The day was barely started, and I was already over it.
Laughter erupted to my left, and it drew me up short. Who was that happy this early in the morning? Nathalie and Aisha walked, shoulder to shoulder, along the property line. Their low conversation eluded me, and their smiles cut me to the quick.
There had been a time not so long ago when that was me and Nathalie or me and Nathalie and Bianca. It turned out Bianca had been the glue holding my friendship with Nathalie together, and without her around, we accepted easy excuses not to spend as much time together.
Maybe that would all change when Bianca came home. If she came back.
Currently she was a patient at the Edelweiss Mental Institution in Kermit, Texas with no checkout date in sight. Her mate, Jensen, had been brutally murdered in front of her. She admitted herself to Edelweiss after that. All she had left of Jensen was the child in her belly, and I prayed the bright spark of that new life would be enough to lead her out of the darkness.
I scratched my nails across my scalp. The baby was due any day now. I ought to call and check on her. Bianca wouldn’t talk to us, but her nurse was good for updates. Yet another area where I had fallen down.
Head down, legs pumping, I reached the safety of my RV before anyone could stop me to ask what was wrong. The wolf urged me to run. We always felt better after a hunt. But I couldn’t afford to be reckless, and I couldn’t trust her not to go for a second round with those chipmunks. All I needed to top off this day was to get ensnared by the enchantment for a second time. That would prove I was beta material.
Not.
The one productive thing left for me to do before my workday started at the clinic was research. I cracked open Dictionary of Faerie as well as Myths Live Next Door and Don’t Touch That, It Bites and set my kitchen timer for an hour. All too soon, the buzzing snapped me out of the book I had been reading. I snapped two other titles shut but kept the third open and marked it with the treaty I still hadn’t blocked out time to read. I’d have to dig in to Myths again after work.
I dressed in jeans, a T-shirt and steel-toed boots, tied my hair in a loose ponytail and left with a hastily packed lunch tucked under my arm.
“You’re still angry” was the first thing I heard after my boots hit the planks.
“Did you sharpen your knife while I was researching?” My lip quivered in Isaac’s general direction. “Should I turn around? Would that make it easier for you to stab me in the back again?”
“No one stabbed you in the back.” He sighed with infinite patience that made me want to strangle him.
“You went behind my back to the alpha—”
“—who is married to my cousin,” he interjected.
“—and put the idea in his head that I needed a gamma because I can’t do my job.” I fisted my hands at my sides. “If you think those words didn’t draw blood, then you don’t know me at all. This position, this pack, is all I have.” Fur brushed the underside of my skin, the wolf coaxing me to run and leave this human drama behind. “You’re not taking it away from me.”
Losing this meant everything I had suffered up to this point had been for nothing.
I was not nothing.
“Listen to me.” Isaac approached with caution, eyeing me as though I were a rattler coiled to strike. “You are strong, smart and tough. You’re the best woman for the job. No one is disputing that. Stop being so damn stubborn, and hear the words coming out of my mouth.”
Each step closer made it harder for me to back away. I was furious. I wanted to rip his head off his shoulders. I wanted to punch him in the junk so he understood how I felt.
And I would never raise a hand to him. I couldn’t. The wolf wouldn’t let me.
Even now, even after this latest betrayal, she would protect him to her last breath.
“I didn’t break the chain of command. I didn’t sink cutlery into your back. I posed a hypothetical to a family member, and he answered in the spirit the question was asked.”
A smidge of my anger evaporated. “Is it true fae can’t lie?”
Isaac didn’t pop off with an immediate response. “I’m debating how dangerous it is for me to give you an answer.”
“You’re afraid I’ll abuse the knowledge?” He was smart to be scared. Curiosity killed the warg, right?
“Fae can twist words until they sound like what you want to hear. It’s a talent of ours.” His lips pursed. “I don’t want to admit we can’t lie and then you get hurt later because of confusion over what someone wanted you to hear versus what they were actually saying. You’re safer trusting that fae can lie.”
Fair enough. That fit with what I had been reading. “Have you ever lied to me?”
“No.”
I wrinkled my nose. “There’s not much wiggle room in a single word.”
“Anyone who comes home with me knows what she’s getting.” His gaze remained level, steady. “I make sure of that.”
“Yes,” I had to agree. “You certainly do.”
The problem was he had so much experience making a woman’s body feel cherished that she got confused about the disconnect between his hands and his heart.
Isaac glanced aside, and his hands found their way into his pockets.
“I’m late for work.” I skirted him then hit the path leading to the clinic. “I don’t want to find you lurking on my porch when I get home.”
“It’s not lurking if it’s being neighborly,” he called. “See you at five?”
I shook my head and kept moving.
“Six?”
I raised my hand in a wave.
“Is that a yes?” A second later, he called, “I’m taking that as a yes, neighbor.”
The fact I had to bite my bottom lip to keep from smiling was a bad sign. A very bad sign.
I already had one “friend” who liked to go on undates. I didn’t need a helpful neighbor too.
Chapter 16
Zed spent the last hour of my workday camped out in a lawn chair, tinkering with yet another box that spat wires and electrical tape. Tempted as I was to go for a two-by-four caber toss or a hammer throw with a literal hammer, I leashed my temper. I had an example to set for the Stoners, after all.
Not that I would have dinged a perfectly good tool by whacking Zed upside the head with it. Good tools cost money. I had inherited most of mine, but their care had been engrained in me from a young age.
Pawpaw had started me out with cheap dollar tools that rusted at the drop of a hat to teach me responsibility. One by one he incorporated quality pieces with nice weights and sturdier handles. I was a goner after that. It had been like moving up from a tricycle to my first ten-speed. There was no going back.
“The roof is done.” Grub came to stand beside me with a half-empty roll of tar paper tucked under his arm. “This is the last shingle in the pack. You like living dangerously, don’t you?”
“It’s not that I didn’t want to buy extras. I couldn’t afford to.” I had relied on math and a second opinion to make sure I had enough boxes. That still meant crossing my fingers all the shingles were sound. Any defects would have put us over budget, because local supply was limited. “We’ll get started on the siding tomorrow.”
“I’ll let the others know.” He stuck his fingers in his mouth and whistled. Lyssa shot down the ladder and started folding it closed. Shoe Laces, who had already started cleaning up and putting away tools without being asked, raised his head. His ability to see what needed doing and do it made the quiet warg worth his weight in gold to me. “I can finish up here if you have somewhere else to be.”
“Thanks.” I lingered in the opening that would soon become a doorway. “I have some calls to make, and I need to run to town. Do we need anything while I’m there?”
“Another extension cord wouldn’t hurt.” He kicked a coil at his foot. “This one’s wearing thin.”
Lately I burned through extension cords the way teens blazed through phone chargers. One of the hazards of buyin
g cheap, I guess. They weren’t made to last.
“I can make that happen.” I made eye contact with each of the other crew members. “Good work, folks. See y’all tomorrow.”
Ladder fisted in her hands, Lyssa grinned. “Later, Dell.”
Shoe Laces stumbled over a cord and danced a jig in an attempt not to fall. “Night, boss.”
Trusting them not to accidentally kill themselves or each other, I crossed to Zed and kicked the leg out from under his chair. His arms shot up, cradling his box as his back hit the dirt with a satisfying thump.
“What the hell?” He glowered up at me.
“We both know you had that coming.” I bent forward and offered him my hand, hauling him forward until he sat upright in his chair. “You sided with Isaac. It doesn’t matter if he’s right, he’s Isaac.”
After setting his project aside, Zed stood and wrapped me up in a surprise hug. “You had this coming too.” He squeezed until my bones creaked. “Thanks for last night.” His hold loosened enough for me to breathe. “And I’m sorry Isaac is back. There’s a lot of wilderness out here and a huge-ass lake. Say the word, and I’ll make sure his body is never found.”
“You say the sweetest things.” My vision went blurry for a minute. “I think Cam would miss him, though. He is her favorite cousin.” As he was so quick to remind us all.
Zed released me before I sprung a leak. “Just keep your options open, okay?”
“I’ll keep your offer in mind.” I laughed and wiped my cheeks. “Pretty sure if I decide he has to go that way, I’ll be the one to dispatch him.”
“I can live with that,” he said amiably.
“Good. There’s something else you’re going to have to live with too.” I walked to the nearest tree and picked a brittle limb off the ground. It was a credit to his trust in me that he didn’t run when he noticed I had armed myself. “Zed Ames…” I touched the branch first to one shoulder and then the other, “…I dub thee Gamma of the Lorimar Pack.”
His knees buckled, and he sat down hard. He missed the chair and hit the dirt. “You’re not serious.” He wiped his hand over his mouth. “What is it with you and knighting people?”
“I’ve been reading a lot of fae history books.” I shrugged. “They’re big on ceremony. I kind of like it. It makes everything from eating breakfast to declaring a co-ruler extra super fancy.”
“This is huge.” His voice quavered. “I’m not ready for this. I’m not well. You need someone you can rely on to be there for you.”
“That’s you in a nutshell.” I sank to the ground beside him and leaned my shoulder into his to give his wolf the contact it needed to settle. “I trust you more than anyone outside the alphas. You’re my friend, and I know I can depend on you.” I bumped against him. “Plus, you sided with Isaac. You agreed this was needed. Now it’s time to take your medicine.”
“Can I think about this?” His hand was shaking as he raked it through his hair. “Are you willing to mediate more dominance fights if the pack disagrees with your choice?”
“I have to talk to the alphas first, but Cord knows you. Cam will trust his opinion of you.” I flicked my wrist. “The others are worn out from hunting every night. If they want to get their fur britches in a twist, I say bring it on. You’re dominant. You can win.”
“You’re supposed to be impartial.” He sighed. “You realize that, right?”
“Not about this.” That went for casual scuffles, and it didn’t matter who I pulled for as long as I called the winner honestly. “Me and you. We can do this.” I scoffed. “Heck, we have been doing this. You’re my right-hand man. Giving you the title gives your word more weight, that’s all.”
“Gamma,” he marveled. “What do you think of that?”
“That if you don’t want to get knighted again, you should keep your mouth shut whenever Isaac chimes in with a bright idea.” I shoved to my feet. “Are you up for your first official gamma duty?”
“I haven’t said yes yet,” he protested, his expression still dazed.
“Details, details.” I offered him my hand. “You coming or what?”
“The park’s on lockdown.” He put a whisper of pressure on my hand as he stood. The news had made him so light, I worried he might float away if I didn’t hold on. “Where are we going?”
“I put us on lockdown.” I tugged him after me. “I can break my own rules.”
“Maybe this beta gig really is going to your head…”
I pinched him, and he yelped. “I won it fair and square. Too late to dethrone me now.”
“Again with the dethroning,” he mumbled. “You’ve got to get your head out of those books.”
“Knowing thy enemy comes with the territory, I’m afraid.” I stuttered to a halt when the path curved and Isaac stood waiting at the end of it. “Speak of the devil…”
“Red’s not my color, and I rarely have a tail.” Isaac held a book under his arm. “Do you have a minute?”
The no I should have hurled at him got hung up in route by his casual mention of an occasional tail.
I was…intrigued.
Bad, Dell. Bad girl.
Anything coiled in Isaac’s pants was his own business.
“Dell and I are on our way out.” Zed stepped up beside me. “Can this wait?”
“I don’t think it can.” Isaac turned the book so I could read the title. “I did some light reading while you were at work.”
The book looked familiar. I had seen it before. On my bed. Behind my locked front door.
“Where did that come from?” I managed to restrain myself from lunging at him.
“The library,” he said, “the same place all books marked with the conclave seal do.”
An odd sensation bubbled in my gut as I realized what he had done. Telling me a truth, but not the truth. Isaac had just not exactly lied to me with an obvious misdirection. What was the purpose? To show how he could warp the truth until I accepted the lie? I already knew that. Any girl who cried tears on her pillow the night he said goodbye could attest to his skill with his tongue.
“Yes,” I said at last. “I guess it did, huh?”
“Dell?” Zed was a comforting presence at my elbow.
“Isaac.” I curled my finger, and the fool stepped forward. Good. I was hot, tired and sweaty, and I didn’t want this to take a whole lot of energy. “You picked my lock.” I moved faster than the human eye could track, but he saw me just fine as I wrapped my fingers around his throat. The contact sent my wolf into a frenzy in my middle. “You went inside my home without my permission.” His face turned an interesting shade of red, and the wolf lashed out, sending ribbons of pain slicing through my abdomen. “Do that again, and you’re fired.”
The pinprick of discomfort in my arm jerked my gaze to where his left hand, on reflex, had transformed into a glove cobbled together with shards of brandy-colored glass. Blood rolled down my arm, and Isaac lifted his hand with exquisite care so as not to cause any real damage while he got his shift under control.
“I can…” he stood there, purpling, not fighting back, “…explain.”
As cathartic as manual strangulation was, I wouldn’t kill him over a little breaking and entering. Unless he did it a second time.
With an irritated huff, I released him. His hand—back to normal—massaged his throat while he sucked in great lungfuls of air. The wolf—still pissed at me—remained behind my eyes, keeping watch over Isaac.
“You were saying?” I wiped the back of my hand across my grimy forehead, the wolf a heavy presence in my mind that signaled the start of a headache. “You’re all that’s standing between me and a cold shower.”
“I didn’t break into your house.” He tossed the book to me, and I caught it. “Hold on tight.”
The leather cover warmed in my hands. Some of the books Cam loaned me did that. Pretty sure I didn’t want to know how or why those books were more sentient than the others.
I did as he asked and gripped the ol
d encyclopedia with both hands. “Okay?”
His lips moved in a word without sound, and he snapped his fingers.
The book appeared tucked under his arm a second later.
Even feeling my hands were lighter, I stared down at them. Empty. “How did you…?”
“I dated a girl who worked in the Grand Library once.” The red marks on his throat stood in sharp relief against his skin. “She taught me a few tricks.”
“I bet she did,” I muttered.
“I can’t pretend I don’t have a past, Dell.” He spared me a tired look, the emotion I most evoked from him these days. As if I exhausted him. Ha! “That’s not fair to either of us.”
“Was there a point to this?” Zed inserted himself in the conversation. “Other than to piss her off, which seems to be a superpower of yours.”
“I marked some passages you might find interesting.” Once again, Isaac removed the book from under his arm and offered it to me. “I’ve got an idea of what we’re up against.”
We, he said. As if he was still in this, as if I hadn’t nearly throttled him a minute ago.
“Really?” I had a few ideas of my own. “Sirens, banshees and hulders top my suspect list.”
Respect for my expanding fae vocabulary gleamed in his eyes. “Mine too.”
“If that’s all…?” I jerked my chin toward my RV. “I need to get going.”
“There is one more thing.” He reached into his pocket and produced a leather bracelet. An old coin made an ornament in the center of the twisted braids. The underside was rubberized, and a tiny red light flashed a warning. “May I?”
“What is it?” I kept my hands to myself. “What does it do?”
Slowly, he reached for me, and I extended my arm. The brush of his fingers on my skin burned, a dual-edged sword that cut both ways. The urge was just as strong to shove him away as it was to pull him closer.
And all the while, the wolf sat smug on my shoulders, chuffing at me for falling prey to a clever predator. She liked being petted, and when it came to Isaac, so did I.
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