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I ran for hours, then hunted a rabbit and ate it for breakfast. As my wolf ran free, I tried to figure out the best way to get Felicity away from Celina. It would be difficult. Celina had made it very clear that she didn’t have many friends. Shit, that was putting it mildly. She didn’t have
any friends. The idea of telling her she needed to drop the first person who’d acted like a friend to her was cruel. Even though I knew what kind of person Felicity really was, it would be a pretty crappy thing for me to do. She was always so lonely, it hurt my heart to see it. How could?—
I slid to a stop, skidding on the fallen leaves. An idea had sprung to mind. It might work. Not only that, it would be better for Celina in the long run. I turned and sprinted to the edge of the forest. Once I was back and certain the coast was clear, I shifted and pulled my cell out of my pocket, dialing as I walked back home.
“Bro, you’re late for work,” Tate said after answering.
“Yeah, I know. It’ll be fine. I want to run something by you.”
“Shoot.”
“We agree we need to get Celina away from Felicity, right?”
“Yes. We went over this last night before you left. What are you planning?”
“Would you and Harley want to host Thanksgiving dinner? We can invite Steff and April. She needs friends, so why not have her be friends with our mates?”
“Good idea, actually. If she’s going to be your mate, then she’ll be part of this big family anyway. I like it. She needs to feel like she belongs.”
“Great,” I said, relieved that he understood where I was coming from.
Once I got off the phone with Tate, I dialed Celina as I walked across the street toward home.
“Hello?”
“Hey, it’s Miles.”
“Hi! Uh…how did you get my number? Did I give it to you? I mean, I probably did…I just don’t remember. I had…oh God…I had a good time last night.”
I grinned, listening to her ramble on. “I’m a private investigator, remember? I can get anyone’s phone number. I had a great time yesterday, too.”
“Oh, right, dumb. Sorry.”
“You aren’t dumb. Don’t say that. And stop apologizing.”
“Sorry…shit…I mean, okay. What can I do for you, Miles?”
“Do you have any plans for Thanksgiving? My friends and I always get together. Tate will be there with his wife and kids, and Steff is bringing April, his wife. Blayne will also be there, but don’t let that deter you. I promise I’ll make him shower.”
“Wow. That’s so nice and thoughtful, Miles. I’d love to, but I already told Felicity I’d spend the holiday in the city with her.”
My wolf let out a sad whine, and I gritted my teeth. I should have known Felicity had already wormed her way into getting Celina away from me for the holiday. I cursed myself for not thinking of asking this earlier. Even if I hadn’t found out Felicity was a hunter, it should have been something I thought about beforehand.
“Would it be too impolite to ask you to come with me instead? I know you don’t have many people around you, and I’d love for you to have a real Thanksgiving. The guys and I always try to outdo each other, so there will be tons of food, and I…” I paused, trying to verbalize what I really meant. “I only want you to be somewhere welcoming and be surrounded by good people for Thanksgiving.”
There was a long pause, and I crossed my fingers. I was outside the complex, staring up at her window as I waited for her answer. It came a few seconds later. “Okay. That all sounds really nice. I mean…it does. I’ll break the news to Felicity.”
I pumped a fist. “Awesome. I promise you’ll have a great time. I’m being honest here, you just made my day, Celina.”
“It does sound like fun. First though, you guys, uh, aren’t like those types of friends that do charades or Pictionary at parties or something, right? That’s a hard pass from me.”
I laughed. “No, nothing cheesy like that. You’ll be safe.”
We said our goodbyes, and I hung up. I felt more thrilled than I had in a long time. My wolf was basically wagging its tail in pleasure. Between last night and this, things really felt like they were on their way. The plan seemed to be working in my favor.
SEVENTEEN
CELINA
It had been so nice of Felicity to invite me over for Thanksgiving, but there was no way I could turn down Miles’s invitation. He’d sounded so sincere, it would have broken my heart to tell him no. Still, that meant I’d need to break the news to Felicity, which wasn’t something I was used to. Many times in my life I’d done things I didn’t want to do, simply because having uncomfortable conversations mortified me.
I texted Felicity, asking if she wanted to have lunch the next day. She’d mentioned getting together, and I thought it would be more polite to cancel the plans in person. She agreed and told me about a place downtown that made really good sandwiches and had homemade soup. Once I put my phone down, I’d taken a moment to give myself a little self-congratulatory pep talk. Not only had I been the one to initiate a text message, but I planned on canceling plans I’d made with someone. What had gotten into me since coming to this town? It was like I was turning into a whole new person.
I had a hard time sleeping later on at night, mostly because I couldn’t stop thinking about what Miles had done to me the night before. I’d even contemplated ordering a toy online to see if I could bring myself to the same explosive orgasm he had, but
chose not to. Partly because I didn’t think I could, and partly because if I did, I was worried I’d spend every day and night doing it over and over again.
I got to the restaurant for lunch, groggy from lack of sleep and nervous about what I needed to tell Felicity. It was so bad that I had to look at myself in the rearview mirror once I had parked and give myself a little pep talk. Thankfully, I’d arrived early and was able to get a seat before she got there.