head at Lafe. “Well, except for you.”
Lafe beams arrogantly and then struts out of the bathroom with the egg in hand like he’s king shit, while the other two follow tensely behind him.
When the door is closed and I’m alone, I soap up my hair and body and then relax in the hot water, wishing I could wash away this entire day. My walk of shame, the motel attack, the Blondie incident—I’m at my limit. Luckily, water has always been able to calm me.
When I’m done washing and soaking, I have a much clearer head, and my duck is happy to relax in the background again. After I dry off, I find that someone left a clean pair of sweatpants and another t-shirt for me, so I quickly pull them on. The pants are way too big, so I have to roll up the ankles and pull the drawstring super tight, but it’ll work until I can get Zoey to bring me some clothes.
I find a comb—probably Lafe’s since his hair is the longest—and run it through my wet and tangled locks. When that’s done, I look in the mirror, and...I still look a bit homeless, to be honest. Except now I look like a homeless person who was stuck in a rainstorm. Oh well.
I leave the bathroom and walk into the living room, finding all of the guys are there waiting for me. Lafe is lounging on the recliner, Penn is poised against the arm of the couch, and Herrick has his arms crossed over by the window that he’s looking out.
“Okay,” I say, walking in. “Do you want the short version or the long version?”
“Just tell us,” Penn says, his body full of tension as he watches me.
“Short version it is,” I say with a nod as I lean against the far wall. “The guy I went out with last night? Yeah, turns out I was a job instead of a date.”
“What kind of job?” Penn questions.
I can tell that he’s the pseudo leader between the three of them. Herrick might be a tad bigger and scarier, but Penn screams authority in the way he takes the lead in every situation.
“The kind of job where he was hired by a rival pack to get close to the person who messed up their bank robbery. AKA, yours truly.”
Penn’s blond brows furrow. “That human was hired to trick you into a date?”
I nod. “Yep, to get close to me apparently, and then lure me somewhere. I don’t even want to think about what would’ve happened if I’d gotten into his car last night when my first wave hit.” I cross my arms protectively in front of me, and all three of the guys tense. “I guess it’s a good thing you three came along when you did and I ditched him. Otherwise, I’d probably be in some underground cell at Pack Rockhead right now, and who knows what they would’ve done while I was in heat.”
The implication of my words hang heavily in the air.
He does it so quickly that I don’t even see him move, but the next thing I know, Lafe has picked up the side table lamp and hurled it against the wall. I squeal and cover my ears as it shatters, but he’s already in front of me, his hands gripping my arms. “Sorry,” he says quickly. “I just...I fucking can’t…Just the thought of you being hurt...” His whole body is shaking with fury that wants to let loose.
Penn comes up behind him. “Let go of Addie before you hurt her,” he says sternly.
Lafe blinks and looks down at where he’s holding me by the arms. He quickly drops his hold, leaving red marks behind from how hard he was clutching me. “Shit! I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”
“Hey,” I say, touching his arm. “It’s okay.” He blows out a breath, but I can tell that he’s upset that he might’ve hurt me. He didn’t, but my skin is sensitive, so I’m easily marked up.
Lafe’s volatile reaction surprised me, because he seems like the calmest and happiest of the trio, but then again, with our new bond, his mate instincts will be riding him hard, which includes extreme protectiveness and possessiveness. Also, out of the three, he seems to like me the most, so no wonder he freaked out when he realized what might have happened. Even Penn and Herrick are visibly upset, with grinding teeth and clenched jaws.
I have to be careful not to mistake their