Page 7

As bizarre as the last two days had been, somehow Jackson pulling the car to a stop in front of a sprawling three-story house seemed the most outlandish thing by far.

“This is yours?” I asked, unable to help myself.

He nodded, cutting the engine. “One of the benefits of being spec ops is the hazard pay. Come on, I’ll show you around.”

Claire and I clambered out of the car. I craned my neck up to look at the home. It was Tudor-style, the kind of house I had always dreamed of. Tucked away in the woods the way it was, it looked like something out of a fairy tale.

I hated how much I loved it at first sight. I didn’t want any of this—not this way, at least. But the house was undeniably gorgeous, and the garden enclosed by the woods was just as stunning. Everything about it looked straight out of a storybook.

I shoved those thoughts from my head as I walked around to the back of the car and opened the hatch to pull out our suitcases.

“I’ve got it,” Jackson said, standing beside me.

“It’s fine,” I muttered, not looking at him. Being this close to him still felt so strange. It was hard not to believe this was all an elaborate dream.

“I insist.” His hand brushed against mine as he pulled the case out of my grasp. I retracted my arm, trying to ignore the jolt of electricity radiating through my body just by touching him.

He guided us into the house. To my annoyance, it was as perfect as the exterior. It opened to a spacious foyer with a long hall that led to a two-story living room with towering ceilings, complete with a cozy fireplace on one wall and large windows that looked out on the forest.

“Wow,” Claire said, her eyes widening as she took in the massive living room. “This place is huge.”

“I hope you like it,” Jackson said. He nodded toward a door that opened onto a set of stairs leading downward. “There’s a whole basement area that I don’t know what to do with. Maybe we can set it up as your playroom or something. I’m not sure what kind of games or things you like to do, but maybe at some point you can help me figure out what to do with all that space that you can enjoy.”

Claire hesitated, looking first at me, then at Jackson, then at the door to the basement. She bit the inside of her cheek, a thing she always did when she was thinking hard about something and feeling conflicted about it. I could guess what was going through her head. She still didn’t know what to make of the situation. She didn’t know Jackson, she’d just been dragged into an unfamiliar town, and she missed her friends. But part of her was excited at the same time. Her bedroom at home—our old home—had been barely big enough to fit a bed and a dresser, and she’d certainly never had a playroom or anything like that. She could see the possibilities in this new pack, but she still wasn’t convinced or entirely thrilled about the situation. I didn’t blame her.

“There are three bedrooms upstairs that you can pick from,” Jackson added. “Whichever one you want.”

“Thanks,” Claire muttered. She gave him a suspicious look as she grabbed her suitcase and walked up the steps.

Jackson watched her go. When her footsteps had faded, he turned to me. “Is she always this shy? Or does she just not like me very much?”

“She doesn’t know what to make of any of this yet,” I said.

“And I’m guessing you don’t, either,” Jackson commented.

I shot him an uneasy look, then looked away. “It’s been a long time since we knew one another.”

His hand went to my shoulder. The small, intimate touch sent shivers radiating through my body in a way I hadn’t felt since… well, since the last time he had touched me. The conflicted desire of wanting to be close to him and still hating him drove me insane. I wanted to step away from his touch, but something kept me rooted to the spot. Despite myself, despite all my hurt and rage, part of me wanted to be close to him. My wolf wanted to nuzzle against him like she had that night all those years ago. To my chagrin, part of my human side wanted to as well.

“Hopefully, we can get to know each other again,” he said.

The words brought me crashing back down to reality. I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t let myself get close to him, not after everything he had put me through, all the hurt. I was stuck here. I knew that much. But that didn’t mean I had to grow close to him. I still hated him for what he had done, for what his actions had put me through, even if he didn’t understand the full scale of it. The worst part was, I couldn’t even tell him everything he had done to me, not without him learning about Claire. And I refused to let him discover the truth about her.

I bent down, pretending to adjust my dress as an excuse to move from his touch. The space where he’d touched my shoulder felt cold and empty, as if it was missing something.

“My bedroom is over there,” he said, nodding down a hallway. “But if you want your own bedroom, especially while we’re getting used to each other, then I would understand.”

I opened my mouth, then hesitated. Part of me, my wolf in particular, wanted desperately to curl up next to Jackson every night. Despite my own feelings, she had missed him. She wanted to spend as much time as possible with him, to be by him always.

But the other, more rational side of me hated the idea of being anywhere near the man who broke my heart. I didn’t hate him. I didn’t have the anger to hate him, not the way I used to. But I didn’t trust him, and I couldn’t sleep next to a man I didn’t trust.

“I think separate bedrooms would be a good idea,” I said.

He nodded. I could see disappointment in his eyes but also acceptance. “In that case, you might want one of the rooms upstairs.”

“I’ll wait for Claire to pick first.”

Giving a short chortle, he inquired, “Is she the type of person who will take the biggest room?”

I shrugged. “Maybe.”

She’d never had the chance to make that decision before, so even if she did take the biggest room, I wasn’t going to stop her. She deserved to have some perks after getting dragged away from the life she knew.

“So, you have a daughter,” he said after a long pause.

I closed my eyes, doing my best not to wince. I’d been anticipating and dreading this conversation since this whole mess had started. Of course he was going to ask about Claire. I just hadn’t entirely decided how I was going to handle the unpleasant inquiry.

I had flip-flopped back and forth about whether to tell Jackson the truth about Claire back when I had first found out we were going with him. After all, there were enough physical similarities between them that if he noticed, he would figure it out on his own. In the end, though, I decided to keep it to myself. All I could think about was how much he had hurt me when he rejected me. What would happen if he learned about Claire and did the same thing to her? I didn’t think I could bear it.

Claire didn’t know who her father was, either. I had told her only the bare essentials whenever she asked about him. I had decided I would tell her the whole story when she turned eighteen. Though, now I wasn’t sure I would be able to do that. But that was still years away, and based on how Jackson had used me and dumped me, I doubted he would stay interested in us for that long.

“Yeah,” I finally said.

“She seems sweet.”

“Yeah,” I repeated.

“I know she’s probably shaken up about moving here, but she’s taking it in stride,” he said.

“She’s good at adapting,” I said.

“I’m sure her father isn’t too happy about her leaving town, though,” Jackson said.

I finally turned to look at him and was surprised at the intensity in his gaze. “You’re fishing,” I accused.

His lips quirked upward in that absurdly attractive way that had always made my stomach lurch, ever since we were kids. “And you’re as perceptive and blunt as always,” he shot back.

If it had been anyone else, anyone but him, the flirting would have been cute. But I kept my guard up. I wasn’t going to fall for him. Not again. I’d made that mistake once before.

“If you want information, you should just ask,” I said.

“All right.” He moved to stand in front of me, making it impossible for me to avoid looking at him. “Do I need to worry about her father showing up?” he asked.

“Don’t you think you should have asked about that before forcing me to marry you?” I asked dryly.

“To be honest, I was so surprised at seeing you again that when you brought up the whole daughter thing, the idea of who her father might be didn’t cross my mind.” He tilted his head, folding his arms. “And considering you didn’t mention you were mated when this whole thing started makes me pretty confident you two aren’t together anymore.”

He was perceptive. He always had been.

I let out an exhausted sigh. “To answer your question, no. You don’t need to worry about him. Her father isn’t in the picture.” On the contrary, he was staring right at me. Part of me wanted to tell him, if only so I didn’t have to keep up the charade any longer. But the more rational part of me held off.

He nodded, something like relief flickering through his eyes. “Why don’t you find your room and get settled?” he suggested. “We can order pizza for dinner or something like that.”

“Sounds good.” My words sounded almost mechanical as I gave him a brief nod, grabbed my suitcase, and walked up the stairs.

In the end, I don’t think it mattered which room Claire picked. All of them were massive. I picked one with an attached bathroom and a view of the woods behind the house.

I collapsed on the bed and stared up at the ceiling, trying to parse out all my emotions now that I was here. I hated Jackson. I was still furious at him for using me, then tossing me aside the way he had. I wanted to be angry at him, to shout and scream and call him out for what he had done to me. I wanted him to understand how angry I was, how hurt I was by everything he had put me through.

Except the fight that I used to have, that will to confront him, died a long time ago. That didn’t stop the anger, though.

At the same time, part of me was relieved, bordering on ecstatic. I was out of the Blood Moon pack. I was free of Reacher and my father, something I had never, ever dreamed would be possible. If the circumstances were different, I would be singing and dancing in celebration. But part of me felt like I was still trapped, just in a different way. I hated feeling like a commodity, even if it had ultimately gotten me what I had been dreaming of for years.

On top of that, even if I didn’t live there anymore, just the thought of Reacher and my old pack sent shivers down my spine and made my throat tighten. I could still feel his tendrils, even this far away. I had no doubt that if Reacher or my father somehow found out I had told Jackson anything, or if I tried to leave him or jeopardize whatever bargain they’d made in any way, they would come after me. And they wouldn’t stop until they had me in their grasp again.

And who knew what they would do as punishment for disobeying their orders? I didn’t exactly want to find out.