Page 78 of Power Shift

I turn off the tap and face him, my back pressing against the countertop. Landon watches stiffly, his lean off-centre as he takes as much weight off his right knee as possible. He played fine the last three games and was good enough to escape the scathing judgment of fans online and the press up in their boxes, but still, he wasn’t at his peak. His passes were loose, backcheckslow. It was so unlike him that I spent every second I wasn’t defending the net watching him.

“We’re just hanging out. Ronan and Jasper missed her.”

“They missed her? Not you?”

Something about the question makes me snap. “Didn’t you? Or are you still pretending that you don’t care?”

“I don’t care about her, but I do care about my pack. I’m trying to find out the plans for the night so I know if I need to stay and keep an eye on all of you.”

“We don’t need you to watch us, Landon. You’re not our father, and we’re not children. Briar isn’t a danger to anyone, let alone us,” I argue, releasing a sigh that gives away how tired I am. “You weren’t clever joining us for dinner the other night as if you weren’t only there to make sure we didn’t what, mark her?”

His lip curls slightly, anger mixing with something deeper, painful. “You’ve all started trusting her too easily.”

“She hasn’t given us any reason not to trust her. I know why you feel differently, and I respect you and your feelings, Lan, but you being such a hard-ass isn’t helping. I’ve taken all you’ve said to us over the years into consideration, and it’s why I’ve moved slower than Ronan and Jasper, but there’s no stopping them. They’re going to bond her someday, and if you want this pack to stick together, you need to stop using your distrust in Briar to drive a bigger wedge between us. What do you think will happen when she goes into heat? We’ve been lucky as it is that she hasn’t already.”

Landon’s shoulder droops, a soul-deep exhale escaping him. The deep blue beneath his eyes is almost as concerning as the tweak of pain that travels across his expression when he leans forward with his hands on the island.

“You’re not pulled to her?” he asks, his voice weak.

I reply carefully. “She smells really, really good to me, but something is missing.”

“Why?”

“I’m not sure,” I lie, leaving out Jasper’s theory. It’ll do no good to bring it up without any proof. “Just go up to bed, Lan. Take some melatonin and try to sleep. Stay out of the gym, or I’ll put a lock on the door.”

He lets his head fall between his arms. “If you need me . . .”

“I’ll get you,” I finish for him. “But we won’t. She’s an omega, not a villain in a superhero movie.”

“She could be pretty close.”

“How’s your knee?”

The question flops between us, remaining unanswered as he straightens out and starts to leave like I knew he would. I snort before draining the rest of my water and ditching the cup in the sink.

It’s better Landon has this conversation with me than any of the others. Ronan would have told him to suck it the hell up and pull his head from his ass, and Jasper would have tried reasoning with him before inevitably giving up when Landon refused to give an inch.

With a yawn, I leave the kitchen. It’s silent in the house, everyone having abandoned me to do their own thing. Jasper should be down soon, and I need to change before I’m saying hi to Briar in sweatpants with a hole in the knee and a shirt I cropped as a joke a couple of years ago. They’re the only clothes I had with me in my travel bag, and I couldn’t stand wearing my suit for another minute once we got on the plane to come home.

I’m the only one in the pack who changed, but I know Ronan would have if he hadn’t been trapped in the window seat beside Landon.

I’m nearly to the stairs when there’s a knock on the front door. It’s gentle, almost like the person doing the knocking isn’t sure if they want anyone to answer it.

They knock again, a bit stronger this time, and I unlock the deadbolt before tugging the door open. A set of cautious blue eyes stare up at me as Briar keeps her hand in the air, her fingers curled into a fist.

Guess ratty sweatpants and a cropped shirt it is.

“Hi,” she squeaks, arm falling.

I’m suddenly almost self-conscious of what I’m wearing and how beat down I know I look. Briar’s far more done up than I am, wearing a black, knee-length skater skirt, a cropped blue top, and a pair of biker boots with chunky heels that I know Ronan would blow in his pants if he saw. The last time she was here, she wore a dress, and now I’m having trouble pinpointing what exactly her style is. In all honesty, it’s almost fitting, considering I haven’t been able to figure her out, either.

I haven’t tried.

“Hey. Come in.”

She slips past me and starts to toe off her boots when I stop her with a hand on her arm. It’s bare and warm, silky beneath my fingertips. I know I should retreat when she drops her eyes to stare at where we touch, but I linger, intrigued by the tease of a sizzle shooting up my arm.

“You should leave them on to show Ronan. He’ll lose his mind,” I say, my stomach suddenly settled.

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