her without pissing her off.”
“Impossible,” Liam scoffed, but if he were honest with himself Zoe’s temper didn’t bother him. Not really.
Yeah, she’d pissed him off when she’d made the incorrect assumption that he’d saved her just because she was his mate. The only reason he’d found her first was because they knew her exact location thanks to the scrying.
That had actually given them the heads up in the first place.
Liam doubted that they’d have been able to save as many as they had if it hadn’t been for Lily and her matchmaking.
Jogging up the stairs from the basement, he listened for everyone in the house, picking out who was back and who wasn’t. Amelia and Kai were still out with Sage and Jacob. They’d be back soon, and Liam knew he, Noah, and Alexander would have to go out again to do another sweep.
He paused when he saw Olivia sitting on the couch, staring out at the forest without actually seeing it. She looked exhausted and the bruising under her eyes worried him.
“Everything okay?” Liam asked, picking his way through the living room.
Olivia didn’t say anything, and he sat down. Zoe could wait. She may be his mate, but Olivia had been pack for years and she needed him.
“I’m fine.” Olivia finally turned and gave him a tight smile. “We’ll need to leave in a few hours.”
“You should stay here.” Liam leaned forward, his arms resting on his knees as he really looked at her. “You need the rest.”
“I told you I’m fine,” Olivia snapped. “I’m the Third. Don’t forget that Liam.”
What was it with all the women and their attitudes lately? They were all on edge, even Lily and she was a witch not a wolf.
He took a deep breath and then shoved Olivia hard. The look of disbelief on her face made him grin. It was sharper than his playful banter with Noah. “I could never forget the ranking of the members of this pack,” he reminded her. “You’re a good Third, Olivia. You can’t take care of what needs to be done if you keel over though. Let Laura take a look at you.”
Olivia shoved him back, but it didn’t feel as vicious as her words had been. “How do you do that? You and Noah always know exactly what to say and do to get me out of my head.”
“None of them are your mate, are they?” Liam watched as her expression shifted and raw pain filtered through.
He sensed it before it happened. Olivia was going to break down and she would hate him for it. Liam wrapped his arms around her and squeezed tight, hiding her face in his chest so she could calm down.
Just the closeness of a strong, healthy pack could heal things that seemed impossible whereas a broken, dying pack could break even the strongest of wolves with hardly any provocation.
“It’s totally stupid, isn’t it?” Olivia asked, her voice thick. “Why should I care so much? I don’t even know them.”
A week ago, he would have said fuck the whole mate thing and jokingly proposed to Olivia for the hundredth time, but now things were different, and he couldn’t do that even if Zoe hated him.
“There is someone out there though,” he murmured into her hair. “The mystery is sometimes worse than the knowing. All you have to do is ask Lily to find them.”
“What if he sucks?” The smell of salt stung the air as tears finally fell and Liam squeezed her tighter. “What if he doesn’t want me?”
“Then I’ll kill him for you.” Liam ran a soothing hand up and down her back. Both of them knew he wasn’t lying. Noah would gladly help and then they’d go out for ice cream after. Pistachio was his favorite after hard work.
Noah always got coffee-flavored which was just fucking nasty.
Olivia took a deep breath and then pushed away from him. “I feel like a dumbass. I’m one of the most dominant members of this pack and I’m crying over a fucking mate I don’t even have. What is wrong with me?”
“It’s not a weakness to have emotions or to express them. Don’t be a fucking idiot, Olivia. You just watched five members find their mates. It’s changed the dynamic of the pack. I get it. We’re still a family though, yeah?” He smeared the tears across her face, making a mess of them to make her laugh.
Olivia smacked his hand away, but she did laugh.
“You look like a drowned pup,” he told