Page 27 of Plus-Size Sold Mate
“Caleb knew Lila before us,” Hunter says, right to the point. “We don’t know Sera, and apparently, neither do you.”
The new connection in me tightens with irritation, as it doesn’t like being questioned or scrutinized, but I urge myself to calm down.
There’s no malice in what they’re saying, just reality. I’d do the same if I were in their position, and if one of them were to suddenly make such a drastic choice.
I take another breath to level myself out. “She’s not what you think, and she isn’t a threat.”
“We’ll trust your judgment for now, at least until we see for ourselves,” Zane says, tone just barely softening. “But if Dawson wanted her, then I imagine she’s better off as far away from him as possible.”
“You’ve never steered us wrong,” Dominic adds with a smile that cuts through the tension easily, and he claps a hand against my back. “We’ll take your word for it.”
A small part of me doesn’t like the thought of having to justify anything, but I know they mean well. We all have a stake in this island and our respective packs, and when something affects one, it affects the others.
“Good. Just try not to overwhelm her. She’s adjusting to a lot right now.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll be perfect saints,” Dominic says, but the mischief in his eyes says differently.
“Right. Because you are the definition of a saint.”
He chuckles, and the group of us continues closer to the cabin while the sun bathes everything in a golden hue, preparing its descent for the night.
“Next time, though, maybe give us a heads-up before committing yourself to someone for life,” Hunter chides, more lighthearted now.
“Noted,” I return, lips pulling faintly. “Though, if I get my way, this will be the only time.”
“It better be,” Dominic says, close to a warning, but lacking heat. “And that fridge better be stocked. I’m starving.”
Falling into step, we head for the cabin as Dominic receives a wave of groans from us, all well aware of his habits.
“You and your goddamn stomach,” Zane utters.
Completely unbothered, Dominic launches into his usual defenses, but my eyes go straight to Sera once we’re inside.
The guys might be thinking to themselves that I’m in over my head here, but when I look at her, I know it’s worth it.
We might be far from solid, but I’m not willing to give up on her, or this.
Chapter 9 - Sera
It’s easier to breathe now that it isn’t just the two of us, but it still isn’t the relief I need.
While I don’t have the strain of being alone with Luke here, it’s replaced by the frustration and overstimulation of having too many people. Since the moment he pulled me into all of this, it feels like I haven’t had the chance to process everything fully, and now I’m more strung out than ever.
Between the guys and Luke’s siblings, there are too many voices grating against my already raw nerves, and I don’t know how I’m supposed to exist in the middle of it all.
I was never included in much before, and not in such an exposing way. Even if they’ve kept their distance from me, I still feel their eyes on me anyway, obviously curious, if not straight up analyzing me.
Before, I kept to myself to avoid scrutiny, and in Wraith Peak, I did it just to survive. I was watched and measured, but never embraced, but now that I’m Luke’s mate, I can’t hide anymore.
It hasn’t even been two full days since the ceremony, and since our blood was mixed, yet I’m supposed to join in on something that makes me feel even more like an outsider.
I haven’t had the time to rage or grieve what I lost properly, and something in me is afraid I might lose it if I don’t.
I don’t know these people, and I doubt they deserve it, but I have the feeling Luke wouldn’t understand it if I tried explaining that.
Right now, I don’t fully understand what I feel yet, and it makes me more volatile than I want to be. I’m standing onunstable ground, and I just want to reach a place of feeling like myself—the version I was never allowed to find before.
A bonfire crackles behind me somewhere on the deck while the guys sit around it, talking and laughing with ease after scrounging up some food and cooking it together. I ate what I could stomach, but now, I’m on the end of the dock again, trying to work through it all with a semblance of peace.
