Chapter 141

That night, I got home, showered and shuffled into the kitchen to find Arielle setting out a bottle of wine and three glasses.

“Why three?” I asked.

“Because your boyfriends are coming over,” she said smugly. "And I'm going out with mine."

I looked at her in her skin tight dress. "Don't worry about waiting up for me. Or getting up to whatever you like.

I sat up. “Together?”

“They survived the coffee date. You owe them cookies. And Neil is offering to make dinner. You hungry for food or---”

Doorbell went off. And she smirked, sauntering away to the door.

"So glad you're here. I'm leaving. Have fun. Condoms are in various places!"

My face burned a bright red, but Neil cackled. "I never cut into your stash, Arielle. I respect you too much."

"I knew you were my favorite for a reason."

He came down the hallway grinning. "I'm only partially joking. The Mountainhowl does make the best condoms on the market."

I couldn't be more floored if I tried. Luckily, Dominic would seem just as flustered as I was and far more tame than Neil.

"He cheated," Dominic said.

"Don't call you being distracted cheating."

"You were distracting me on purpose."

I listen to them bigger, a little longer, and smile before sitting at the counter, shaking my head. Neil was poking through all the cabinets looking for something to cook while Dominic was telling me about their chess games. Apparently, Dominic had picked up a nervous habit in the form of twirling the ring around his finger, and Neil likes to point it out. He also liked to touch it, apparently, and that sent a jolt of magic through Dominic that was distracting.

"He was drawing attention to it. I figured something was wrong with that."

"Maybe you should have a rematch without the ring on.'

Neil shrugged. "It won't make a difference."

Dinner was… surprisingly good. Neil did the cooking. Dominic made drinks. They sniped at each other in a comical sort of way. There were even moments—tiny ones—where they shared a look and smirked, probably at my expense.

But I didn’t care.

Later that night, I was curled up in bed, replaying the image of the two of them standing at the stove, bickering over the technical term for some sort of combat move, when my phone buzzed.

It was from Arielle.

Please tell me you didn't let those men go home.

I ignored her as another text came in. It was from Neil.

Since Dominic got first kiss, I went first dance at the gala.

I snorted as Dominic replied. I'm alpha of the territory it's being hosted in. I think I get first right.

It's a Blackfang event. You can't play the alpha card.

I can always play the alpha card.

Wanna wrestle for it?

Absolutely not.

I held the phone to my chest and exhaled. My phone kept chiming. This could work.

Which meant the next phase of my plan could work too.

It would work.

Tyler

I had been playing it cool since the cupcakes. I'd had to. It was a smart thing to do. And classes it picked up, so I was a little busier. The strange thing was that I hadn't seen Vivian. Not that I was upset about that, but it was strange. I had heard she'd been fired from the office, which meant the only way she would be able to keep an eye on Renee was to be at school. And yet no one had seen her. Maybe she'd withdrawn.

It would make sense she had never would have gone to class in the first place. In her words, she had needed to. So honestly, all of her grades were bought with one currency or another.

Today, however, I needed to see Maya. I had to talk to her. It had been too long. The bond was pulling, and I hoped that it was because she wanted to see and talk to me, too. After talking with her grandmother again, I was pretty sure that I was right. The cupcake thing had been the right move. Giving her space afterwards had been the right move. And now I just had to not fuck it up at the last inning.

If there was a chance to set things right, I had to pursue it. I waited for her after her evening shift, standing in the shadows outside the bakery as she locked up. It always marveled me that the owner trusted her so much to let her lock up, but also in the same breath recognize that a young woman shouldn't be out late at night by herself, even if Brightclaw was one of the safest cities.

The moment she saw me, her shoulders stiffened. I knew I wasn’t a welcome sight, and the ache in my chest started to surge and bite with all of her emotions. Every time she saw me, it seemed that she was reminded by how badly I'd hurt her. It made sense.

Every time I saw her, I remembered how badly I fucked up, so it made sense. Her gaze was wary, her hand already reaching for the pepper spray she kept in her purse.

"Maya," I said, my voice soft, trying not to spook her. "I just want to talk."

She shook her head, her eyes flashing with a mix of anger and hurt. "There's nothing to talk about, Tyler. You made your choice. Now let me make mine."

"Please," I pleaded, taking a hesitant step forward. "I know I messed up. I'm not asking for forgiveness, not yet. But... I can walk you to you home. Just to make sure you get there safe."

"You haven't cared all these other nights…"

"You know that's not true."

It was just that tonight I felt confident enough to ask to walk beside her, not half a block behind. She felt me close at hand, and she'd never stopped me. She knew I worked next door. I could feel her thinking about me sometimes. As if she wanted to reach out for the bond and pull, but didn't. Those were the best moments of my day.

She hesitated, her eyes scanning the empty street. I knew she was thinking about the recent uptick in incidents, and the way things were shifting in the territory as the scandal about Vivian and all the other gammas she'd controlled and influenced continued to break.

It was a small concession, a tiny crack in her wall. I pushed my luck.

"I won't come any closer than that," I promised, my hands raised in a gesture of surrender. "Just... let me walk you home?"

She sighed, a heavy sound that seemed to carry all the weight of our shared past. "Fine. But that's it."

We walked in silence, the only sound the echo of our footsteps on the concrete. The distance between us was more than just a few feet, but it didn't feel as wide as it once had been.

It was comforting, in a way, to know that at least, she was healing from everything I'd done. Even if we would never be together again, even if this was as close as we would ever be going forward. I was okay with that. I'd make my peace with that because this was all my fault.

The bond still hummed between us, pulling at my heart. I wanted to reach for her hand, but I didn’t dare. I did, however, get a little closer to her. Walked a little closer until I could almost feel the heat of her body in the air.

As we reached her street, she fumbled with her keys, her hand trembling slightly. I wanted to take them from her, to open the door for her like I used to, but I kept my distance, respecting her boundary. Her eyes met mine in the dim light above the walk-up's door. For a second, the chasm between us seemed to shrink. I saw the woman I loved enough to pull myself out of hell, to do terrible things just to have a better life with her, the woman who had always believed in me, even when I didn’t deserve it. The bond pulsed, a silent plea, and I found myself leaning in, drawn by it.

Her head tilted, her lips parting slightly. For a breathless moment, I thought she might let me. I saw it in her eyes, the same desperate longing I felt in my own chest. But then, just as quickly as it appeared, it was gone. She broke the spell, turning away and fumbling for the gate.

"Goodnight, Tyler," she said, her voice quiet but firm.

I watched her walk through the gate and up the stairs, a pang of regret so sharp it stole my breath hit me.

"Goodnight, Maya," I said. "Sweet dreams."

She walked in without a single glance in her rearview mirror. The silence of the empty street was deafening. I felt utterly alone, but hopeful that maybe she'd let me walk her home again tomorrow.