Page 201 of All Packed Up

“Not without causing more trouble for yourselves in the long run. Besides, with you here, what’s the worst they can do?” she reasoned. “Let me talk to them.”

It was no more than a breakup, right? Or like betas asking for a divorce? Was there a version of that when it came to mated partners?

Nic let her squeeze between them, and she sought comfort in their warmth, in their presence.

“Derek,” she said in greeting.

Her throat was already rough with unshed tears. She could do this.

“Roman, Gavin, Josh,” she continued, but couldn’t quite meet their gazes, settling for focusing her gaze on their noses when she looked at them.

She hated that they still had so much power, that they had the ability to make her feel afraid.

“I left for a reason, and I don’t intend to come back.” Wendy was proud of how strong her voice was, even if inside she felt like a wilting flower.

As if on cue, each of their faces fell. A mixture of confusion and hurt poured from them.

“I wanna know why,” Roman said, voice raw and pleading as if he was actually hurting.

Stunned at the new show of emotion, Wendy floundered. Why would he even ask that? They knew.

They fucking knew!

“Wendy, we are good to you,” Joshua said. His gaze was swimming with hurt, with confusion. “Why did you run away? It was completely out of left field. I never even knew you were unhappy,” he claimed.

“We can fix this,” Gavin said confidently, puffing his chest out. “Whatever we did wrong, we can fix it. You just have to tell us.” His expression dropped. “Why didn’t you try talking to us before you ran?”

Wendy snapped her mouth shut, glancing over her shoulder at Nic.

His gaze snapped down to her, the same confusion she felt reflected in his amber eyes. At least she wasn’t the only one who was confused, because these men were not acting like the alphas she had been telling him about these past few weeks.

The alphas in front of her, these four men looked nothing like the Sterling Pack that had made her life a living hell for the past four years.

She turned back to face them. The ball of emotion filling her chest made her ribs ache, and she sucked in a deep breath.

“I did,” she said, voice strong and certain, but—

“When?” Gavin asked in disbelief. “You never said anything to me.”

But she had! She’d told him… she’d told all of them!

Her pulse was pounding so loudly in her ears she couldn’t even think. She didn’t know.

Had she ever spoken out against them? She had… right?

As her heart beat itself against her rib cage, her mind swarmed with years of harsh voices and lonely nights. Stuffy parties, too tight dresses, and hissed threats, lest she embarrass them. Cruel words and scathing glances. Nights spent wondering if she’d made a mistake.

Now she knew, after being with Nic and Griffith, after meeting Tate and Arlo, she could say for certain that the Sterling Pack was her greatest mistake.

Except the Sterling Pack had never acted like they were now, standing in front of her and two strangers, trying to twist her memories into an unrecognizable caricature.

She slid her gaze to the men standing behind her. What if they believed them? What if they thought she’d been lying this whole time?

Why couldn’t Wendy think?

Thorns prickled her throat, tears threatening in her panic.

“Wendy, we never knew you were unhappy,” Roman added, voice soft.