Page 102 of Pack Me Up

I decide he needs to know. “She’s our mate.”

He nods, not even angry. “Just tell her, before it’s too late.”

I step back, arms shaking. The adrenaline is crashing, leaving me hollow.

Fox moves next to Robert, voice soft. “What do you want from her?”

He wipes his mouth. “Nothing. Just to deliver the news in person.”

Hunter leans down, hands on his knees. “You’re not getting near her tonight. We’ll decide what comes next.”

Robert nods, resigned.

I look at Fox, who nods, once. Hunter gets his contact information, then guides him back down the tunnel.

We walk out together, the three of us surrounding him.

The night outside is quiet, wet with fresh rain. The air smells like ozone and regret.

Fox looks at me, his eyes raw. “What do we tell her?”

I don’t have an answer. Not yet.

Nobody says a word for three full breaths while I decide.

Then I snap, “We’re not telling her.”

Fox’s head whips around, eyes sharp. “You have to be kidding.”

I don’t look at him. I squeeze my hands into fists. “It’ll destroy her. She doesn’t need this, not tonight. Not ever.”

Hunter glares at me. “Saint, she deserves the truth.”

“She’s just starting to believe she’s safe,” I argue. “If we drop this on her now, she’ll shut down.”

Fox’s voice is a scalpel, soft, precise, and cutting. “She already knows something’s wrong. You think she didn’t feel this through the bond?”

“We could make something up,” I say, but it feels wrong coming out of my mouth.

Hunter punches my arm. “So we let her think she’s losing her mind, instead of telling her the truth? Great plan.”

I can feel the two of them closing in, tag-teaming me with logic and guilt. I hate them for it, almost as much as I hate myself.

“I’m not going to let her get hurt,” I say, but my voice sounds thin, even to me.

“Then trust her to handle it,” Fox says.

Hunter adds, “Or at least trust us to help her.”

For a second, I want to fight, scream, threaten, or break something, but the strength goes out of me, all at once.

“We’ll tell her,” I say, finally.

Fox lets out a breath. “She’ll want to see him.”

“Not alone,” I say.

Hunter’s phone pings, and it’s loud in the hush. “Colton wants to know when we are coming back.”