“Firstborn a woman?” I asked in surprise.
“Yes. It’s not unheard of. Looking back, some of the men must have seen me as a female who might be able to produce an alpha male child. The Kizer pack treats their women like breeding machines, and most of that was my father’s fault for bringing in old blood. It’s refreshing to live in a house where I can play horseshoes with Denver or listen to music with Jericho and not have to worry about ulterior motives. Just to be treated as an equal—it’s something I’ve never known.”
My eyes lowered to the floor at the mention of Jericho’s name.
I lifted a swath of my hair and studied the ends where Wheeler had sliced off a chunk to free me in the hot tub. She stepped forward and touched a few wavy strands. “Do you want me to trim this up for you?”
“I thought about lopping it all off,” I said jokingly.
“No, don’t do that. You have exquisite hair. It’s such a unique shade of light red. I’ll get some scissors and come back this afternoon. How does that sound?”
“Better you than me, I suppose. I’d make a mess of it. Thanks, Ivy. I’m so sorry for all this trouble; I swear this isn’t who I am. There’s no way I can repay your family for what they’ve done. Did Wheeler tell you what we found?”
She sat on the bed beside me and pulled her braided hair around front, brushing her fingers over the ends. “They had a difficult time getting in touch with Delgado, but Reno arranged a meeting with one of his men and performed the exchange. I don’t think that’s the last we’ve heard of him though, and Austin’s worried about his pack getting involved with someone as unscrupulous as Delgado. This guy is big-time—even my father avoided drug lords. I’m relieved they handled this the right way.”
The elephant in the room was stomping around and swinging his trunk, but neither of us brought up Jericho. As much as I wondered how devastated he might be, I also had visions of him packing up his guitar and heading off to another gig, buying drinks for a girl sitting on his lap, and wondering what crazy Izzy’s up to. There’s a time in every broken relationship when you face the ugly question of wondering how much you really meant to a person, if you’ll be the only one with the broken heart.
“What happens if you find a mate?” I asked. “Who’s not in the Weston pack, I mean.”
“Then I go with him. This living situation is only temporary, unless I choose not to mate. It would break tradition to have my mate move in with my pack. He would not acclimate to a house full of men who already feel protective of me.”
“Are you looking?”
Ivy stood up, and her long braid draped exquisitely down the center of her curved back. “I’m optimistic, but I don’t know if there is a man who is capable of giving me the love I require.”
My smile withered when I noticed the sullen expression on her face as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. Ivy had a romantic heart, and I felt a kinship to her more than the other girls because of it. Her free spirit inspired me to desire more for myself, and yet something about her was broken.
Then again, maybe we’re all a little broken and just trying to find the glue that’ll hold us together.
“You could try searching for love online.” I grinned at her and suppressed a giggle.
She slapped a hand over her mouth and laughed, her eyes turning into playful crescent moons. “Can you imagine having a human pick me up at the house for a date? I’m afraid I’d end up with six chaperones.”
We both laughed at the idea, and I took a bite of my tart apple.
Ivy raised her chin proudly and headed toward the door. “All I want is a good man who can provide for me. I should be so lucky,” she finally said, lifting her purse from the small table.
“Well, don’t get mated unless he loves you.”
“Likewise,” she said, waving as she went out the door. “I’ll be back in a little while.”
***
Jericho was sprawled out on the living room sofa, listening to the Weston pack moving about the house. A few days had gone by since the night he’d been drugged by that groupie. Izzy had taken her car and left for good, and he’d been unable to get his head together. Once the pain in his chest subsided, it was replaced with emptiness.
Maizy darted around the spacious living room, engaged in a game with Denver. Maizy didn’t have any children to grow up with or close friends, so Denver provided her with all the entertainment she could hope for. The men enjoyed the vivacious energy she brought into their home. Denver was Maizy’s watchdog and would be her protector for as long as she needed. That little girl adored him, probably because he had the same maturity level as she did.#p#分页标题#e#