“My mother’s pack was right,” I mutter, the words bitter on my tongue. “A scent-blind Alpha is a liability.”
I’d sworn I’d prove them wrong when I left. Now I wonder if I should swallow my pride and call them, begging them to let me come back.
“I still have some savings,” I say, more to myself than to Emily. “Enough for a few nights somewhere cheap until I figure things out.”
A cab slows as it passes, the driver flipping us off before accelerating away. The hatred and distrust run so deep that he’s willing to give up a fare.
“The marina has benches.” My attempt at humor falls flat. “If it doesn’t rain.”
Emily’s boots scuff to a stop beside me. When I dare to look up, the streetlight catches in her silver hair, turning it almost luminous beneath the darkening sky. She stands with shoulders squared beneath her work jacket, chin lifted as her mouth sets in a determined line.
It’s the same expression she wore in the security office when she told Barnes she’d take responsibility for me.
“You’re not sleeping on a bench.”
Hope flutters in my chest before I squash it. “I’ve slept in worse places.”
“Not tonight, you won’t.” Emily pulls out her phone, thumb hovering over the screen. “I knowevery motel in this town. Most of them aren’t fit for stray cats, let alone people.”
“I can call Kyle,” I offer weakly. “He’ll let me sleep on the floor.”
Emily shakes her head. “It’s too dark for him to cross the water again tonight.”
My fingers tighten around the strap of my bag. “I’ll figure something out. You should go home. You’ve already done too much.”
“I have a spare room.”
My breath catches. “What?”
“It’s nothing fancy,” she continues, as if she’s not offering to save me. Again. “But it’s clean, and no one will bother you there.”
A tremble runs through me. “I couldn’t impose?—”
“It’s not an imposition. It’s practical.” Emily tucks her phone away. “I need to take you back to give your statement in the morning.”
A car horn blares nearby, startling me from my stunned silence. “Are you sure?”
“I wouldn’t offer if I wasn’t sure.” She motions for me to get moving again. “Truck’s back by the clinic. We can pick up the rest of your prescription on the way.”
She turns and starts walking, not checking to see if I follow. Dazed, I remain frozen on the curb,certain I’ve misheard or misunderstood. Then my feet carry me after her, hurrying to catch up.
“Thank you,” I say, the words inadequate for the lifeline she’s thrown me.
Emily’s expression softens in the intermittent glow of passing storefronts. “Just don’t get too comfortable. It’s only for the weekend.”
“Sure,” I respond too quickly.
But as I trail after her like a stray begging for scraps, hope flutters hard in my ribs.
Emily strikes me as the kind of Alpha who takes care of strays in need, and I plan to prove how in need of her I am for as long as she lets me.
Chapter Nine
Emily
As I lead Jared up my porch steps, a tremble runs through me, along with an emotion far too close to panic.
Why does bringing Jared into my space for a couple of days feel so different from any other time I’ve had a visitor over? Not that it happens often. It’s been a few months, in fact, since Dominic and his Omega, Chloe, needed a place to crash for the night. It was the last time anyone came by my home, and it was an emergency, just like now.