Page 14

Rumor

I hadn’t expected to see Reyna again. Ever.

I preferred it that way.

But when I heard her voice, my blood ran cold. She was there at the same farmer’s market as me.

Why?

It wasn’t the type of place she tended to go. It wasn’t fancy enough; it was too dirty, too beneath her. There was absolutely no reason for her to be there. Was it to find me?

Probably not. She didn’t have a reason to hunt me down, right? She didn’t even try to talk to me. It had to be a crappy coincidence.

And really, I didn’t care what her reason for being there was. It didn’t matter. I wasn’t going back to that market. I couldn’t risk it. Not again.

I only got a glimpse of her. I don’t know why I assumed she was going to be pregnant already, but it caught me off guard to see her there, looking no different than always.

Why the fuck was I thinking about that? Or her at all. She had nothing to do with me anymore. And I couldn’t let her in my head like that. Couldn’t let her take up space, rent free.

I deserved better. I deserved my mates. My pack.

There were still times when I still felt unworthy of all this. But if the Goddess had sent them to me, didn’t that, by default, make me the only person who was worthy?

When we got home, the guys worked on the new coop for the quail chicks, and I went about the very important task of naming them all.

From a quick glance, they all looked the same—but they were each just different enough that I could pick them out.

“I think this one I should call Wilder,” I said, holding up the adorable cuteness.

He turned and looked at me like I was ridiculous.

“See, right here? There’s a speck that’s the same color as your hair.”

He came over and looked. “I approve,” and went back to work.

That was all the encouragement I needed. They each got a quail named after them because, well, it made me smile.

And after the stress of seeing Reyna…I needed a smile something fierce.

“I want to ask you guys something,” I said. The coop was almost finished, and this question had been brewing in my mind for far too long.

Instantly, they gave me their undivided attention.

This probably wasn’t the place to be talking about it… Work still needed to be done, but once the thoughts of Reyna faded, the visions of what I’d noticed wouldn’t leave me alone. Better to say something than let it simmer.

“Some of the shifters gave you guys looks,” I said. “Is that because you’re DarkShadow?”

I tried not to ever say bastard pack, even though that’s what most people called them.

“Or was it because of me?” I hated to say it, to even think it, but I couldn’t help wondering if I was the reason they were looked at with such disdain.

“Oh, honey, it wasn’t you,” Vargas said. “We’re Darkshadow. We’re the bastard pack. We’re the ones everyone’s scared of—the ruthless ones who’d tear you limb from limb if you crossed us.”

Laughter bubbled up from inside me.

“What, you think it’s funny?” he asked.

“Since I’ve been here, you’ve done nothing but be kind to me. Spoil me. Treat me like I have worth. Not once have I thought of you as ruthless. Not once have I been scared. Sometimes I’ve been embarrassed—but that’s because I’m me.”

“That’s because you’re one of us,” Penn said. “You’re our family, Rumor.”

Just then, Wilder, the quail, hopped out of his box and started running, and the conversation was over as I chased him, herding him toward their new home. Penn’s words stayed with me until I went to bed.

In the beginning, I was happy for the bedroom, the nest they made me. It was a sanctuary. It was mine.

Now, it was lonely.

And tonight, I struggled to get to sleep. But worse than that, I struggled to stay asleep.

A night terror ripped through me so horribly I wasn’t sure at first if it had been real. A wolf, teeth bared, leaping for me. It was a nightmare I’d had as a child, and for some reason, it had come back today, same wolf and everything.

I tried all the tricks I knew—putting my head on the other side of the bed, turning onto my side, my back, counting to fifty, telling myself dad jokes I’d heard, anything and everything. Nothing helped. I couldn’t settle.

So instead, I got up and tiptoed to the bedroom closest to me.

I opened the door.

Penn shot up—wide awake. “Rumor, are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I said, still standing in the doorway, but it wasn’t true. My head was spinning. I was far from okay. “Can I sleep with you? I had a bad dream.”

“Of course.” He pulled the covers back, and I padded over, shutting the door softly behind me. I climbed in close, straight into his arms, needing his warmth, needing his scent.

I was getting used to my pack’s touch—hugs, a gentle hand on the small of my back, a caress of my check. But this? This was new.

They always talked about my scent...but theirs? Such a draw. Each with a subtle difference, but all three with an undertone of amber…my favorite.

“Do you want to tell me about your nightmare?” He brushed the hair from my forehead, tucking it behind my ear.

“No. I don’t want to—” Instead of finishing the sentence, I leaned in, brushing my lips against his.

A short kiss.

Then another.

A third—this time opening my mouth just a little.

And when his tongue ran lightly along my lip, I found myself at a crossroads. Either lean into it and accept everything he was offering, or pull back and take it slow. I wasn’t sure there was a middle road. At least not if he kept making me feel this good.

But honestly, I still didn’t know how any of this would work.

He wasn’t my only mate. And I didn’t want to mess things up. So I pulled back.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

“No, don’t be sorry,” he said gently. “I like kissing you.”

“But what about the others? Will they be mad?” I refused to do anything that would upset them. They were all so special to me, each in his own way.

“No. They might be jealous, though—might wish they were the ones kissing you—but they wouldn’t be mad. We know you’re ours.” There’d been no hesitation to his answer.

“I-I’ve never done anything like this.” It was so embarrassing to talk about, even with him, but he needed to know.

“You mean sleeping in the same bed as a man?”

I shook my head. “I mean, yes, that’s new too, but I meant…”

“Having mates?”

I shook my head again.

He lifted my chin to meet his gaze. “What do you mean, Rumor? Because I don’t want to keep guessing wrong. And it feels important.”

“I’ve never been kissed before,” I admitted quietly. “Never...any of this.”

“Is this what you want? Do you want to kiss me?”

“Yeah.” More than anything. I was already longing to lean back in and taste his lips.

“Then I want you to touch me. Hold me. But that’s all I’m ready for. Is that okay?”

His smile softened. “That is a gift. You gave me your kiss. How could I ever think that was less than okay?”

I sealed my lips to his again, this time a little braver, letting his tongue explore my mouth, letting mine explore his. My hands ran along the muscles of his shoulders and down his back.

I was feeling things I’d never felt before.

Places where I’d never felt anything before were suddenly alive.

And this pulse, this ache, this wetness…this need for more.

I was so glad I’d set boundaries before we started—because now, the lines were blurring, and it would be so easy to sink into something I might regret later. Not because it was him but because I hadn’t really thought it all through yet.

And just when I thought things couldn’t get any hotter—

His hand slipped down the front of my pajamas.

And, oh my Goddess—

They got a whole lot hotter.

I’d never thought for a moment that fingers could feel this way, stroking gently but firmly, finding just the spot that sent me flying. Growing up, most shifters are aware of sexual things, are not discouraged from exploration. But not in our family. At least, not me. Even though I didn’t present as omega until eighteen, I’d never been alone with a male in any sort of intimate situation.

My sister?

Different, I’d learned when I walked in on her once with a boy—not one of her eventual pack.

But I came to these males completely innocent, and as he strummed my most private places, I learned more than in all my years so far.