Chapter 22

Selene

Deciding to move out of the packhouse and get a place with Makayla was both exciting and nerve-racking. Of course, I had reservations about leaving my mom alone with Philip, but most of the time he's at the palace, and she's busy with her Luna duties. She encouraged me to the move out, saying that she's proud of me for wanting to move onto my next stage of adulthood.

It's been a few weeks since my date with Zack, and we've barely seen each other since. Ever since that night, he's been acting strange. I don't even know what I did wrong to him, but the way he's behaving is fucked up. I thought we were starting to get serious again, but now, every time I call him, he acts like he's too busy to speak to me.

Along with the drama with Zack, Phoenix's absence has left me feeling lonely. He texts me every day, but he's also been too busy to come around. That's why it's nice that I'm moving in with Makayla, it's nice to have someone around when everyone's too busy for me.

It seems like other than Makayla and I, everyone else has 24/7 hour jobs.

Today is my moving day, since Makayla's grandpa already moved in her things into our place yesterday. I was hoping Phoenix would show up and help, but he hasn't. After packing all my things and putting all of the small boxes into the moving truck, Makayla and I struggle with the heavier ones.

'What the hell is in here?" Makayla grunts, failing miserably at picking up the box.

"Be careful with that one. Those are the only memories I have left of my dad," I tell her.

She gives up and slumps to the ground. "I hate to say it, but this is too much work just us. I wish Sam could've helped."

I sigh heavily. "I know, but he was busy too. He works like fourteen-hour days at the hospital."

"Where's your stepdad?"

"Being the Alpha King or whatever," I mutter, not concealing the disdain in my voice.

She raises his head to give me a questioning look. "What about your stepbrother? I thought ya'll were getting along better."

I swallow the lump in my throat. "We are, but he's busy protecting Philip. It seems nobody has time for me anymore. Even Zack is being a distant asshole."

Makayla frowns. "Nobody's abandoning you, Selene," she reassures me. "I'm sure they would be here if they could. You and Zack are still dating, right?"

Is "dating" the right word?

I shrug, my frustration bubbling within me. "I don't know what the fuck we're doing. He tried to mark me while I was in heat, and then suddenly pushed me away. I'm starting to to think he doesn't want me anymore."

She hums. "Maybe he noticed your attraction to your stepbrother, and he thinks acting like an asshole is going to earn him some brownie points too. I mean, how can he possibly compete with a hot bad boy with a motorcycle?" she asks, half teasing.

My eyes widen. "They haven't even met," I reply. At least I don't think so. "But when we were on the couch, he did mention he could smell another male on me."

"Mmm, that makes sense too. I'm sure with Phoenix's bloodline, he has a more dominant scent to other guys. Maybe he got insecure and jealous," she ponders.

Ugh, that does make sense. It seems like we may need to sit down and straighten everything out between us in order for us to move forward. The stability of our relationship is gone, and along with it, my confidence that we can eventually be mates again. We may as well break up at this point; he's doing the same bullshit I didn't want Phoenix to continue doing.

I need stability, not this distant, emotionally-unavailable shit.

"Want to try moving this box again while I grab us some bottles of water?" Makayla asks, rising from the floor. After she leaves the room, I go to lift up the box of my father's things, but two large hands cover mine. His scent hits me before I even look up, and my wolf purrs in my head. I meet his blue eyes, intense yet soft.

Phoenix.

"Don't you dare pick this fucking box up," he orders firmly, an edge to his voice that sets my nerve endings on fire.

I can't help but smile like an idiot. "You came," I breathe, relieved and grateful.

He smirks, his eyes warm and playful. "Of course I did, and I bought an extra pair of hands."

A large man appears in the doorway of my room. He resembles Phoenix in some ways, particularly the beard and the eyes.

"Um, who is that?" I ask Phoenix, curious.

"My Uncle Luke on my mom's side," he responds casually.

Wow, Philip had never mentioned him. I wonder if he's the black sheep of the family.

"Hi," I say shyly.

"Hey, I've heard a lot about you, Selene. Nix talks about you constantly," Luke says with a playful smirk.

"Don't do that," Phoenix grumbles, rolling his eyes. But there's a playful lilt to his voice, and I have a feeling he's closer to Luke than Philip.

I giggle. "Oh, does he? I hope it's all good things," I tease, enjoying the playful banter.

I just hope Phoenix isn't telling him the filthy, taboo shit he says to me.

Luke drapes an arm over his nephew's shoulder. "Of course, we Hunters are gentleman. Aren't we, Nix?"

Phoenix chuckles lowly. "Speak for yourself, Unc."

"Selene?" Makayla's voice interrupts as she enters the room. She pauses, surprised to see Phoenix and his uncle. I watch the subtle smirk twitch on her lips.

With Makayla and Luke standing beside each other, I can see a resemblance. If I didn't know any better, I'd think they were related. Like closely related.

Over the next few hours, we move all the boxes from the packhouse to our new place. I can't help but notice the awkward tension between Makayla and Luke, thought Makayla never mentions a word of it to me.

We definitely have to talk later.

There was a different kind of tension between Phoenix and me, one laced with unspoken feelings and longing glances. Each time our fingers brushed or our eyes met, a current passed between us, igniting a fire I'm trying my hardest to suppress.

Watching him lift boxes in a muscle shirt and shorts have my panties soaked, and I just know he can smell it. I just wonder if he's going to do something about it, or are we going to continue to play fucking games.

Once everything has been moved into our new place, we all gather in the living room to relax and have a few beers. I'm not usually a beer-drinker, but it's apple flavored, so I suck it up.

"How are you, Makayla?" Luke asks surprisingly, causing both me and Phoenix to watch the exchange. I'm getting second-hand embarrassment from the awkward tension between them.

I wonder how they know each other. I know I haven't known Makayla long, but she's never mentioned him before.

Makayla's brows furrow. "I'm...good. Have I met you before?" she asks, puzzled.

She's as confused as I feel right now.

"Perhaps. I believe I do know your mother...Diana, right?" Luke replies, downing a beer in one gulp. I notice beads of sweat forming on his forehead, and I wonder why he's so goddamn nervous.

She nods slowly. "That's right. Where do you know her from?"

He hums. "I don't remember exactly, but you do look a lot like her."

Luke seems like a nice guy, but I'm sure he was a heartbreaker in his younger days. Shit, he still might be. He's pretty attractive for a man around my father's age.

"I can ask her if she remembers you. What's your name?" she asks, and I can tell exactly what she's doing. Digging for information. Her mom suddenly died a few years ago, so unless she has an Ouija board lying around here somewhere, she's not asking her anything.

But what answers is she seeking?