Freed Wolf

77 Star Crossed Lovers

"Let's go!" Mira growls, giving Sasha a pointed look. A hush falls over not only the table but the whole private dining room as all eyes lock on her.

"Mira, it's just breakfast-" Sasha starts.

"We're leaving," she growls, blatantly ignoring everyone at the table and locking her gaze on her sister.

"No we are not!" Sasha snaps back. Her mocha eyes smoulder as her temper flares in response to her sisters unexplained anger.

"Say your goodbyes, I'll be waiting out front for you. Don't take long," Mira warns icily before turning and storming off.

"Mira wait!" Jace calls as he takes off after her. His fear and desperation wash over me in waves, tugging at my heart.

The door slams behind them, leaving the hall in stunned silence as everyone exchanges confused looks. Chris said Mira has struggled to trust those around her but with how closely she helped people in the hospital and everything she did for me, she really seemed like she was making progress.

"Jess," Sasha pleads, locking eyes on me before shifting her gaze to the door. Her own fear and anxiety wash over me. She doesn't want to leave since she had already asked me if there was a pack to take them in and her eyes lit up when I said we'd take them in a heartbeat.

But fear drives people to do crazy things, and as angry as Mira appears, it's a front for how scared she is. The question is what is she scared of?

"She's scared," I reply, trying to decide what has upset her. When last I saw her flitting around the hospital she really looked quite at ease.

"But I can't leave." Even in a whisper, her voice drips with anxiety as she scans the room.

"Then you need to tell her that," I reply with a sympathetic smile. "She's scared, that fight or flight instinct is a powerful thing."

"So is love," Chloe adds. Her dark eyes shine like she knows something the rest of us haven't caught on to yet.

I get up and hold out a hand for Sasha. Her wide mocha eyes drop to it before she tentatively takes it with her own trembling hand. Her grip tightens to an almost painful level as we walk through the threshold and Mira and Jace come into view, mid-standoff and dangerously close.

"What are you running from!? Tell me!" Jace yells as he glares at the stubborn woman.

"Nothing! I did my part, I have my sister, now I'm leaving," she snaps, inching closer to him. The air shimmers around her in a nonverbal threat but Jace isn't backing down, he doesn't even act like he notices the danger.

"But why?!" He asks furrowing his brows. "I know Chris offered you and your sister a place in our pack-"

"You'd like that wouldn't you!" She seethes. Her eyes light up like blue fire as she glares dangerously at him.

"Of course I would," he snaps. "I've done nothing but try to get to know you and you keep frosting me out!"

Maybe I picked the wrong sister because this is definitely more than Jace being a nice guy...

"Take a fucking hint, mutt!" She flinches as the words leave her lips, like even she didn't mean to go that far.

"I am taking the hint," he warns, closing the gap and grabbing her arm to pull her closer. She gasps but the energy around them intensifies, sizzling the air. "You told me to come back and finish what I started."

"You needed motivation," she replies, not sounding nearly as confident as she was a mere moment ago. "I would do anything for my sister."

His eyes soften as he wraps an arm around her waist, holding her close. "Bullshit," he whispers, locking his stormy gaze on hers. "Let me in. Let us in. You could build such a good life with us for you and your sister."