Page 42 of The Wolf's Secret Twins

And even though I had missed sleeping in my bed, I found myself tossing and turning the rest of the night. Who was watching the house? Who was keeping Virginia safe? Blake and Troy had Bentley under the watchful eyes of a grumpy bear security guard, so I didn’t doubt their capabilities there.

Butwhat ifthe guy got out? What if he had gone over there and camped in her backyard? She didn’t have neighbors to the right of the house, Mrs. Pots was old, and the other neighbors had made their feelings very clear whenever Virginia had taken one of her morning walks. It was hard to ignore the whispers of disdain as she marched past them with her head up.

Fucking pricks, all of them. They really thought they were better than her just because they came from families that didn’t have any beef inside the pack walls. They would be in for such a rude awakening if I ever got to rifling through their closets. My nose was talented. I could smell a rotten skeleton from three miles away.

As I marched into the sunny morning with a paper bag full of breakfast goodies, I thought about how much it had hurt to have Virginia snap at me like that. She wasn’t telling me the whole story. I could tell by how she tried to hide things. But feelings weren’t easily hidden. I had access to them because of the bite. If we weren’t true mates, then I wouldn’t feel her emotions like that.

It was all very much textbook, besides the sneaking around. Love like this didn’t wait for anybody. It was something that demanded attention, that begged to be indulged. It proceeded without care, worry, or consideration. And often, love like this got people into trouble.

I licked my lips.Love. When had that word come to mind? It had just popped right up like I’d been thinking about it for ages. I was about to run off with a woman who I dared to call my mate when my alphas didn’t even approve of the union. Wasn’t that love by definition?

Hard to say while I dug through a million thoughts at a time. I had to get in touch with that dude named F.E. and I had to set the car up so it wouldn’t overheat while it was sitting at the edge of the Bravecrest property. I also had to make sure nobody happened upon it.

Surely nothing good would come from a discovery like that.

Troy and Blake were already the paranoid sort. If they came across an abandoned car near the property, they would probably send out some people to investigate. While the car was purchased off the books with fake tags, it had been done through shifter means, which meant it could lead right back to me.

That wouldn’t bode well for anybody.

And that was just the thing. I didn’t want our plans to get ruined. Agitated or not, she wasn’t going to get rid of me that easily, and that was why I was walking my happy ass over there with breakfast burritos I had gotten up early to make. The twins would be thrilled. Virginia would be pissed, but she’d eat the burrito. I knew just how to get to her stomach and back into her good graces.

Since daylight had already arrived, I tried to act like I was heading to the Bravecrest side. I took my usual route, said hello to everyone I could, and then cut through the back of the neighborhood behind the tree line so I could get to Virginia’s house. I walked in a gigantic circle, stepped in a muddy puddle that was sweatier than a farm worker’s pits, and cursed my way up to the back door.

It flung open before I could knock. Anthony sniffed the air and then gasped loudly. “BURRITOS!”

Adhara joined him at once and shouted the same. Before I could say a dang word, the two snatched the bag from me and darted back into the house without so much as a hi or a hello.

They must have been starving.

I cackled while trailing into the kitchen. Virginia shot me a dirty look from the couch where she sat with her hair in a towel and her legs crossed. She tilted her chin toward the television. If I listened closely enough, I could hear her making that disappointed huffing sound she always made when she was mad.

She didn’t realize how well I knew her.

Anthony went to the counter and grabbed plates while Adhara gathered some napkins. She snatched up a bottle of Sriracha from the fridge and set everything up on the table. When I went to the counter to get my coffee, she waved me off.

“No, you brought the food, we’ll serve the goods,” she insisted. She kept waving until I backed away to the table with my hands raised like she was holding a gun on me.

Might as well have been the case. She had the strength of her mother and the toughness of—well, I didn’t know her father. But if any of the time we’d spent together had rubbed off, I’d throw in my vote for me influencing her toughness.

She poured me a piping hot cup of coffee and brought it to the table with cream and sugar.

I smiled. “Let me see that shiner, kiddo.”

Her eyes rolled.

That would be her mother’s attitude.

I laughed while nodding. “Alright, you don’t have to show me.”

She sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. “I keep telling Mama that it’sfine, but she won’t listen to me.”

“I bet she won’t.” I dared to glance in the living room where Virginia was watching us. She turned her head away real fast when I caught her. I chuckled and turned back to Adhara. “You look like you’re doing just fine. But don’t forget that it’s okay to need help, alright?”

She saluted me and marched around to the other side of the table. Anthony served her a burrito and she dug in, tearing the thing apart in mere seconds while Anthony did the same. Growing shifters had hefty appetites. While Blake kept the pack well-fed, I had to guess that these kids didn’t go to the center to eat very often. They probably chose to eat at home—and I couldn’t blame them for that.

But with what their mama had on the shelves, it wasn’t enough for growing bellies like these pups.

I grabbed a burrito, set it on a plate, and whistled at Virginia. She cast a long glare in my direction that didn’t break until she spotted the foil-wrapped burrito. She licked her lips. None of the anger left her features, but she was definitely hungry. I could probably coax her over if I teased her enough about it.

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