Page 33 of Two Years Gone

“It’s not much, but it’s home,” I said shyly as we made our way back to my bedroom.

I was oddly nervous, I’d never had a boy other than Declan in my room, and he didn’t count.

I watched Zane place his hands on his hips and look around the room.

“Well, what do you need?”

I rubbed my head. I wasn’t about to let him touch my clothes. Or my unmentionables.

“Uh, you can empty that bookshelf, I guess. Just throw those books in the box right there on the floor.”

Zane nodded and made his way over to the shelf. After about twenty minutes of packing in relative silence, my mom burst in.

“Ells Bells, you’ve got to be kidding me!”

“Mom! What’s wrong?” I walked toward my mom with worry in my eyes.

“Alpha Daniel just told me you’re moving into the pack house.” I could see the tears forming in her eyes.

“Mom it’s not permanent. Alpha Daniel just wants me close by to begin training to take over your job. Learn all the behind-the-scenes things.”

“And you have to live there to do that?” my mother prodded.

I shrugged.

“I guess. I told him I was more than happy to just come in early and stay late, but he refused.”

My mom huffed before jumping at a small thud from the corner.

Zane gave a guilty wave.

“Sorry. Lost my grip on a book.”

“Oh, Alpha Zane. I didn’t know you were here.” Sophie smiled before turning to me with a look that quietly asked what he was doing in my room.

“Alpha Zane knew you were in a meeting with Alpha Daniel and offered to help me pack. Alpha Daniel wants me in the pack house as soon as possible.”

Mom nodded before rolling up her sleeves.

“I guess we’d better hunker down and get this done.”

We got to packing and the atmosphere of the room had lightened now that Sophie was there to break the tension between us.

“Ells Bells, do you want this?” My mother held up a ragged-looking T-shirt. I walked over and held it to my face and inhaled.

“Of course I want this. It was Dad’s.” I smiled up at my mom before walking back to the desk.

“Ells Bells?” Zane looked at me curiously.

My mom and I both laughed.

“It’s the nickname my dad gave me.”

“When Ella was three, she was playing with some other pups, and her father scolded them for getting into something they shouldn’t. She gave him the biggest look of defiance I’ve ever seen.

He said, ‘Hells bells, Ella! You go around looking at people like that and they’ll mistake you for Alpha Daniel.’ From that day forward, he called her Ells Bells. Because she’s a surprise for sure.”

My mom squeezed my shoulder and continued packing.