden basket with a short handle out of the fridge and he grabbed a blanket from a cupboard in the corner. “It can wait a few more hours. Deal with what we’ve already finished or take a break.”
“The sooner we get it done, the sooner we can slow down,” she replied.
“We appreciate how hard you work for us, Velora,” he said, slinging the blanket over his shoulder and taking the basket. Then he wrapped his free arm around my back to my hip and tugged me to his side. “But don’t forget you have a life, too.”
“Of course.” She dropped her glare to her work as he turned to face her.
“Come on, Audrey. I want to show you something. Oh, and speaking of life…” He led me out of the kitchen’s back door into the herb garden and the bright, hot summer sunshine. “I want to take you to the summer festival. You’ll love it, there’ll be food and games and dancing.”
As we turned to head deeper into the garden, I couldn’t help but glance back into the kitchen. Nova flashed me a warm smile then turned her attention to inside the fridge, while Velora raised her gaze and returned to glaring at me.
The look sent a shiver of fear sliding down my spine. Shae, Sterling’s girlfriend had worn a similar look when she thought that me moving in with Sterling and Merrick meant I was going to steal him from her.
Velora also hadn’t been overly kind to me the night I’d arrived in Stonehaven and had dinner with Bishop, Cyrus, and their betas. I’d thought her dislike was because I was a weak shifter who was clearly keeping secrets along with me not being able to control my desire for Bishop and filling the room with the scent of my arousal.
Now I wasn’t so sure.
Now it felt like she was angry Bishop was spending time with me and not on a professional, they needed to get work done, level.
I could guess with the way Bishop unconsciously flirted and the looks other women gave him that he had a trail of broken hearts in his wake. What I didn’t know was if Velora was one of them or was still hoping to catch his eye.
And really, who wouldn’t want Bishop’s attention? He was kind and funny and gorgeous. He was also a powerful catch. Anyone who mated with Bishop got as close to being a pack alpha as they could get. A woman could only get closer if she mated Cyrus, the primary alpha. But with his hurtful gruffness, he wasn’t as desirable a catch as Bishop, no matter how bad-boy beautiful Cyrus was.
Velora probably wanted a rise in position in the pack along with the most eligible bachelor between the three brothers. But as far as I could see, Bishop hadn’t shown any interest in her. Not at the dinner and not from the glimpse I’d just seen of them working together before he’d known I was in the kitchen.
And now I’d made an enemy of Velora.
She wasn’t going to be able to obviously hurt or shame me like Shae and Sterling had done unless she got Cyrus’s support which I doubted Knox or Bishop would allow. But that didn’t mean she wouldn’t try more subtle attacks.
I was going to have to be careful, especially when I was alone.
I’d already known I needed to watch myself and stay in my place until I’d quietly proven my usefulness, but this was more than that. Velora wouldn’t be waiting for me to screw up, she’d attack regardless and when I least expected it.