“Hey, I thought you’d be ready by now,” Wes said as he walked into my room uninvited.
“I’m just trying to find something to wear,” I called, my head still in the closet.
“Looks like you’ve gone through half your clothes already, Barbie. What’s the deal?”
I pulled my head out and shot him a narrow-eyed look. “Mind your business.”
Wes crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against my dresser. I shook my head and turned around again to grab another shirt off a hanger. I pulled it on and started buttoning it, doing my best to ignore my annoying brother, but that was hard to do when I could still see his reflection in the mirror.
“This,” he said, pointing at the pile of discarded shirts, “isn’t like you. What’s going on?”
I shrugged. “Abraham’s introducing us to the pack tonight. Don’t you want to look nice?”
Wes scoffed. “I always look nice.”
I rolled my eyes and did my best to ignore him again, but I could feel his dark gaze on me.
“There’s something more going on here. I don’t know what it is, but I’ll find out eventually.”
I shook my head. “You do that.” Wes continued to watch me until there was a knock on the front door. “That’s probably Beatrice.”
Wes pushed off the dresser and strolled out of my room. “I’m not done with this conversation.”
I rolled my eyes again. He was so dramatic sometimes. As soon as he was gone, I shut the door behind him so I could concentrate on what I was doing.
Wes was right. I wasn’t usually like this. Normally, I barely gave any thought to what I wore no matter the occasion, but for some reason, I did today.
Okay, it wasn’t just for some reason. It was one reason in particular. One woman in particular.
I hadn’t seen Callista again since we were introduced to her after that first meeting with Abraham and I’d barely been able to stop thinking about her. I’d all but convinced myself that I’d imagined how powerful that first encounter had been. There was just no way someone who’d only made eye contact with me for a few seconds could have that kind of effect on me.
I was determined to see her again and prove to myself that she was just like everyone else. That there was nothing special about her and I’d made it out to be so much more in my head.
But just in case it was real, it wouldn’t hurt to look my best, right?
With a sigh, I realized the plaid button-up shirt and decent-looking jeans was about the best I was going to do. It wasn’t a secret that money had been tight in the past and that meant luxuries like new clothes had been far down on the list. Things like affording Mom’s prescriptions always came first, and in the past, that had taken most of our income to do. Hopefully, things would be different here, though.
A couple days after we moved in, we’d finally gotten the chance to try out for the enforcers and thankfully, Beatrice had welcomed us both onto the force. It was a relief to know that, not only would we be doing something we both loved, but that we’d have the kind of income we’d only dreamed about. That we’d finally be able to afford to take care of Mom like we wanted and even have some left over to put into savings at the end of the month. It took a huge load off our shoulders and we were both feeling lighter than ever.
I rearranged my gelled hair once more before letting my arms drop with a thud against my thighs. I needed to get the hell over myself and just get this meeting done with.
I stalked through my room and flung open the door, purposely avoiding the mirror and the last glance I wanted to give myself. When I made it to the living room, I found Mom already entertaining Beatrice with a tray of tea and cookies.
My mom loved guests but unfortunately, they’d been few and far between in our old pack. I was holding out hope that things would be different here in that regard as well, but only time would tell.
“Hey, Beatrice. Thanks for coming by.”
She shrugged as she took a tentative sip from her teacup. “Don’t mention it. We just want you guys to feel comfortable here.”
“As happy as I am to have you here, Beatrice, I really don’t need a babysitter,” Mom said, her eyes on Wes and me.
Beatrice pursed her lips and stared into her cup, leaving this response to us. I sighed and went to run my fingers through my hair when I remembered the gel I’d slicked onto it. “It’s just for a little while, Mom. Please don’t make a big deal out of this.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m just sick of being a burden to everyone. I’m perfectly capable of staying in the house by myself.”
I crossed the room to take a seat next to her, pulling one of her hands into mine. “You’re never a burden and this won’t be forever. Just please, give me and Wes some peace of mind and let us do this our way. Once we’re sure we have nothing to worry about, you’ll have some of your freedom back, I promise.”
She huffed, but I could see her edges softening. She couldn’t say no to me. Never could. “All right, Wyatt. Have it your way.”
I kissed the side of her head, noticing the rash on her face had cleared up some.
True to his word, Doc Monroe had begun treating Mom right away. That first day he’d drawn a bunch of blood from her so he
