Page 30 of Fallout

I nod. “He didn’t hurt me. He just wanted to talk.”

Parker snorts. “You don’t know that he didn’t want to hurt you. I just arrived before he could do anything.”

I shrug, not knowing what to say. The guy might be a creep, sneaking around pack land, but if he wanted to hurt me he probably would have.

Still, Parker is angry enough. I probably shouldn’t mention this to him.

Parker turns back to Will. “I need you to keep helping Henley learn how to block thoughts.”

Will shakes his head. “No.”

“No?” Parker’s eyes turn gold as he takes a step closer to Will.

Will doesn’t back down. “If you want her to learn how to block her thoughts, you teach her. I refuse to. She’s your mate. You should be the one protecting her, not me.” Will stands up from his seat. “I’m done, Parker.”

Without another word, Will storms out of the house. I watch him, feeling completely dumbfound.

Will just told Parker no.

“Is he allowed to say no?” I ask.

Parker’s eyes are still gold as he looks at me. “Technically, I’m not alpha yet. But I will be. And he’s going to be my beta. He’s never told me no. We’ve always worked together.”

My chest aches.

It’s all my fault. If only I hadn’t accidentally read Will’s thoughts.

“Do you know what that was about?” Parker’s eyes slowly fade from gold to blue as he walks over to the couch and takes a seat beside me.

I shrug, knowing I can’t lie to him. Equally, I can’t tell him the truth.

“You’re hiding something,” Parker accuses.

“Yes,” I answer.

“Something about Will.”

I nod. “Yes.”

“But you won’t tell me?”

“Sorry.” I chew on my bottom lip, hoping he won’t press the issue.

“Is it something bad?” Parker asks. “Did he hurt you?”

“No,” I answer. “Will didn’t do anything to me, I promise. It was me who did something. I can’t tell you what, but his reaction is justified.”

I had no idea that I could read his thoughts. It wasn’t like I was trying to. But his thoughts should be private.

Uh, I’m a bad friend.

“Now you feel guilty.” Parker sighs. “Okay, fine. I trust you. I will let you and Will work this out, even if it’s going to cause issues for me.” He runs his fingers through his hair. “You’re going to have to get along with my beta.”

I nod. “I know. I will apologize to him. He just… needs space.”

“What did you do to him?” he asks.

“I thought you were going to trust me.” I fold my fingers together on my lap, refusing to meet his gaze. I feel like if I look at him he will see right through me. He’s my soulmate, after all.