Chapter 239

I parked in the shadows of the mighty oaks lining the dirt trail to the gate of Andrew’s mansion. When I first arrived, the sun was sherbet streaks sinking over the horizon. Now, the sky was dotted with twinkling, diamond-like stars and a crescent moon—a sign for my upcoming move with Noah.

As I sat in the Honda Civic, waiting for a glimpse of Andrew, I adjusted the curly gray atop my head and wrapped the floral shawl tight around it. The lack of makeup on my face left me feeling naked, but it best fit my elderly woman getup, short of adding any wrinkles and age spots to my typically flawless skin. Noah and I had agreed that it would be best for me to come to the mansion in disguise, in case of paparazzi, and this elderly woman disguise was the best that we could think of with limited resources.

I still could not believe that this was really happening. I was leaving the pack that I had been born into, that I had been raised in, for some small, out-of-the-way pack that I only had second-hand information about. My chest constricted at the very thought of it.

Noah had resigned from his law firm that morning. Apparently, the short notice had caused quite the stir, but he had left them no choice but to accept. I almost wished that I had been there to see this more assertive side of him.

I had told Terri and the others at Ever After Weddings about my move as well. I would still be majority shareholder of the company, but Terri would be taking on more of the day-to-day onsite business. I did not get the impression that she was too excited about that idea, but she was still willing to help me in any way that she could—for now, at least.

Even though I wasn’t losing my business and could still keep in contact with my friends, a feeling of dread gnawed at me deep in the pit of my stomach. I would be about as involved with Ever After Weddings as Lily was while she was traveling, and she ended up surrendering her shares of the business to me. Would I do the same, too?

Long-distance relationships—friendships included—rarely ever lasted, either. I hardly got to see Lily as it was, with her traipsing all over the world with her husband and baby. Would we ever see each other again if I moved to an entirely new pack?

I shook my head to dislodge these thoughts. I couldn’t think like that. Just because Noah and I were moving didn’t mean that I was losing everything.

I gripped the steering wheel tightly. My eyes darted about, searching for Andrew.

Where was he? I could smell him. His scent was everywhere.

Of course, that didn’t necessarily mean that he was present. It only meant that he had marked the property as his territory. It was just faint enough that either it could be a scent marker or it could mean that he was on the property but somewhere more distant, such as inside the house.

I sighed and settled myself in for a long wait. I just wanted one glimpse of him, one little look at him at him to hold me over for the rest of my life…

I buried my face in my hands. What had I done to deserve this fate?

It seemed as though everything had gone wrong since the moment that I had stepped out of that prison. No, even before then. Everything had gone wrong since the moment I had agreed to date Bob.

I knew that there had been good times with Bob, but they all seemed like illusions and lies in hindsight. I couldn’t believe that I had fallen for Bob’s charm, false promises, and hypnotic personality. Then I agreed to cover for him after that accident, for reasons that I could not even fathom anymore, and nothing had been the same ever since.

All those years that I couldn’t get back…all those attacks on me and the people that I cared about…and now I was being forced to run from him.

He should have been the one running for his life, after everything he had done to me, after everything he had done to the pack. Instead, he was being rewarded with a position on the Werewolf Council.

I gripped the steering wheel tightly.

How could everything good happen to the bad guy?

My phone buzzed with a text from Noah.

How’s it going? he asked.

I smiled to myself. Perhaps it hadn’t all been bad.

No sign of him yet, I replied.

I watched the three little dots move as Noah typed his response.

How long are you going to wait? he said.

As long as it takes.

The three dots moved for much longer this time. I wondered how many times Noah had typed his response, erased it, and typed it again, only to erase it once more. His indecisiveness could be annoying at times, but it could also be adorable.

I’ll be waiting for you, was his eventual response.

I exhaled quietly and closed the conversation. I opened the photo from our engagement announcement and examined Noah’s image, running my thumb over his face. He smiled so broadly, looked so genuinely happy to be with me.

I wished that I could give him that same happiness in turn. I just didn’t love him the same way that he loved me, and I wasn’t sure if I ever could. Still, I would try.

For both of us.

I put my phone down and sniffed the air again. I could smell Andrew, more strongly now—almost strongly enough for me to taste it. He must have been close by.

Where was he?

A knock at my passenger’s side window startled me out of my thoughts. When I turned to look, I was face-to-face with Andrew.

He motioned to the car’s lock, indicating for me to unlock it. I rushed to obey. He opened the door and slid inside, facing out the windshield.

“Drive,” he commanded.

I thought about disobeying. After all, it was my car. What right did he have to muscle his way in and tell me what to do?

However, a part of me was entranced by this mysterious side of Andrew. I stared mindlessly at his set jaw and tense neck muscles, wondering what was going on in those dark eyes that refused to look at me.

I started the car and drove down the dirt path away from the mansion.

“How did you know it was me?” I asked.

“Your scent,” he replied. “You can’t disguise that.”

Silence fell over us as we drove down the winding road. Tree after tree passed, creating a hypnotic rhythm that threatened to lull me to sleep. I refused to be drawn in by the siren of drowsiness, not when I was at the wheel—and not with this enigma hanging over my head.

“Where are we heading?” I asked to break the silence.

Andrew’s hand curled into a fist over his pants. He continued to stare straight ahead without so much as a glance in my direction.

“You will see.”