Tasting 124

124–Dating Behind My Back

Nash:

“Brody?” I had to confirm if I heard the name right. Why was she mentioning Nora and Brody in the

same sentence anyway?

“Yeah! They are dating,” she added, and my jaw dropped. I quickly shut my mouth and unbuckled

my seatbelt to get out of the car and talk to her properly. Daphne was trying her best to eavesdrop

on our conversation, and I didn’t want her to pry into Nora’s personal life.

But I must say, I was disappointed in Nora.

“Since when?” I asked.

“Since yesterday. There was some issue going on between them, but she told me that they were

going out on a date,” she explained. “I still have her text. Let me send it to you.” She paused to

forward the text to

1. me.

I received the screenshot and sure enough, there it was—Nora talking about Brody.

“Umm! Do you know if they’re meeting today or something?” I was anxiously pacing around now,

wondering if she could have been picked up by that jerk.

I didn’t like him, not because he was a bad guy, but because he was a goody two shoes—a perfect

gentleman who didn’t understand that sometimes we need to bend rules and laws for our loved

ones.

Maybe it was wrong, but I truly believed it. I would do it for my loved

124 Dating Behind My Back

one.

“Okay, thank you,” I said, hanging up to dial Nora’s number again.

I heard Daphne get out of the car and approach me.

“So she was seeing that alpha Brody?” I was right; Daphne had overheard us.

“Not right now, Daphne,” I warned her, scrolling through my phone to find a way to get the guards

involved without informing my family. They would flip out and never let me take Nora anywhere

again.

“Maybe she left to be with her boyfriend,” Daphne sighed, placing her hands on her hips.

I stopped looking through my phone and raised my head to look at her. “It makes sense. She could

have contacted Brody, and he came to get her.”

I watched her face in silence for a few seconds, trying to comprehend how someone could be so

clueless. Then I faced her directly.

“Her phone is off, which means she couldn’t have left with her cellphone. And even if he did pick her

up, wouldn’t you have seen him drive past you? How was he able to catch up with us when we’ve

been driving for hours, and Nora only had a few minutes to contact him?” Now that I wasn’t thinking

the way Daphne and Natalya wanted me to, I realized the situation was much more serious.

“I don’t know. Maybe he was already on his way here,” she shrugged.

“Daphne!” Finally, finding it odd that I left Nora with her and she went missing without a trace, I

faced her directly.

“Do you know anything about Nora and where she might be? If so, you

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124 Ding My Back

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better tell me now before it’s too late. And if it gets to the point that it is too late—you know what I’ll

do to you,” I hissed, taking a step toward her and watching her flinch.

“You’re threatening me over her?” she pouted, blinking her eyes repeatedly to look innocent.

“I am. Now think again and tell me where you saw her going,” I demanded, placing my hands on the

car’s roof, caging her between them.

The hesitation on her face confirmed my suspicions. She knew what had happened, and if she was

behind it, she wouldn’t see the light of day.

“Now come on, think!” I pressed, staying close and making sure she saw the seriousness in my

eyes. After a few seconds of silence and staring into my eyes, she gulped.

“Okay! Let me think,” she turned her head to the side, tapping her finger against her chin. “She was

complaining about signals and how she needed to contact someone and then she—oh yes! She

took the empty water bottles with her,” her eyes widened as she recalled that piece of information.

“Water bottles?” I frowned in confusion.

“Yeah, she was saying that she knows there’s a river somewhere, so she might fill those water

bottles,” Daphne finished, watching me stare at her before I lost it.

“What the hell is wrong with you? Why didn’t you tell me this before?” I punched the car window,

making her jump and hug herself, stepping away from me.

134 Ping Behind My Back

The fact that she might have been in the woods and we had come so far ahead just made me lose it

with Daphne.

“I didn’t think she would do it,” she pouted, almost instantly tearing up.

“Call your father or someone to get you. I am going after Nora.” I pointed my finger at her, making it

clear that even after I find Nora, Daphne is not continuing this journey with us.

“But I came here with you.” she took a step closer, trying to place her hand on my chest, but she

knew better than to do that when I glared at her.

“Call yourself an Uber, Daphne, or do you want me to call one for you?” I raised my voice, angrily

looking around and then opening the map on my phone.

There was no river in this area, so why did Nora say so?

What was going on? Daphne made a call and stood near the car. I wanted to get on my way, but I

couldn’t leave Daphne here by herself. By the time the Uber arrived, I had already made a plan and

knew where to start looking for Nora.

“You’re making a mistake. You should let me come with you. We can both look for her,” she insisted

one last time as I shoved her bags in the Uber and then her.

“Take her home safely, orders from Alpha King Nash,” I warned the driver, making sure he knew not

to mess it up or do something funky.

He nodded, and soon they drove off. Now, I had a stepsister to find, and it was a huge piece of

land.

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