Page 122 of Puck My Life

The next few days are weird. The silence from my phone, I thought it would be easier, but as time goes on, it gets harder and harder. I didn’t realise how often we spoke until we didn’t.

“Like a damn addiction,” I whisper and keep scrubbing the oven.

It’s almost ready now. My store.

The sign is the cutest little cupcake with a pirate ship on the top and Neverland written in cursive. The artist went above and beyond.

Tomorrow, I open the store and see if I can make my dream come true.

A tiny voice in my head tells me the only reason I’m fighting so hard for this dream is so that I feel worthy of them.

Which is ridiculous because they’ve already proven to be the most unworthy of alphas.

I keep seeing Indy and Deacon kissing.

Over and over.

Even in my dreams.

Every time I start to falter and want to go back to them, I see them together.

But I miss Raynor’s hugs and Mal’s voice. I miss the way Deacon would look at me with a little smirk. I miss everything.

The rack collapses, and I hit my elbow hard. I spin around, cursing and holding my arm. Tears well in my eyes, and I do something I promised myself I wouldn’t.

I pull off my gloves, grab a biscuit and a drink, and sit down on the floor with my phone.

Then I go on the Scorpion's social media page.

Deacon went out last night with Indy. They look very happy together. Mal played one of his best games.

There’s no word of Raynor, but I didn’t think there would be. I ache to see him. In just a few movements of my thumbs, I bring up his socials.

Nothing.

“What the hell?” I search his name. His page isn’t just empty. It’s gone.

I search again and again. But nothing comes up.

I swipe a tear away and try to calm the roiling in my stomach. No, I don’t care. Do I?

What happened? Is he okay? Panic seizes my stomach before I remember it’s not my problem. I keep having to remind myself, but then I think of all the things that might have happened to him.

“I can’t turn off a lifetime of caring in a couple of days. But Raynor has them, and he doesn’t care enough to worry about me. So, let them go and clean the storage containers.”

They are a pack, and they look after each other. They have proven they can do it already.

They don’t need me. All they need is Indy.

I keep those words on repeat, but then I remember the way Raynor sounds when I take him into my mouth, and I remember the way his eyes soften when he moves inside me.

“It looked like love,” I whisper to myself.

I sit down on the floor with my phone open, staring at Raynor’s name and the lack of profiles there.

“Where are you?”

Memories twist, and I remember the last night we spent together.