Chapter 55

Ollie’s POV

I refuse to quit, but I know saying so right now with all the brothers so angry will only make things worse for me. I need to approach them after they’ve had time to calm down.

Instead, I don’t give any credence to their words. I don’t respond at all.

I just turn and walk right out of the dining room.

“Where the hell is she going?” Hugh asks.

“Let her go,” Diana says. “She’s probably just embarrassed.”

“She has reason to be,” Wes says.

I don’t want to hear the rest of their conversation so I run to the stairwell and hurry down it.

My snack supply is running a little low, but I can make do tonight. Maybe later, when they’ve all moved on from the dining room, I can sneak back upstairs and have some leftovers or make myself something. Right now, though, I’m ready to hide in my room for the foreseeable future.

Soon, I will have to approach them about keeping my job. Right now, though, I’d rather not face that kind of humiliation.

Now that I spend so many long hours, I’ve become a prolific reader. I’ve definitely been exercising my library card at the library on the university campus.

I haven’t had time to go back since finishing my last book, though, so now I’m stuck with nothing new. I could reread the last book I read, but…

I flop down onto my bed face first instead, half wishing the floor would just swallow me and I could truly disappear – at least for a while.

Maybe I could just run away and start a new life. I wonder how far I’d get.

Probably not far. For as much as the brothers dislike me, they sure want to keep me here, keep me close and under their control. They’d likely track me down before I could even get out of the neighborhood.

The only way out of this for me is with legitimate purpose. I have to keep holding on, keep planning, until after the fall semester when I can transfer to Nightheart pack.

Until then…

My burner phone buzzes from inside the drawer on my nightstand. It’s been a couple hours since dinner. Hugh must be bored. I’m surprised he isn’t going out tonight, but maybe this just means I’m his favorite pastime.

Then again, he hasn’t contacted me since giving me up to Wes.

Although I suppose it could just as likely be Wes texting me now. I did give him my number.

Curiosity quickly overwhelms me and I pull myself out of my own spiral of misery to retrieve the phone from the drawer.

The message is from Hugh, after all.

We should talk. Can I call you?

I pause a moment. Would he recognize my voice over the phone? In person, he never seems to notice the similarities between the Ollie he knows and his soul mate, but in person, there are other things for him to focus on than just my voice.

A phone call would be my voice only.

Yet… I don’t know. People believe what they want to believe. They hear what they want to hear, and see what they want to see.

Since Hugh doesn’t know the Ollie he knows and his soul mate are the same person, I doubt he will make that connection on his own, even if he thinks are voices are similar.

I should be safe.

Against my better judgement, I’m also willing to chance it. I can always deny it if he becomes suspicious. My muted scent should save me if it gets too far.

I just really want to know what he’s going to say.

You can call me. I am free tonight.

I send the message, and lean back down on the bed to wait for his call. Staring up at the ceiling, I wonder what he wants to talk about. It has to be about Wes, doesn’t it?

I don’t have to wait long to find out, because the phone immediately starts ringing.

I let it ring twice, not wanting to see too eager, and then I answer.

“Hello?”

“There you are,” he says. “I’ve missed your voice.”

Yeah, he has no idea. I was silly for worrying.

Even with that relief, I remind myself that I’m still a little mad at him for setting me up to meet Wes. Wes and I ended up having a good time, but Hugh didn’t know that would happen when he arranged it.

It is difficult not to feel a modicum of betrayal. My anger over tonight’s events helps amplify it. The way he spoke to me about those flowers… The way he wouldn’t believe me…

“You wanted to talk,” I say curtly.

“I need to apologize to you, little fox. I’m sorry for surprising you with Wes.”

“Why did you do it?” I ask. Wes already mentioned what happened but I want to hear it from Hugh himself.

“He found us out,” Hugh says. “Another thing I need to apologize for. I wasn’t as careful as I should have been, and he scented you. We both vow to keep you secret from Declan and Conrad though. Wes, at least, is gentle. And you know the pleasures I can give. Conrad and Declan would be too much for you.”

I don’t like that he is making that assumption for me, but I don’t say so because he might actually be right.

Conrad and Declan are both intense in their own ways. Though thoughts of what they might do to me make me shiver, it also frightens me, just a little bit. I’m still fairly new to sex. Hugh can go all night, but he’s never too rough.

When I imagine Conrad, I think of him pinning me down or showcasing his strength. With Declan, I know he’d order me around and I’d think I’d like that.

Right now, though, Hugh might be right. I don’t know if I’m ready for all of that.

“Can you forgive me?” Hugh asks. “I don’t like the thought of you being angry with me?”

It’s not difficult to find forgiveness for Hugh in this. Maybe that would be different if my time with Hugh had been a disaster. Instead, it had been so pleasant that I was glad it happened.

“I guess I can forgive you,” I say, not wanting to make it too easy for him. “But… please, don’t tell Declan or Conrad.”

“You have my word,” he says. “I’ll be the picture of caution from now on. If they find out, it won’t be from me.”

The way he phrased that… it’s like he’s assuming they will eventually find out, either on their own or from Wes.

I’ll need to talk to Wes then too, to make sure he understands. I’m already in over my head with just Wes and Hugh, I don’t know if I would be able the rest.

Also, above everything, Conrad and Declan seem less likely to let me leave.

Hugh doesn’t make attachments, and Wes is nice enough to break things off if I want to. Conrad and Declan though? I don’t anticipate anything going my way with the two of them. They are as stubborn as they are domineering.

If they find out, I might not be able to escape.