Oh, shit.
Three missed calls from Sascha.
I put the phone on speaker as I dug out my spare clothes.
“Andie,” he answered after a ring.
“Hey, everything went okay.”
Untangling twigs and leaves from my hair, I vowed to bring a hairbrush and a face cloth next time. I’d woken in a bed of leaves, dirt all over me.
He exhaled. “I’m glad to hear it. How do you feel?”
A smile broke over my face. “Really good.” By comparison, I could feel how tense the last five days were.
Languidness filled me. A warmth. Energy.
Positivity.
The tribe assumed that Luthers were tired and more likely to make mistakes in the grid after the new moon. That was total bullshit—something the pack had to be faking. Because I’d never felt sharper. Wiley wolves.
I could hear the smile in Sascha’s voice as he replied, “It’s a nice feeling. You probably won’t need to run for a couple of days. We’ll meet again on Friday?”
My heart panged. Oh. A whole two days away. “Okay then. Any headway on the other issue?”
I’d keep things vague. Who knew if black wolf was around him?
“None yet. It’s a delicate problem to navigate.”
“The pack has that mind link. Can’t you just hear their thoughts?”
“We choose what others can hear through that link. I can assert my power as pack leader to search for truth, but it’s viewed as a betrayal of a kind. I must be almost certain of guilt before taking that route.”
Dang. “I see. Well… I need to get back.”
It was just after dawn, but I needed to return and hear how Trixie and Stanley did with our latest morale boosting Tribe Night.
“Have a good day, little bird.”
“You too.” Hanging up, I frowned at the screen.
That conversation felt entirely too normal.
So did him calling me little bird.
We were literally on opposite sides. How the hell did we get to the stage where I called so he wouldn’t worry? I mean, the situation was as unique as it got, but even with boyfriends, I never did that.
“Crap,” I muttered.
Making quick work of backtracking to Wade’s salted caramel scent, I shook his tent, grinning at his alarmed shout.
A mussed-up Wade poked his head out, glaring. “I could dislike you.”
“Good luck. I’ll make breakfast.”
“We only brought granola bars.”
Dammit. My stomach complained. Granola bars would not cut it.
By the time he’d dressed, I was on my third bar. Pursing my lips, I pushed the remaining three at him.
Wade took one. “You have the other two. I’m worried you’ll eat me.”
I snatched up the two bars and, well, wolfed them down.
Less than an hour later, we started for the manor.
“So?” Wade asked.
“Don’t remember a thing.” I smiled.
He glanced over his shoulder. “Did you find mushrooms of some description while out there?”
“I just feel so much better.”
He turned back as we wound through the forest. “Shifting sounds like a period.”
I scrunched my nose. Damn, it pretty much was. “Does that mean I get two periods each month?”
“Yes. What if they both happen at the same time one time? That’d be like a double whammy. Will you eat children?”
I really didn’t want to find out.
My good mood kept up to the meadow where I’d scattered half of Ragna’s ashes under the red oak. My eyes skirted to it, and my mind slammed to the other half stored in my saxophone case.
I forced my thoughts elsewhere. Nothing would ruin this day.
Up ahead, I listened to the happy bustle of the tribe around the manor. The air smelled calmer. Tribe Night worked.
The light feeling in my chest soared.
“Rhona said she knew for weeks before Sandstone.”
I stopped short. “Wait.”
Wade spun back. “Huh?”
Holding a finger to my lips, I crept forward, tilting my head.
“Keep it to yourself. Hardly anyone knows. Andie’s working really hard to tear Rhona down. We have to strike at the right time.”
My mouth dried, but the whispered conversation was apparently over. “Rhona’s been at work.”
Wade glanced around for company. “What?”
“I just heard people talking about me in Sandstone. They said to keep it quiet and that they’re waiting for the right time to strike.”
His eyes widened. “You’re fucking joking. She’s told people about Herc? Why now? She’s kept quiet all this time.”
I shared my theory. “She thought she could win without it. In the first head team meeting, she realised it wouldn’t be that clear cut. Guess demoting her after Clay was the final straw. She’s going for the throat.”
“You need to stomp on this, Andie.”
We picked up the pace to the manor.
“I’m not sure who was speaking.”
He hurried after me. “You can guess from those who took real guns to Clay.”
“Proof, Wade. I won’t accuse anyone without it.”
I waved at a group of training stewards, beaming. My smile dropped the second I passed.
Yeah, my good mood was officially gone.
Wade was breathing hard when we entered the manor. He lowered his voice. “What will you do?”
I turned to him in the hall. “The stewards have settled down after Clay. I can’t upset things so soon, particularly after overhearing a conversation from two hundred metres away. How do I explain that? Whatever I do has to be done quietly.”
Just what, I had no idea.
“In the meantime,” I said, “we ramp up the one-on-one introductions with stewards. I can smell those who don’t like me. It’s a start to get a list going. And me strengthening the bond with tribe members might help to counteract Rhona’s efforts.”
“Are you prepared for this to come out, baby girl? You can’t only think about countering her efforts. What will you do if you wake up tomorrow and every steward knows the truth?”
I tilted my chin. “Exactly what I did the day after telling Rhona the truth. I’ll face the music and do whatever I can from whatever capacity I’m given. Every person plays a part in the win, no matter how big or small. I never wanted to play the big part, Wade, and I have no problem with playing a small one.”
His salted caramel scent was bittersweet. “But that’s exactly why you have to play the big part, Andie.”
Nathan stared across the table. I smelled the sourness to his apple scent.
He knew the truth.
Rhona was digging at the head team—probably via Valerie, who I could almost say with certainty was in on the truth as well.
The scent in the manor had changed, gaining the sourness and decay I’d learned meant nothing good.
“Sandstone is a big one for us,” I said calmly. “This win is important for morale and to honour Herc’s memory.”
Nathan’s sour apple scent tripled.
Yep, he knew for sure.
I scanned the head team. Should I confess everything before Rhona could completely turn them against me?
Their reaction would be a good indication of the tribe’s possible reaction. Except I couldn’t play the game without this team. If I wasn’t head steward, I wouldn’t care as much, but I still held the position and if these people stopped listening, the tribe would suffer.
“I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon.” I stood.
At least I’d reached a new level of trust with my wolf. We’d gone through the new moon without mishap, and that relieved the last of my lingering worry. I mean, who wanted to black out for an entire night?
But we woke up where I’d requested, and she’d slumbered for most of the last few days, recovering and only speaking here and there.
I strode down the ha
ll.
We need to keep going with the mating meets, I told her. If the tribe finds out about our link to Sascha and Greyson, at least then I can tell them it’s over and I turned him down.
I smiled at Heather from security, who barked a nervous laugh in return, hurrying past.
Entering Herc’s office, I settled into his chair. Over the last few days, I got a big chunk of my assignment done. Yes, the bad grades to weekly tests rankled, but if I could scrape through a pass, this degree would be the first accomplishment on my own. That meant more each day when so many wanted a piece of me or my time.
Before this, you’ve delayed the kiss meet, my wolf answered. Why?
The thing about having another being inside of you… lying was pretty pointless and hard. The reply of it means so much to Sascha died in my mind.
I leaned back. I can’t stop thinking of him.
You want the kiss to mean something too.
That sounded so stupid. A silly kiss. I don’t know what I want.
You fear that forming a deeper connection to him will lead to pain.
I lifted a shoulder. I’ve formed deeper connections in normal situations that have led to pain. The situation between me and Sascha is definitely not normal. It’s almost assured to end in ruin and hurt. Why would I do that to myself? Plus, he doesn’t want to sleep with me after the kissing meet, so I’ll need to reject him again, and that doesn’t actually make me feel great.
So don’t do it.
My jaw dropped. Are you serious? I can’t give in to the heat. Are you insane?
Having sex with him after a meet doesn’t mean you’ll become his mate. That is only decided after all seven meets in a ceremony.
But Mandy told me… She told me that to deny the heat, I had to do the cleopatra thing. She didn’t say a thing about sex sealing the deal.
Likely on purpose to limit how much I knew about the mating process.
I’d just assumed the rest.
Sex with him will complicate everything more and he’s already said no, I told her.
Seems like your issue is more that he said no than anything else.
Whatever. Opening my lectures for the day, I played the recording, but my eyes soon drifted to my phone.
I picked it up and sighed.
We need to do the next meet.
Things are heating up here.
Three dots appeared as he read the message and typed back.
What’s happening?
What wasn’t happening?
Rhona’s telling people what happened in Sandstone.
She’s planning something.
Rhona wasn’t the subtle sort. Aside from this latest move, her efforts had proved clunky, loud, and explosive.
Would her next move be loud though? She wasn’t unintelligent by any means. Somehow, I expected a different approach.
What do you propose?
Reading his text, I rubbed my forehead as the lecturer droned on about enterprise development. Nothing could be further from my mind.
My answer really came down to one question: Did I believe Rhona would be a better leader than me?
If I put my pride and love of a challenge aside, was I the best possible leader for the tribe? At first, I’d leaned on Rhona’s confidence so much—in awe of her strength. She didn’t bat an eyelash before confronting a crowd who may disagree and dislike her. People looked to Rhona as a role model and a woman of power.
They knew her. With Rhona, they were sure. There wasn’t this need for her to convince the harder-nosed stewards.
And yet.
I sometimes wondered if Rhona valued the title of head steward more than the responsibility the role demanded. And sometimes her actions weren’t in the tribe’s best interest.
… Or was that just my pride talking? Did I just want to believe those things?
I picked up my phone, replying:
Kiss meet tonight
Bite meet tomorrow
Sex meet on Tuesday.
Until certain that Rhona was the better bet, I had to keep moving forward as head steward.
The meets could be over by Sandstone on Wednesday. There was no need to have days or weeks between times. We’d only waited so long between others because of me—and Sascha recently.
Three dots appeared, and I waited for his reply.
When it didn’t come, I jotted down notes on enterprise development, trying to tune into the lecture. This degree was important. I couldn’t waste money paying for a re-do semester. Maybe I wouldn’t set up my own business as I’d once thought, but I had a whole heap of businesses in the grids to manage.
The lecture finished.
I managed a second lecture on business research methods.
I checked my phone.
No reply. Sascha was probably caught up or having a day off without our usual Sunday grid announcement on the cards today. I’d give him an hour.
Wade walked in after knocking. “Hey, beautiful. Ready to go?”
“Thanks so much for doing this on the weekend.” I gathered my things and locked the office door behind us.
“I have no social life anyway,” he said. “This is more important.”
We set out to meet the next stewards on the list. The questions were different this week.
Why is Rhona so angry?
How are things between you two?
She’s a Thana. We hate seeing her so upset.
Would we have lost the grid if you didn’t forfeit?
None of the questions were easy, but I seized the opportunity to answer them in this private setting, thankful to get a chance at all. I was happy to notice the change of scent with a few who’d been on the fence about me.
“Who’s next?” I asked.
Wade exhaled. “Are you sure you want to visit anymore? How do you not get angry with that bullshit?”
“Because they deserve to know the truth. Or as much as I can give them.”
“It’s not a guilt thing, right?”
I gripped the wheel. “Maybe there’s an element of that. You know how much I love being lied to. I hate doing that to others. Mostly, I just want to do the right thing by them.”
He peered out the window. “Did you notice none of the stewards have asked how the shot Luthers are recovering?”
That hadn’t escaped my attention. “I can’t decide if that’s callousness or fear of showing sympathy—or if they want to show me that sympathy for Luthers isn’t okay after my forfeit.”
“It’s so fucked up,” he said. “If the game was just Grids, things would be so much easier.”
Yep.
Which was why I had to get the meets done. Sascha hadn’t made a peep. He always texted back within minutes.
He was ignoring me on purpose.
“Just here on the left.” Wade pointed.
Parking, I strode to the front door. A man no more than ten years older than me opened it before I could knock.
“What do you want?” He crossed his arms.
Wade spoke over my head. “Do you know who you’re talking to, Mark? Have some respect.”
I rested a hand on his arm. “Mark, Wade is introducing me to the tribe. Do you have five minutes for us to better know one another?”
Whoa, only Valerie put out this much dislike. She generally made the effort to keep it from her expression too.
“I’m busy,” he replied coolly.
I smiled. “No problem. I’m sure you’re hard at work for the tribe, and I commend you for that. Is there a time that suits you for me to return?”
He looked me up and down. “I’m busy every day, Head Steward.”
I blinked as the door slammed in my face. Okay, then. “I think he likes me.”
Wade was scowling so hard at the wooden entrance I worried it might burst into flame.
“Come on,” I said. “Not here.”
We’d barely pulled out of the driveway, when he slammed a fist on the dash.
I slanted a look at him. “We knew t
hat would happen with some stewards. Put his name on the list and forget about him.”
“He’s such an asshole. I hate that guy.”
“History?”
“We kissed in secondary school. He freaked out after and was a dick to me for years along with all his friends who had no idea what happened.”
“You never told them?”
“I have a heart.”
“You do. And I love you for it. Even if I find you grossly unattractive.”
Wade lifted his head. “How unattractive?”
“I found a mouldy onion in my fridge and for a second thought it was your face.”
He squeezed my hand. “At least one thing is right in the world.”
No kidding.
I pulled up in front of my cabin. “You go ahead. I’ve got to call Sascha.”
Wade obeyed—after gyrating his hips.
Things would be so easy if we lusted for each other. I’d marry him in a heartbeat.
Instead, I just wanted Sascha’s hands all over me in the worst, borderline painful kind of way.
I dialled his number and waited.
One ring.
Two rings.
The ringing cut off, and I gaped at the screen. “You mothershitter.”
He screened my call.
Furiously, I typed a text, but his message came through first.
Busy today and morning, but Tuesday works for a meet.
A meet. Any ol’ one?
And he was not that busy.
Liar.
Eyes narrowed, I sent my reply.
No problem. We can do them one after another.
One second for a kiss. A few seconds for the bite. And a minute for sex?
Suck on that, Sascha Greyson.
24
“Lovely to have met you, Darryl,” I said, clasping his hand in both of mine.
The politician handshake cracked Wade up for some reason.
My phone rang as we returned to the car, and I nearly didn’t answer. There was only an hour before the tribe’s Tuesday night gathering, and Sascha was meeting me at Lake Thana to finish this meeting crap once and for all.
Moon Claimed: Supernatural Battle (Werewolf Dens Book 2) Page 25