Chapter 53

MISTY

Lloyd walked me to the entrance and asked me to link him every hour. I was a bit embarrassed when he said there wasn’t time to shower and everyone was waiting.

I knew they could smell sex on me, but of course, no one said anything. Chelsea smirked knowingly and would ask me sooner or later.

Trent drove us to the nearest mall, which wasn’t far away. He stuck to us like glue and immediately rebuked us when Chelsea and I chose different sections in Zara’s. “Like herding cats,” he groused under his breath.

“Is that any way to speak to your luna?” Chelsea retaliated, but I yanked her to the rails that had items marked down.

“So, how was it without magic flowing through your veins?” she asked casually, sifting through a rack of items. I shook my head; I wasn’t about to give her a detailed play-by-play, especially not with Trent and Adam hovering near the entrance, likely eavesdropping on every word.

~“None of your damn business.”~ So happy I could link her again. ~“It was amazing. I swear I still feel drunk and high.”~

She flashed me a mischievous grin. “You know I live for details, so don’t hold out on me now.”

“Did I ask you for any details?” I shot back. “Oh, that’s right—I didn’t need to. I heard you—~all~ night long.”

“That was ages ago. We’ve evolved since then,” she quipped.

“I don’t want to know…”

After choosing three pairs of jeans, yoga pants, and a few T-shirts, I spotted a few dresses and grinned. I could tease Lloyd while wearing them, so I bought two. One was figure-hugging. The other was loose, longer, and probably better suited if I decided to go sans panties. We headed to the lingerie department, where I mainly chose decent underwear before standing in the queue at the cashier.

Chelsea sidled up, bumping into me purposely with two of the same items, and they didn’t come off the sale rack either—plunging black lace bodysuits.

“Really?” I checked the tag and blanched. So much for frugality, but I liked the idea of prancing before Lloyd wearing something so revealing and seeing his reaction.

“It’s not really for us,” she tittered, justifying the price.

I couldn’t help but grin as I grabbed one from her, pulled the envelope from my back pocket, and stared wide-eyed at the wad of bills. If Tanner considered this petty cash, I’d hate to see what he called a substantial sum.

When he mentioned how much each pack pays monthly, I wondered how Alpha Martin managed to pay that amount. Did he own a business? I didn’t think so.

“How did Alpha Martin manage to pay the tithe?” I asked, changing the subject.

“Ugh, trust you to spoil our shopping. The pack owns six houses, which they rent out.” She grabbed her hair and wound it into a bun.

“I didn’t know that. How did you?”

She rolled her eyes. “My dad used to sort out maintenance issues for the houses.”

“Oh.” But that wouldn’t cover wages, and I knew many Monolith members had jobs. I wondered what my dad’s salary had been as beta.

I paid, and the cashier, though clearly surprised by the cash, kept quiet.

Next on the list was finding clothes for Lloyd, which proved to be more challenging than I anticipated, but I wanted to buy him something other than shoes, eventually finding a white T-shirt that was rather flimsy but would show off his muscles.

That purchase was for me. The jeans were extra length and should fit him, although I had to gauge his size.

The shoes were more of an issue, and we finally found a place that stocked his size. I was tempted to buy him a pair of blood-red sneakers, but I didn’t think he’d wear them, so I settled on two black pairs with a pack of socks. I, on the other hand, bought some with bling; I loved shiny shoes.

“Coffee?” I asked, noting Trent’s sigh as he grabbed the shopping bags and passed them to Adam, who didn’t seem to mind following us around.

“You betcha.” Chelsea grinned.

We made our way to the food court for the obligatory coffee, but I stopped dead in my tracks when I caught sight of the mounted TV. The footage was grainy and pixelated, a blur of heat signatures—yet unmistakable. A werewolf, mid-shift.

The sound was off, but the closed captions crawled across the screen: ~Werewolves do exist. Expert Phil Mueller plans to release an exposé later this month, backed by hundreds of images.~

None of us said a word, as if silence might undo what we’d just seen.

It wasn’t the first time someone had caught a shifter on camera, but usually, it was dismissed as a hoax or delusion. I hoped this time would be no different, but I couldn’t quite relax and scanned the crowds.

We found a table, and a rogue scent with a familiar undertone caught my attention.

Before I could process it, Adam practically tossed the bags at me and made a beeline for the far end of the seating area.

I stared after him, my curiosity piqued until I saw what—or rather, ~who~—had caught his attention. The fiery red hair was unmistakable. Without thinking, I shoved the shopping bags into Chelsea’s hands and hurried after Adam.

“Dawn?” I called softly.

She looked up, her bright blue eyes rimmed with red, her face pale. Despite the heat, she wore a hoodie, sweat beading on her upper lip. I frowned as the scent of blood reached me. Her gaze shifted between me and Adam.

“Mine,” Adam declared, his voice laced with possessiveness.

Dawn narrowed her eyes, her lips curling into a sardonic smile. “Jesus, my mate is a child.”

Adam’s expression fell, and I gently pushed him aside. “Give her some space,” I whispered to him before sliding into the chair across from Dawn.

“I can smell blood. Are you okay?” I asked, keeping my voice gentle.

Her chin trembled as she tried to hold it together. I thought she wouldn’t tell me for a moment, but then it all started spewing out as though the dam broke, and she could no longer keep it in.

“Everything’s so fucked up,” she began. “My dad took his own life even though I tried everything to prevent that. He couldn’t deal without my mom and Fallon as though I was chopped liver and didn’t count,” she said bitterly.

“I’m so sorry,” I said, but there really was nothing else I could say.

“Then the Valley Pack link broke, and I couldn’t stand to be there anymore, so I hitched a ride to the city only to be stabbed and robbed by some little fucker on an electric scooter. My backpack is gone, and all I had was twenty dollars in my back pocket.”

Goddess, my heart ached for her. I didn’t know what to say, but I knew one thing—I wasn’t leaving her here alone. She was coming with us.

“How are you?” she asked, blotting her eyes on the inside of her hoodie.

“A lot has happened,” I replied, trying to keep it simple. “I expected you to come to Monolith, but Perry told me you weren’t answering the phone.”

“Yeah, I was in no frame of mind to speak to him. Is he still at Monolith?” she asked, blotting her eyes again.

“Yes, and he met his mate, Melanie,” I told her, shooting a look at Adam, who hovered next to Chelsea.

Dawn shook her head, a hint of bitterness in her voice. “And my mate looks like he’s barely seventeen.”

“So he’s a bit younger,” I said, trying to lighten the mood. “But he’s an awesome male. The best.”

She sighed. “I see you have a mark. Who’s your mate?”

“Lloyd,” I said softly.

“Fuck, you get the alpha male, and I get…what’s his name?”

“Adam,” I corrected her gently. “Don’t be like that. Adam has saved my life several times.”

Dawn buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking with sobs. I glanced up at Adam, who was on the verge of tears himself. I gestured to Chelsea, who immediately rushed over, her concern evident.

“Chels, this is Dawn.”

Understanding flooded her face, looking between Dawn and Adam.

“Would you look at the time? It’s almost dinner,” Chelsea said. “I’ve heard so much about you, Dawn, and would love it if you joined us.” She was so smooth, and looking at her, I think anyone would have followed her, even to hell.

I didn’t expect Dawn to agree so quickly, but she wiped her tears and nodded before getting to her feet, her body language despondent. Adam was beside himself.

~“What’s going on?”~ he linked me. ~“Please, my mate is in trouble. I know it.”~

I filled him in and explained how much grief and sorrow Dawn had dealt with since the attack on Knox. Adam’s face fell more and more.

~“Oh hell, my poor mate. Do you think she’s going to reject me? I’m almost eighteen. How old is Dawn?”~

~“Twenty-one,”~ I replied gently. ~“But maybe you should take it slow, all right?”~

He nodded, swallowing hard, and I knew just how he felt. Adam got in the front, and Chelsea motioned for me to sit in the middle, which I hated, but her legs were much longer than mine.

Trent started the car, and silence ensued. Adam kept looking at Dawn, but she ignored him. Was the age difference such a big deal? And then it struck me…

“You know, Lloyd is 270 years older than I am,” I told Dawn.

Her head swung up, eyes pinning me in disbelief. “Yeah, right,” she responded sarcastically.

“Let me bring you up to speed.”

I told her the whole story from the day my arrow almost pierced Lloyd. Dawn was a good listener and didn’t interrupt once, but Chelsea and Adam couldn’t shut up, adding their narrative to mine.

“And so, we now have to find Axel if we want any peace,” I finished.

Dawn sat quietly for long moments, occasionally peeking under her eyelashes at Adam. Her body language was more relaxed, and perhaps she needed this perspective.

We’d all suffered, maybe not as much as she had, but there were many casualties.

“Sorry,” she finally said, “I was so wrapped in my own sorrows, I didn’t think about anyone else’s. I ~am~ glad you’re alive, but it’s difficult to believe Lloyd is that old.” She bit her lip. “Do helicopters file a flight plan? If yes, then we should be able to track that.”

Adam turned around, a look of admiration on his face. “That’s a good idea, but they don’t have to unless they fly to a busy hub,” he said. “I already checked that…” he added, but I could see he wished he hadn’t thought of it to give Dawn her dues.

Dawn fidgeted, picking on a fingernail, still ignoring him. She looked like she wanted to say something but decided against it.

Back at the palace, I grabbed Dawn’s hand. I could see she was impressed, and the palace was impressive, but Axel tainted everything, and I no longer looked at it in the same way.

“We’ll meet for dinner, yeah?” Chelsea said, grabbing her shopping bag and hurrying away down the hallway.

I had no idea where Tanner’s room was, and it surprised me that Chelsea hadn’t requested a room on the third floor, although those were guest bedrooms.

I hadn’t had the chance to check out the fourth floor and wondered if that was where Axel’s suite was.

I turned to Dawn. “Let’s find you a bedroom so you can freshen up. I just bought clothes, and I can spare a pair of jeans and a T-shirt.”

“Thanks,” she said.

Linking our arms, we climbed the stairs, leaving a soulful Adam behind. Dawn threw a look over her shoulder at him as we went.

Without much ado, I picked the bedroom my dad had been in, and Dawn gasped in astonishment. “I don’t need such a big bedroom,” she said, gaping at the luxury.

I grabbed a random pair of jeans and a T-shirt from the shopping bag and handed them to her. “Is half an hour enough?”

She nodded, still gobsmacked, and I left her to it.

I quickly linked Lloyd. I was supposed to link him every hour, but I clean forgot. He was probably still busy accepting pack members.

“~Lloyd? We’re back and about to have dinner.”~

~“Can you read the time by looking at the sun’s position?”~

~“Er, no. And you can’t see the sun in a mall.”~ I grinned in amusement.

~“Hmm, we’ll have to rectify that. I’ll be there shortly. Did you have fun?”~

~“Somewhat, but I didn’t buy the one thing I really wanted—a hazelnut latte.”~

~“What is that?”~

~“Coffee.”~

~“Why not?”~

~“You’ll see,” ~I said mysteriously.

~“Okay. Give me half an hour, if I’m still alive by then.”~

~“That bad?”~

~“If I hear the pledge phrase one more time, my ears will bleed.”~

I smiled. Lloyd ~had~ a sense of humor. He just hadn’t had much occasion to show it, and I hoped once Axel was eliminated, I would get to know the male he had been before he was cursed.