“Hey, man,” Cameron calls out. “I was getting ready to head into the restaurant. I thought I’d stop by and check on you. You seemed a little preoccupied last night.”
Still keeping my back to him, I shrug. “I had some things on my mind.”
“Are you okayyy?” he asks, drawing out the word.
I turn around to face him. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
Cameron’s gaze narrows, and he crosses his arms over his chest. “I don’t know. You tell me. I have a strange feeling your mind is on a certain royal arctic who would try to kill every single one of us if she didn’t have her power stripped away.”
A low growl erupts in my chest, but I bite it back. I have this overwhelming need to defend Kara. “She doesn’t want that.”
Cameron looks at me as if he’s never seen me before. “Are you seriously defending her?”
“Maybe I am,” I say, not ashamed of it in the least. “I’ve known Kara for eight years. She’s not evil.”
Cameron roars with laughter, but there’s no humor to it. “Holy fuck. You’re falling for her, aren’t you?” When I don’t answer, his smile fades. “The pack isn’t going to like this.”
This time I can’t hold in my growl. My wolf rushes to the surface, wanting my second-in-command to know he’s stepped over the line. “They don’t have to like it,” I snarl, my voice a thunderous boom. “I’m the alpha. If the others don’t take my word, then they can listen to my mother. She spent time with Kara, and she trusts her. We all know what gift my mother has.”
Cameron holds his hands up in defeat. “Okay, I get it. All I’m saying is that we trust you not to put us in danger.”
My anger slowly dissipates, and I sigh. “And I won’t. The pack is my family. You just have to trust me.”
Cameron nods. “We do.” His phone vibrates, and he pulls it out of his pocket to look at it. “I have to go. Will you be stopping by the restaurant later?”
I move over to my desk, sit down, and turn on my laptop. “I will. I have a meeting with your sister to go over the books.”
Cameron studies me as if he’s trying to figure out what’s going through my head. If I have no fucking clue, neither will he. “All right. I’ll catch you then.”
He turns to leave, and as soon as he’s gone, I get up and pace the floor. After last night, my mind is all over the place. This immense need to be close to Kara feels like it grows stronger with every second that passes. A slight creaking noise draws my attention upstairs, and I hold my breath so I can listen. I can hear Kara move around in the bed, tossing and turning as if she’s having a bad dream. After everything she drank last night, there’s no way she’ll remember what happened.
Some would say that’s a good thing, but there’s a part of me that wants her to.
16
KARA
“You taste so fucking good,” Chase murmurs in my ear.
As I tilt my head back, he nuzzles my neck. His hands slide up my thighs, then between them to where I ache most of all. The second his fingers enter me, I arch off the bed, and then his lips close over a taut nipple. I’m in heaven.
“Chase,” I whisper, my voice thick with need. “Make love to me.”
The dream world disappears, and I wake with an audible gasp, my body sweaty and heart racing. I run a hand over my face, wiping away the moisture. “What the hell?” I grumble, wishing my pulse wasn’t thudding in my temples. My lips and body tingle like they did in the dream, almost as if Chase just kissed me a few seconds ago. Eyes wide, I clutch my shirt, and my mouth drops open. “Holy shit. What did I do?”
Pushing off the covers, I jump out of bed, and the second my feet touch the floor, a wave of nausea hits me. Head pounding, I close my eyes and fall back on the bed. “This can’t be happening.” A hangover. I’ve heard of them, and I’ve seen the way humans suffer from them, but I’ve never had it happen to me before. The room spins all around me, and I groan, clutching my stomach and praying like hell the queasiness stops.
More images invade my mind. Chase kissing me. Me telling him intimate things I’ve never told anyone before. Why did I do that? I let him see a part of me I haven’t shown anyone in over two hundred years. Damn alcohol is poison. I’m never going to drink again until I get my power back.
Hanging my head, I swallow back the bile burning my throat. So much was said last night, so much emotion. Now I have to face Chase, and I dread it more than anything. The only way to escape him is to pretend nothing happened. Humans use that excuse all the damn time. Why can’t I?
Taking a deep, slow breath, I get to my feet. The room still spins, but I manage to make it into the bathroom and turn on the shower. Once the water’s steaming hot, I start to lift my shirt, and then stop when my cell phone rings. The only two people it can be are Brooke or Evangeline. I’m hoping for the latter.
Rushing into the bedroom, I grab my phone off the bed. It’s Evangeline.
“Hey,” I answer, my voice sounding breathless and tired.
“Good morning. You okay?”
I have to be careful what I say. “Yeah, just a little tired.”
She giggles. “I can tell. Do you want to explain to me what’s going on?”
With a heavy sigh, I rub a hand over my throbbing forehead. “It’s a long story.”
Evangeline snickers again. “Why does that not surprise me?”
“You know me. Nothing is ever easy. I’m with the …”
“Timberwolf pack,” she says, finishing my sentence. “Yeah, I know where you are. I told you I’d find you. My flight landed an hour ago at Redding. So I’m about two hours away from you. Think you can meet me at the Timberwolf Bistro for lunch?”
“I’m sure that’ll work. Does noon give you enough time?”
“Yep,” she replies excitedly. “I’ll see you then.”
I knew Evangeline would find me. Being a powerful witch has its perks. Hopefully, Chase won’t have a problem with it since we’ll be on his territory, surrounded by his wolves. The only problem is privacy. Although I’m sure once she feels the fae magic surrounding me, she’ll have an idea of what to do.
When I finish with my shower, I feel a tiny bit better. I made sure to take my time so that it’ll be close to noon when I go downstairs. My head still hurts, and a part of me wants to throw up, but I hold it back. So instead, I fight through it and dress in one of my expensive Alexander McQueen classic business suits with my black heels. Thankfully, Chase grabbed all my clothes out of the closet where I was staying in Wyoming. Whenever I think of those days of being around my brother, it makes a rock form in my throat. I still can’t believe he’s gone. Some would say I should be thankful since he planned to kill me if I went against him, but he was still my brother. I loved him, just like I will always love my parents even though they turned on our pack.
Eyes burning, I stare at my face in the bathroom mirror. I have my makeup on, and my blonde locks are flat ironed and sleek. For the first time in ages, I look like myself. I’m a woman who has made countless men tremble in my presence. I get things done no matter the cost. It’s who I am. Last night with Chase threw me off, but I can’t let that happen again.