Chapter 31

Chapter 31: Ayla “I have to call Zeff,” I rushed to find my phone, but Kingston grabbed me.

“Ayla, calm down,” he said. “You said you just talked to him last night. You left him weeks ago and he’s still fine. Whoever this is has lost interest in him.”

“They were there,” I said, panic making me taste bile in my mouth.

“What?”

“Whoever sent these,” I said. “They were there when Theo rejected me. The card said they were glad I got rid of my mate. No one could have known that. Zeff was the only person I told and I doubt Theo told anyone.” I pushed my hands through my hair, pacing the room. “We were outside in the back yard. They heard the whole conversation.”

“When did you get this first one?” Kingston asked.

“The day before I left or the morning of,” I said. “I always got yesterday’s mail first thing in the morning. Theo showed up shortly after that.”

“Hey,” Kingston said, dragging me against him again, “it’ll be okay. We’ll find out who’s doing this. Nothing is going to happen to you.”

“He’s threatening you, Kingston,” I said.

“And I’ll be just fine,” he insisted. “I’ve got Pierce on his way to Dunding en pages w 1 set up more security cameras, and I’ll keep a guard on the house going forward.”

“Why is this happening? I didn’t do anything to anyone.” I started pacing again.

“Honey, it doesn’t sound like he’s doing this because you did something to him,” he replied cautiously. “It sounds like he’s infatuated with you.”

“Exactly. Like I’ve done anything to warrant that kind of attention. I go to work, take care of my family, and keep to myself.

There’s nothing special about me,” I said in frustration.

Kingston chuckled. “Yes, you’ve done nothing to warrant anyone’s affection.” He grabbed my arm and wrapped me in an embrace. “Except being beautiful, and smart, and independent, and strong, and kind, and everything anyone could ever want.”

When I started to say something, he stopped me with a kiss. I returned it, letting the taste of him calm my raw nerves and growing anxiety. We had shared a few of these moments over the weeks. Each time left me wanting more than the last. My arms snaked around his shoulders, enjoying the effects his. touch always had on me.

Kingston’s hands moved up my waist, one traveling up to the nape of my neck. I groaned as I felt heat growing in my core. Then he was pushing me back toward the bed.

Pierce’s voice rang through the house as I heard the front door open.

We pulled apart quickly, breathing heavily.

2/5 “Yeah,” Kingston called to Pierce. “I’ll be right there.”

“I’m sorry.” I said. “That’s probably the last thing we need to be doing when some psycho stalker is threatening anyone who touches me.”

“I don’t care,” he insisted. “I’m not about to give you up, Ayla. Especially not to some coward who sits in the shadows trying to scare you into submission.”

He grabbed my hand and led me out of the room to meet Pierce at the kitchen table. He was unloading bags of electronics – cameras, sensors, lights, and some things I didn‘ t recognize.

“Okay,” Pierce said as we approached, “We already have the alarm set up and the existing cameras near the entrances. I’ll be adding more so that we have coverage of the entire perimeter and a few inside for good measure. I’m also going to be replacing the window and door sensors. The current ones are outdated. These new ones will link up with the alarm. and the cameras, and everything can be accessed through your phone.”

“Great,” Kingston said.

“How in the world did you get all of this so fast?” I asked, picking up a camera to examine it.

“We keep a lot of this on hand at the packhouse,” Pierce said. “We like to keep up security within the pack. These are extras for replacements. I told Kingston this place should have been upgraded years ago, but he just kept putting it off.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Kingston said, taking a seat to help Pierce. “It hasn’t been my top priority.”

1 Chapter 31: Ayla 1288 Vouchers Pierce gave him a bit of a dirty look. “It should have been after the night of Ayla’s accident.”

Kingston grimaced but tried to wave him off.

“Wait,” I said curiously, “why would my accident require him to increase his security?”

“It’s not the accident, but what led to it,” Pierce clarified.

“It’s nothing,” Kingston said.

“Does it have something to do with why you were in the middle of the road?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest as I sat next to Kingston.

He had still been avoiding the subject with me. Anytime I brought it up, he would brush it off and change the subject.

think he was keeping something from me. Now I was At first, I thought he was just emb, but I started to definitely thinking that.

Kingston sighed. “The only reason I was out here was because the alarm to the lodge went off. I came over to check things. out.”

“And?”

“There was no sign of forced entry, nothing missing, so the house seemed fine. But I thought I saw someone in the woods. and caught a strange scent,” Kingston explained. “I was tracking that when you came around the corner.”

x the “So, why not just tell me that in the first place?”

“I was careless, and that led to someone getting hurt,” Kingston said. “It’s not exactly my proudest moment. But all O 17 that matters is that it’s being addressed now.”

He tried to hide the threatening look he gave Pierce, but I caught it. There was more he wasn’t telling me. I wanted to push, but at the same time, it wasn’t any of my business, was it?

“Emma’s coming over in a little while to hang out,” I said, standing from the chair. “I’m going to get ready.”