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Tristan held it out to him together with a key. ‘This is my third, Tristan,’ I introduced him hastily.
Ben gave Tristan a half-hearted nod in greeting then reached for the phone. He stared at the key. After a moment, he snagged both with a muttered ‘thanks’. He unlocked the phone and hastily dialled a number. With my heightened hearing, I heard the almost instant disconnect tone.
‘She hung up on me,’ he said faintly, looking at me in wounded disbelief. ‘And she gave me back the key to my house.’
I squeezed his arm sympathetically, but for the first time in a long time I had nothing to say to him. Pollyanna had undoubtedly saved his life but then she’d abandoned him, seemingly cut herself out of his life with surgical precision. And we had no idea why.
Ben blew out a breath. ‘What do I do?’ he asked plaintively. ‘I have a wolf in my head.’
I smiled. ‘You do – and he’ll be the best friend you ever had.’ Then I hesitated. Back when I’d been turned, Lord Samuel had insisted that I return to the mansion and live among the pack for at least four weeks whilst I acclimatised to the wolf that was now residing in my skin.
It had been different then; the Great Pack had been sheared from us by the witch’s curse and the wolves and their human counterparts had lost the ability to communicate. Shifting had become a wrestle for supremacy rather than a joyous union. Forced to become no more than a bound and gagged parasite, the wolves had become even more desperate for control, for a few moments of true freedom. If the Great Pack hadn’t been restored, more packs like Frost’s would have arisen, controlled by force and fear and a far cry from the family unit they should be.
Ben and Roan were lucky: they’d be bonded with the Great Pack. Like me, they would never know what it was like to be forever separate. Still, Ben had a lot to come to terms with and a whole new magical realm to learn about. And then there was the painful complication of Noah to consider.
‘You should come to the mansion,’ I said finally. ‘You need to learn about the pack and about magic. Roan will guide you, but you’ve always been a learn-by-doing person.’
Ben licked his lips. ‘What about work?’
I shrugged. ‘Quit, take some holidays or go off sick.’ I paused. ‘The pack doesn’t have a lawyer on retainer and we could do with one. Just … think about it.’
‘I think I’ll be doing nothing else for quite some time to come.’
I grimaced; he wasn’t wrong.
‘I’m going to bed,’ he said abruptly.
As Tristan wordlessly showed him to one of the bedrooms, a yawn cracked my face. ‘Bedtime,’ Greg said softly. He came over to me and before I could say anything he’d effortlessly lifted me over his shoulder, startling laughter from me.
‘I wasn’t going to say no!’ I said between giggles. ‘I’m exhausted – there’s no need to manhandle me.’
‘I’m in the mood to manhandle you,’ he murmured for my ears alone.
‘So what are you waiting for?’ I asked. ‘You know how I love your man handle.’ I snickered.
‘It’s not a handle,’ he huffed.
‘Sure it is,’ I cooed back. ‘All it needs is a certain touch and you’re on your knees.’
‘The only one going on their knees is you,’ he growled.
‘Promises, promises,’ I said airily.
He grunted as he strode into our room at Rosie’s and shut the door behind us. He threw me onto the bed, making me bounce. He might have been my beta, but in the bedroom he was a total alpha and I loved every minute of it.
Chapter 19
‘So can we go home?’ Dad repeated impatiently.
I sighed. ‘Dad, you’re not listening.’
He glared at me. ‘I have been adopted by a dragon. My mind cannot be wiped and I belong to the Other realm. I have listened – and now I wish to return home, to my boring, ordinary, Common-realm life.’
‘It’s not safe to go home,’ I started.
‘Then make it safe,’ he snapped. He whirled out of the room and stomped down the stairs.
Mum looked after Dad with a faint frown. ‘I’m sorry, Luce. I would never have expected him to react like this.’
