Atlas was hard underneath me and Marco was just staring into my gaze in an intimately intense way. Henry was muttering curses to himself. I opened my mouth to ask Marco to remove his hand from my mouth when a knock sounded on the door. All seven of us freezing, Marco removed his hand.
“Go get the door Sai,” Marco muttered and helped me up off the couch.
“You know its the police right?” Sai stated softly.
“I’m aware, her mother and Jed must have called.” Oh no. “I need to talk to her for a moment, please go delay them.”
My heart was strung up tight. “I’m sorry.” I knew the police were not a good sign.
Marco shook his head and looked down at me. “No worries, honey. I need you to be honest with me, alright?”
I nodded.
“Is your house safe for the night? If I let you walk out of here, will you be okay?”
Oh, I hated lying. I swallowed, “I think so.”
He growled softly and shook his head. “You turn 18 this Saturday right?”
I nodded my head and he spoke quickly and quietly, “I don’t want you staying in that place a moment longer than you have to. I want you to come to stay with us. Are you comfortable with that?”
Was I? I flicked my eyes around the room and the feeling in my chest grew warmer. I nodded and spoke softly, “yes. Yes, I’m okay with that.”
Marco flashed me a brilliantly white smile right as two men in dark uniforms rounded the corner. “Mr. Moretti, so sorry to interrupt here, we were just sent to check on a girl from the twin’s school. A few students saw her leaving with them today, so we figured we would check here first.”This didn’t sound like my mom. This sounded like Jed.
I knew they saw Henry, but both of them looked away as if nervous. Interesting.
Marco turned with a hand on my back and spoke quietly, “I understand officers, as you can see she’s perfectly fine. In fact, if there is anywhere you should be worried about her going, it’s back home.”
“What?” One of them asked my heart sped up.
He continued keeping his gaze on me while playing with my hair, “additionally, please refrain from making up bullshit. I’m well aware her mother’s boyfriend was in the parking lot after school, watching her.”
Really? Oh, that is just weird.
“Do me a favor,” Marco spoke quietly, ignoring their reactions, “I understand that you have to take her back, but inform your alpha that I need security placed there until Saturday. I will extend our agreement for the contractors on the West cabins until July.”
Both of them nodded and Marco turned to me, bending down slightly making me smile because we were eye to eye. “You call me if there are any issues tonight, promise?”
“I promise,” I whispered and impulsively leaned forward to press a kiss to his cheek. He let out a low sound before crushing me to him, I relaxed into it. I walked towards the officers and Henry’s voice was sharp and hard, making my skin shiver and not in a bad way.
“Officers,” Henry chimed. “It would be in your very best interest to ensure our mate stays safe. You understand, correct?”
It clicked then. The way he used it made the concept click perfectly. My eyes widened as I looked back at Marco. Animals had mates and they were shifters… did that mean they wanted to mate with me? I frowned and Atlas made a low worried noise as I walked towards the door and out into the cold rainy atmosphere. Well, talk about something to freakin’ think about.
“Maya,” Ledger’s voice called out as he ducked out and offered me a heavy jacket that swamped me in his scent. I smiled at him and he kissed my cheek before I slid into the back of the SUV. Luckily, the police bars were on the third row so I didn’t feel like I was in trouble.
“Now, Miss Maya,” one of the cops, his shiny head making me smile, as he turned back. “We do apologize for having to take you home. Is there anything specific you would like to report in reference to your family?”
Three more days. Don’t be dramatic now.
“No,” I stated softly. “It’s fine.”
Both of them shared a look, but I kept quiet as my mood plummeted the closer we got to the house. I really hadn’t realized how late it was when we got back from flying and as we drove up to the trailer the other cop spoke, his beard spotted with gray unlike Atlas’.
“We are going to walk you to the door, Maya. and just remember we are going to be outside all night if you need anything, Mr. Moretti is an essential part of the shifter community. We all owe him in some way or another.”
I wondered if that had to do with his business.