Chapter 455
I sat staring at the screen, a pit forming in my stomach. It was foolish. I needed to speak with him, to understand my feelings before doing anything else. But seeing his words made me freeze… and panic.
“Are you okay?” Rick’s words snapped me back.
“Um, yeah. Just a message I need to respond to.”
He nodded. “When are you talking to Vince? About leaving?”
I sighed. “After I know where I’m going.” He nodded and stood. “I guess I’ll see you tonight.”
I smiled. “See you tonight. I need to leave a little early to get everything I need.” He nodded and left me alone in the office.
I wanted to ignore Thoth’s message—a stupid idea. I needed to face this.
“You’re panicking over a message?” Nix sounded amused.
Megan chuckled. “I think she’s panicking more about what the message means.”
“But she messaged him first,” Nix shook her head.
I laughed. They were both right. I shook my head, returning to the screen, the cursor flashing, waiting for my reply.
NixtheGoddess: What do you need to talk to me about?
I hit send before thinking, then waited, turning to my work computer, pretending to be busy. A new notification appeared, and my stomach clenched as I looked. It was from my father, and my tension eased. Before I could read it, a faint scent hit my nose. Brandon was lurking outside my office. I’d thought he’d left with Rick, but no. He was still there. I ignored him and clicked on my father's message.
Deadmanwalking: King has agreed to move back to pack lands. You can move today.
NixtheGoddess: Are you ready to move?
Deadmanwalking: Believe me when I say everyone is champing at the bit. I have Ronnie and Cas scouting the caves.
NixtheGoddess: WHAT? Cas is still so young.
Deadmanwalking: Yet she has quickly become our best tracker. You were right. I let a lot fall by the wayside when your mother left, but I’ve been sticking to their training, and the girl has really stepped up.
I felt a little vindicated.
NixtheGoddess: Are they okay?
Deadmanwalking: They are fine. They haven’t even reached the caves yet; they left a little while ago. But I figured you’d want to know. Anyway…
I furrowed my brow. I was about to ask what was wrong—my father never trailed off—when Brandon finally reached my office door. His scent had fully permeated the room. My face fell as I looked up. Two notifications appeared, but I shut the laptop and settled back, crossing my arms.
“What are you doing here?” My tone was sharp, but I wasn’t going to pretend to care about this man anymore. That part of the play was over.
Brandon smiled and tried to come around the desk, but I growled. His face fell. “Babe.”
Another growl escaped me. My voice dropped lower. “I would think again before calling me that. Keep your distance. I don’t want you anywhere near me anymore.”
Brandon’s eyes tightened. He wanted to snarl, but held it back. “Why are you acting like this?” He sank into the chair opposite me. “I told you Shannon doesn’t matter to me.”
I snorted. “You really think I’m fucking stupid, don’t you?” He stilled for a moment, but the damage was done. I threw my head back and laughed, so hard tears fell. “I walked into that one. Of course you think I’m stupid.”
He drew a deep breath, his eyes dilating slightly. “That’s not true.” He tried to sound sincere, but even he could hear the lie. “You smell…different.”
I shrugged. “I went back to my old shampoo.” Another ding from my laptop drew his attention.
“What was that?”
“An email,” I retorted. “But that isn’t important. What are you doing here, Brandon?”
He looked at me, puffed out his chest slightly. “I came to apologize about last night.”
I waved him off. “It doesn’t matter anymore.”
He smiled, like he’d won. “Exactly, so we can just go back to being fine. Our mating ceremony is in a week, and then we will be mates.” I stared at him, my eyes dancing around his head. He started to squirm. “What?”
I blinked slowly. “I’m sorry, I was just checking to see if you got hit over the head.”