Page 25 of Fallout
“And lucky for you, I’m mated to your alpha. So you’re stuck with me.” I grin at him.
He stays stoically quiet and he keeps his eyes on the road. I wonder what he’s thinking, but I’m glad I don’t know. I have a feeling Will keeps most of his truly caustic thoughts to himself. Maybe he secretly hates me and sarcasm is how he copes.
“Do you hate having to babysit me?” I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear.
“What?” He shoots me a glare. “Why would I hate this?”
I shrug. “Maybe because you have to spend time with me.”
“It’s this or possibly have another supernatural kill you. You may annoy me, but you’re Parker’s mate. You’re part of the pack. We look out for one another.”
My heart swells at hearing Will call me part of the pack. Not too long ago, he informed me that I wasn’t part of the pack and that I didn’t belong. Knowing how important he is to Parker, it makes me feel good to be accepted by him.
“What about when we figure out what kind of supernatural I am?” I ask.
I know that Parker promised I wouldn’t be sent away. It doesn’t seem likely that he will, considering that we’re mates. But I still worry.
Will takes a few seconds before responding. He keeps his focus on the road, but I get the feeling he wouldn’t be looking at me even if we weren’t driving. “When we figure out what you are, we’ll figure out how your powers work. We’ll train you so you don’t accidentally reveal yourself to humans.”
I chew on the corner of my lip. “So you won’t send me away?”
“No.”
I relax into my seat at his words.
If Will is saying they won’t send me away, they won’t.
Will pulls his car to a stop in the parking spot and shuts off the vehicle. He turns to face me. “Do you really think Parker would let you get away, Henley?”
I shrug, not wanting to answer. The truth is, yes. I did kind of think that. But I can’t admit that to Will and if I deny it he will know I’m lying.
“Even if you weren’t Parker’s mate, and even if you weren’t part of the pack, you wouldn’t be sent away,” Will says.
His words surprise me. My eyes lock onto his brown ones. “Really? But you said—”
He cuts me off. “I say a lot of things.”
Before I can question him further, he gets out of the car. I scramble out after him, but before I halfway out he’s at my door.
“Wait for me before getting out.” He shoots me a glare and then his eyes scan the surrounding area.
“For somebody who hates me, you sure you care an awful lot about my safety,” I tease.
“If something happened to you, Parker would kill me.” He shrugs like it’s not a big deal.
I may not be able to sense if somebody is lying like a wolf, but it’s easy to tell that Will is lying. And maybe he cares more about me than he wants to admit.
I smile at the wolf and he glares at me.
“Stop smiling at me.”
His words only make my smile grow wider.
He puts his hand on the small of my back and pushes me forward, toward an empty bench. The whole way there he mumbles under his breath about ‘annoying, mind reading, black winged girls.’
Will looks at me through narrowed eyes as we take a seat. “You’re still smiling.”
“Sorry.” I try to school my features, but it’s impossible to stop smiling. I chew on my bottom lip to try and hide it.