I glanced down at the open-toed black heels Katy had told me to wear. They did make my legs look several inches longer, and I didn’t hate the effect, especially when she paired it with simple jet black leggings and a green lacy top with a wide scooped neckline. It left my claiming mark bare and visible for everyone to see.
Leaving his shirt unbuttoned, Remy crossed the room to me, his expression turned almost feral as he pinned me against the door. His arms came up on either side of my head, caging me in.
I inhaled his pine and fresh laundry scent until my head spun.
His head dipped and he pressed a kiss to the exposed claiming mark. He hissed out a breath when my nails scratched down the grooves of his washboard abs.
His kiss turned into a bite, the sharp flash of pain swirling with pleasure that had me pressing my thighs together to relieve the sudden ache throbbing between them.
Immediately, Remy was gone and twisting away from me.
The unexpected rush of air between us chilled my flesh.
“Come back,” I practically whined, not sure if it was me or my wolf that wanted him back. Probably both.
“No way,” he said shakily, buttoning his shirt.
I frowned, pouting. “You’re no fun.”
He unzipped his black pants to tuck his shirt inside, but it was basically a Pavlovian response for my nerves to start firing at the sound of him unzipping anything.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he growled softly, turning away to finish closing his pants before rolling up the sleeves to expose veiny forearms, thickly corded with muscles.
Even his forearms were sexy and mind-numbingly distracting.
I slammed my eyes closed and dropped my head against the wooden door with a thunk before I could start actively salivating.
“You good over there?”
I could hear the smirk in his tone. He loved knowing he was turning me on.
But if he kept this up, I would be meeting a field full of new pack members with the scent of my arousal lingering like cheap perfume around me.
Talk about awkward.
“Just wonderful,” I gritted, flashing him a tight smile.
With a snort, he sat on his bed and started pulling on his shoes. When he was finished, he stood up and faced me, his brows drawn together.
“What?” I asked, immediately straightening my shoulders.
“We didn’t really have a chance to talk about earlier,” he said softly. “What happened with your parents.”
I swallowed around the lump in my throat. “I’ll tell you everything later. But I can’t relive that right now, Rem.”
His mouth tightened. “That bad?”
“It’s worse than what I knew,” I confessed, unable to keep my voice from cracking. “So much worse. I kind of feel like an asshole for bugging Mom to talk about it all these years.”
He nodded grimly and walked forward to grab my hands. “You’re not an asshole.” He kissed the tip of my nose before meeting my gaze seriously. “I’m here for you. Whatever you need.”
With the heels, I barely had to tip my head back to look in his eyes. “You think I don’t know that? Remy, the only thing I know right now is that you’re the person I can count on.”
“I love you,” he said gently, nudging my nose with his.
“So you keep telling me,” I replied, loving the way those three words lit up my soul.
“I don’t want you to forget,” he teased.
“Maybe I’ll get it tattooed on me,” I joked back. “Or get a tattoo to match yours.”
He gave me a curious expression and spun away from me. He went to the table beside his bedside and opened the top drawer before returning to my side. He lifted his hand and opened his palm.
The silver chain and pendant caught the light, and my heart stopped as I gasped.
“My necklace,” I whispered, reaching for it as tears sprung to my eyes.
He held it out of reach. “Turn around.”
I turned slowly, lifting my hair so he could fasten the chain around my throat. My fingers immediately traced the curve of the crescent moon and the tiny diamond chip star.
“Thank you,” I said, beyond grateful he had saved this.
His hands turned me back around, and his expression softened while his hands came up to settle on my waist. He leaned his forehead against mine.
I took a second to just breathe him in, feeling my anxiety levels slowly falling as I focused on the way he grounded me.
All of that newfound tranquility was shattered when a fist thumped against the door at my back.
I jumped and Remy muttered something about murder.
“I swear to God, Remington,” Kathy seethed on the other side of the door, “if you two are doing what I think you’re doing—”
I jerked the door open and arched a brow. “And what do you think we’re doing, Katherine?”
Katy glared at us both. “We need to leave now. Everyone is waiting outside.”
“Is Tate coming?” I asked, heading into the hallway. Guilt hit me hard that I hadn’t checked on her since coming back. But, to be fair, she had locked herself away with Dante and Ryder.
Katy nodded. “Yeah. She asked if we could have Luke cremated. When all of this is over, she wants to take his ashes back to Brooks Ridge and spread them out there.”
“We should have a memorial,” Remy murmured as we headed down the staircase at my back.
“Again, she wants to wait until all of this is over,” Katy replied, her tone clipped.
“Luke was family, and not just for Tate. I don’t give a shit what’s going on around us. He’s worth being remembered and honored,” Remy said firmly, his tone finite and exacting as he opened the front door for us.
I hesitated on the top step, looking down at the people waiting for us in front of two SUVs.
Tate, Dante, and Ryder stood in front of one. Tate looked up at me from the safety of Ryder’s arms and gave me a small smile.
Larkin and Rhodes waited with Will in front of the other SUV, and they all turned expectant faces to us.
This was it. This was my pack, my family.
“Okay,” Remy murmured behind me, his eyes meeting everyone’s one at a time before he gave a curt nod. “Let’s do this.”
“How many people were we expecting?” I asked as Remy pulled into the airstrip where we planned to meet the other packs.
We knew some of the packs were bringing members who wanted to utilize the safety Blackwater offered by living here temporarily, but this was …
Hundreds. There were hundreds of shifters, standing in groups. I could see a row of buses that had been used to drive them all in. Two massive tents had been set up towards the small building that served as the control center for the airstrip.
“We knew there would be last minute additions,” Katy remarked, leaning between our seats to look out the front window, “but this is more than we anticipated.”
“Do we have enough room for them all?” I whispered, not sure why I felt the need to keep myself quiet when they obviously couldn’t hear me.
“We’ll make the room,” Remy said, sheer determination in his voice as he pulled the car to a stop. “We have to.”
Katy sighed. “I wish Mom and Dad could see this.”
I turned in surprise. “Mallory isn’t coming?”