went back up for one last look around to make sure she hadn’t missed anything. To say goodbye, I imagined, to a place where she’d lived. I wondered if she would want us there with her. I wondered if she’d even be able to ask us for what she wanted. She seemed to struggle with that.
Even though the three of us would give her the world, if we could.
And when we got up to the apartment, there was Brad.
22
Lily
I stared at Brad for a few long seconds.
The guys stopped behind me.
Brad stared at me, raking his hand through his hair. Then: “I don’t know what to say to you.”
“You don’t have to say anything, Brad,” I said, heading past him into the apartment. “You wanted me to move out. There. You won. I’m moving out.”
“I didn’t want any of this, Lily.” He followed me into the apartment, then glanced over at the guys, who had moved into the doorway.
I didn’t always notice how big and intimidating those three men were. Archer was average height for a man, Dylan tall, and Blake genuinely enormous, but each of them was built. More than anything, they generated an aura. Blake radiated protectiveness and when he looked at Brad, I could’ve sworn he was holding back a snarl. Archer stared at Brad with his arms crossed and his eyebrow raised.
Dylan didn’t bother to glower; he had his usual friendly look fixed on his face, a bit bored, and yet… Dylan was kind but uncompromisingly loyal, and he would always fight for the people he loved. He was a Golden Retriever, through and through.
“Moving crew?” Brad asked, his voice snide.
“Friends,” I corrected.
I could’ve sworn I saw Dylan smile.
“Great,” Brad said. “Well, I’d like to talk to you alone, Lily.”
“What about?” I asked, glancing at the guys—specifically, at Blake—to warn them to butt out.
“The way you left,” Brad said carefully.
I’d bet he meant the way I’d shifted. My mouth went dry. Shifter rule number one: we weren’t supposed to shift in front of humans.
I felt embarrassed when I imagined the guys reacting to such a childish, immature mistake. I’d just been so upset that morning, on the verge of tears, overwhelmed by everything that happened that terrible day…but that was no excuse.
“Just a minute,” I said. “In the…” No, not in the bedroom. I couldn’t be with Brad in that bedroom again. “Out on the balcony, I guess.”
My little sun spot, shielded by plants. He’d stolen that from me. Now I’d always know that was who he was—the kind of man who would rip out plants just to hurt me.
I wish I’d known that on our first date. Nope, that one’s a plant-ripper. Dud. Move on to next. Hope for an app that will help you find true shifter love.
I stepped out onto the balcony, and Brad squeezed out there with me. The two of us were standing too close together for my taste. For a long time, his body had been comforting and familiar: the scent of his cologne, his short, lean frame, the neat way he gelled his hair. He’d been the mashed potatoes of love, I guess. Comfort food.
Maybe I was comfort food to him too, and one day, he realized there was a whole buffet of more interesting flavors.
He didn’t move to close the sliding door, just stood there staring at me, so I had to reach behind him to close it.
“What is it, Brad?” I prompted as I retreated to my side of the balcony, as far away as I could get.
He shifted his weight from foot to foot, looking down at the crumbs of soil left behind from the roots. He licked his lips before he said, “Sorry about all that, Lily.”
All that. The girl in the closet? However long he’d been sleeping with her before I found them? The way he’d destroyed my stuff?
I nodded. “Is that all you wanted to say?”
“No.” He frowned, shaking his head. “I also… okay, two things. I’ll start with the easy one.”
He jerked his jaw toward the guys, who I could see wandering around through the glass doors.
“Who are they?”
“Friends. From Silver Springs.”
He frowned at me, more deeply. “How come you never invited me to Silver Springs?”
“Oh, I did. How come you never wanted to go?” I demanded. “And how come you’re asking now? Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?”
“No,” he said, crossing his arms. He met my gaze evenly. “What the hell are you, Lily?”
There it was. The