“Well, that trip to the mall was loads of fun,” Micah said as Max parked the car in front of the main house. “Remind me never to go outside again.”

“Can you not complain for one second?” I rubbed my temples, feeling a headache starting to blossom. Micah had had a lot to say while we were in the Nordstrom office.

I took the steps up to the front door two at a time. Shower and bed were all I could think about. This disaster of a day was about to end, and that was probably for the best. Exhaustion pulled at my limbs, making them feel leaden. I probably needed to eat, but that could wait.

I was a few steps from my bedroom when the scent registered. Motherfucking shit. How could I be so stupid?

If I hadn’t been in such a hurry, I’d have picked up on it sooner. Now it was too late to hide.

What the hell was Donovan doing in my room? He was supposed to be in Toronto.

More importantly, why was the scent of his anger filling the hall? I was missing something, but I couldn’t place it…

The sour undertone of fear in his scent slayed me. I stood frozen, not sure what to do, but every second, the smell grew stronger, until I was bathing in it. I swallowed down my nerves. I’d never made Donovan mad before, but I was pretty sure we were about to have our first fight.

I’d messed up by asking Cosette to meet me in a public place. I’d undermined the very problem he’d been trying to fix, and that was a real betrayal, so he had the right to be upset. But other than apologizing, I wasn’t sure how to fix it. What was done was done.

For a split-second, I thought about sneaking out of the house, but he’d already heard me in the hall for sure. There was no way he hadn’t.

“You might as well come in.” Donovan’s voice had a little too much roughness, which meant he was so pissed that his wolf was peeking out. That didn’t happen with Donovan. The more powerful the Alpha, the more control they usually had.

I stepped into my room, softly closing the door behind me. “Hey. I’m sorry. I had no idea that a shopping trip could get so out of hand. Not even in my wildest imagination…” I sighed, taking a few steps toward him, but he wasn’t even looking at me. Donovan lay on his back on my bed. His eyes were closed, and his hands were peacefully folded on his chest. If I didn’t know better, I would’ve thought he was sleeping. I shoved my hands into my back pockets as I stepped deeper into the room, stopping at the edge of my fuzzy, rainbow-print carpet.

“I really am sorry.” There wasn’t anything else I could say. I just had to wait for him to accept my apology.