Page 130 of The Price of Ice

WHEN HE CALLED TO SEEif they could meet up, Analisa asked if he could drive her to the market two towns over known for its rare crystals and crafts. He agreed, her mother’s birthday was coming apparently, and it couldn’t hurt to earn a few brownie points before he told her.

The car was a good place to talk, since he could look forward without it seeming like he was avoiding her gaze.

“...absolutely no way I’m giving my mother that,” she was saying when he realised he’d completely lost track of the conversation.

“Hey,” he cut in as gently as he could.

“What?”

“Sorry, but I totally missed half of that. I... I wastryingto listen, but there’s something I have to tell you and it’s... big."

“Huh. Okay, go for it then. Not like I expected much feedback from you when it came to fashion, really.”

He snorted out a laugh in rueful admission. The only clothes he’d cared about were uniforms and only because of what they represented. “So... um, good news or... the ones you probably won’t like first?”

Analisa hummed thoughtfully. “Good news, life is short. But keep paying attention to the road, I don’t want to die without finding out your dirty little secret!”

He refrained from rolling his eyes at her. “I quit the team. My lawyer sent them a letter.”

They hadn’t responded yet, but they didn’t need to. The one thing he’d never needed their permission for was leaving, after all.

She actually squealed. “Daaamn!” There was a soft thud on the dashboard, but at least she didn’t hit him. “Why did you tell me this in the car?” she demanded. “I need to hug the hell out of you! And get you drunk. You arefree, Kallen, this ishuge.”

“I still have the court case,” he reminded her, even though he was smiling so hard his cheeks hurt.

“Fuck that noise,” Analisa told him. “Today wecelebrate. You might need to leave your car in Yupli so we can get blind drunk.”

“I’m sensing a pattern here,” he commented, glancing her way. “We can also get back home and drink there.”

Her horrified expression made him laugh. “Atour parents?Come on, Kal, live a little.”

“Okay,” he agreed. “Um, actually, while you are this happy, I’m gonna tell you my other news. You know Levy?”

Analisa made a low sound in her throat, somehow conveying her scepticism without a word, but then added some just in case, “Your knight in shining armour, yeah.”

Kallen would hardly call him that. Levy had helped him with heat and obviously with lure, but Kallen wasn’t expecting thealpha to save him from anything. To help, yeah, but he was quite ready to help him in turn too. “Only if I’m a knight too,” he told his friend because he wanted this point very clear from the start. “I know you don’t think much of most alphas, but... Well,” he stole a glance at her, trusting the lane not to move from its straight line. “I want you to give him a chance.”

Analisa’s eyebrows nearly reached her hairline. “And why is that?”

Kallen looked back at the road. “Because he is my boyfriend.”

“Oh,” her voice rose in both surprise and something shockingly close to excitement. “Since when?”

He turned his head long enough to see her mouth was open, eyes bright. “A week? I mean, a week. He came over for a job interview and we... Well, he called me, and we met and we got together, basically.”

She groaned. “Seriously? That’s all I get? Was it romantic at least?”

It wasn’t an easy question. It’d felt so good when Levy had said yes to his proposal, but asking someone to move cities to be with you wasn’t exactly romantic, was it? Except for how Kallen had only done it when Levy had made it clear he was willing to. “Yes,” he decided. “He went and found himself a job he wanted here, without even telling me. He didn’t ask me for anything, he just got himself close enough that I could reach out for him if I wanted.”

His friend sighed. “Damn, I think you are right. To have someone who just says: I’m here because I want to be with you, but without any expectations...” She trailed sounding wistful.

Kallen had to look at her again. “So you approve?”

It wasn’t like he needed her approval, but... Well, it would be nice to have, and it wouldn’t hurt to know she thought what he was doing was safe. He knew he had to learn to trust his own gut after years of ignoring it, but for now he liked having otherpeople who saw his life and choices and gave him their blessing, letting him borrow some of their faith while he gathered his own.

She glared half-heartedly, then shrugged. “I guess there must be some pretty great alphas, to make up for all the shitty ones. Keeps the balance or something.”

“Now you just have to find one for yourself,” he teased, eyes back on the road.

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