the house or sneak away without telling your dad and I where you are. You could’ve gotten hurt or lost. Understand?”
“Yes,” he says glumly, curling against his father’s chest.
“We’ll talk about it more when we get home,” his father—Collins—says.
Janie turns to me. “Thank you so much for finding him.”
“He found me,” I say with a shrug. “Couldn’t get rid of him.”
She laughs, shaking her head. “He’s too friendly for his own good. Sorry if he bothered you.”
“Jetta wasn’t bothered at all,” Jericho butts in. “In fact, she’s thinking about leading a training session for anyone who’s interested.”
My eyes cut over to the interfering prick. “I said I’d think about it,” I say through gritted teeth.
Janie’s eyes light up. “Oh, a female trainer would be so nice!” she exclaims before looking back at her husband. “Collins does some lessons too. But even with him, some of the females are too timid to train with a male. We could really use someone with some expertise to give some of our warier females confidence.”
Collins sets down a squirming Freddie, and the spawn runs for the popcorn again. “Janie holds a counseling session once a week,” he tells me. “A lot of them are the ones who couldn’t even finish the basic self-defense training that Alpha has us do. If you’re really up for it, you could be a lot of help. Change some lives, even. Help them gain confidence in themselves where the rest of us are failing.”
Well, now I just feel like a bitch. I had every intention of blowing Jericho off until he got tired of asking me, but now I feel obligated. I can’t just say no. Not without being a complete and total dick. Which I’m sure was Jericho’s intent when he brought it up.
But I don’t want to do it. I’m not a teacher. In fact, I’m pretty sure I have the worst disposition for teaching anybody. And anyway, the thought of people depending on me freaks me the fuck out.
“Um.”
“She’s gonna teach me ninja moves!” Freddie calls out.
“Thanks a lot, Spawn,” I mutter.
His parent’s smile, and Janie picks him up. “Okay, little rabbit, time to get you back into bed. Where you’re going to stay this time.”
“Okay, Mommy,” he says with a lazy yawn.
I watch the trio leave, and when the door closes behind them, I turn my head, only to find Addie and Jericho grinning at me.
“What?” I say defensively, looking between them.
Addie just shrugs. “Nothing. It’s just nice. Seeing you get in on this misfit action finally.”
“I’m not,” I insist.
The two of them continue to grin, and I scowl, like my expression can somehow block theirs from hitting the net.
When they don’t let up and just continue to stare at me all happy like that, I groan. “Stop smiling. It’s freaking me out.”
“I’m just happy!” Addie exclaims. “Just think, if you stay with us, then we can do all sorts of cool shit. Like go to the movies and watch chick flicks. Do each other’s nails. Go skinny dipping.”
Her three mates behind her seem to perk up at that. “You know the rule, Aderyn. If you’re naked swimming, your mates come with you,” Penn calls over to her without even looking away from the screen.
Addie rolls her eyes. “We can sneak away from them,” she assures me.
Herrick, her third mate, snorts. “Nope.”
Cutting them all off on this imaginary play date, I shake my head. “I would literally not do any of those things you listed.”
“Fine,” she relents. “We’ll do other stuff. But all I’m saying is, this is gonna be great.” She elbows Jericho. “You can kick this guy’s ass again. But this time, I want to be there so I can watch.”
Jericho gives her a look. “She didn’t kick my ass.”
“Yes, I did.”
“Yes, she did!” Stinger calls from the couch, where he’s sitting with a few others playing a video game. “She stuck you to the mat better than pine on a pork.”
Someone else snorts. “She did. It was awesome.”
I’m inwardly smug as Jericho’s grin wipes off his face. “Fuck off.”
“See? And now you’re bonding with the pack! All you have to do is kick Igor’s ass on the mat, and then everyone will love you,” Addie says excitedly as she rolls on the heels of her feet. “I knew we’d win you over.”
“I’m not won over. It’s…” I let out a breath. “It’s complicated.” My shoulders prickle because I know that other people are listening into our conversation, despite the fact that they’re