Indecision tore at me. I couldn’t imagine a scenario that ended well if Kingston’s Alpha got involved.Maybe Ishouldtake the phone. To help smooth things over for him, if nothing else.
I pocketed the device, giving Derek a curt nod. “If you see him, tell him to come find me.”
Derek offered a mock salute and winked. “Of course. Bring me some cupcakes next time. Your cherry was delicious.”
Alek stiffened beside me. “I beg your pardon?”
“The fuckin’ cupcakes, man. Jesus, what the hell is wrong with you people?” he muttered, slamming the door. The audible click of a lock sliding into place punctuated his defensive retreat a second later.
The phone began ringing again, this time vibrating against my ass as the music played. “Should I answer?”
Alek shrugged. “Couldn’t hurt.”
I pulled the cell from my pocket and slid my finger across the screen to answer, putting the call on speaker so Alek could hear as well.
“Hello?”
A smooth voice with a slight country twang carried over the line. “Well, hello there, darlin’. You must be the little woman.”
Warmth crept into my face at the unexpected endearment. “Uh... yeah, I’m Sunday. And you are...”
“Dylan Farrell, Kingston’s cousin. I take it you two survived then, seein’ as you’re talking to me. How’s he holding up? The first heat can be brutal.”
Oh, God. He knew about that? Everyone and their fucking cousin knew about Kingston and me taking an extended trip to Poundtown. I wanted the ground to swallow me whole.
“Actually, I haven’t seen him since yesterday. But before that he was in good health.”
I cringed, immediately wanting to eat the words. What the hell was I saying? How was I supposed to talk about this with his family member? Did he want a freaking report card? Stamina, A+. Thrusting Power, A++. And a whole lot of extra credit for the real deep dicking.
Fuck my life.
“Settle down. I can hear your nerves jangling over the phone. What do you mean you haven’t seen him since yesterday? He should be with you in case there’s a new wave.”
“New wave?”
“Yeah. Your first time can be unpredictable. Didn’t anyone teach you this stuff?”
Motherfucker.
“No. I... it’s a long story. I went into this whole thing blind.”
“Shit. Well, you should make sure he’s nearby just on the off chance. Can’t you track him?”
“Track?”
“Lord, what are they teaching you at this fancy school? How to stick your thumbs up your asses? Yes, track. You’re a wolf. He’s a wolf. You’re mated. Track him. If he’s within a hundred miles, you should be able to find him.”
“I...” Really should have fucking thought of that sooner. This whole wolf thing was new to me; it wasn’t second nature to turn to my beast yet. But it should have been. If someone in my life had prepared me for this, maybe I wouldn’t keep ending up in these situations.
“Let me know when you find him.”
“Will do.”
“And darlin’?”
“Yeah?”
“Take care of him. He’s been waitin’ on you a long while. There’s nothing more life-changing than finding your mate. Except for losing her. He’s had to do both.”