Page 64 of Shifters' Fated Summer
Luca’s mouth opened and closed.
“Now,” Cade said, every bit the asshole Alpha I hated.Luca’s shoulders slumped and he headed out of the room. Cade glanced back at me, jaw tight, before he walked out, leaving me standing there like an idiot.
Shock, anger, sadness, and a dozen other emotions mixed together, choking me. Without thinking, I crawled into the bed and pressed my face into the pillow Cade had rested his head on. I sucked that vanilla and burnt sugar scent into my lungs and letmy thoughts fade away.
Chapter 23
Meetings
When I finally dragged myself out of Luca and Cade’s room, the rest of the pack and our guests had closed themselves into the meeting room. I had barely touched my lunch, so I crept down the stairs to the kitchen.
“There you are,” a sweet voice said. Elowen closed the fridge. “I was thinking about bringing some food up to you.”
“Sorry,” I muttered, ducking my head.
Elowen tutted. Dishes clinked against the counter, and she stretched out for a dish she couldn’t quite reach.
“Here,” I said, standing on my tip toes to grab it.
“Thanks, love. Would you get the chips from the pantry?” Bemused, I wandered into the pantry and found the massive bag of potato chips. When I returned, Elowen was holding a platter covered in different smaller bowls. I frowned at her.
“Holt made a bunch of different dips for serving our guests. But I’m pregnant and you had a crap day, so we aregoing to help ourselves.” She grinned. “We’ve got onion dip, guacamole, a bacon ranch dip, a spinach artichoke dip, oh and I think this one is some sort of blue cheese situation. You might not like that one, it’s a pretty strong flavor.”
I blinked at her. “We’re just gonna eat dip?”
Elowen’s laughter sounded like bells. “It’s time for a girls’ night. Bring that along, and the soda. Yup, that’s the one.”
There was nothing to do but dutifully follow Elowen up the stairs. She didn’t stop at Luca and Cade’s room where I had been staying, but pranced past to the end of the hallway.
Hesitating, I studied her face. She rolled her eyes and waved me into the room she shared with Archer. To my surprise, it was bigger than the Alpha’s bedroom.
A sofa sat wedged against a pair of bookcases. I recognized a couple of the books as ones she had leant me, but I had no idea her collection was so expansive. Beyond the sitting area, a huge bed stood between a dresser and a small crib. Dozens of pillows covered the bed in shades of green and blue. It looked insanely comfortable.
Elowen plopped onto the sofa. “Get your ass down here, babe. It’s snack time. I’m starving.”
“Did you eat lunch?” I asked without thinking.
“Girl, I am growing a baby. I’m always hungry when this little baby isn’t cramming its feet against my stomach and making me sick.” She rubbed at the top of her belly, high near her ribcage.
Carefully, I settled on the cushion beside her. “Your room is really nice.”
“Sometimes a girl needs her nest,” Elowen said with a wink. “No such thing as too many pillows and blankets.”
The idea struck me as strange, but appealing. Cade and Luca had the bare minimum, but with Luca curled around me every night, I hadn’t been suffering.
She reached into the bag of chips between us and drew one out. With a flourish, she stabbed it into the spinach dip before crunching down on it with a groan.
A genuine smile warmed my face for the first time since Cade’s collapse, as I reached for my own chips and tried the first of the dips laid out.
We sat and ate for a few minutes in companionable silence. “You doing okay with Cade?” Elowen asked softly.
I cringed, closing my eyes for a second. “He really scared me today.”
“It was the mate bond, wasn’t it? I knew it would make him sick if he kept fighting it. He’s such an idiot sometimes.”
My brow furrowed. “He’s your Alpha.”
“Doesn’t mean he’s the brightest crayon in the box.”
