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“What does that have to do with anything?”
“You are a royal prince of Wolf-Haven and fourth in line to the throne,” Thorny says pompously. “You and your mate must be protected from all potential threats.”
“What threats?”
He gives me a condescending look, which isn’t much of a departure from his usual expression. “You are no longer a little-known wolf from a backwards shifter settlement. You are brother to a rising star in world politics, prince to a once more powerful shifter regime. You and your brothers are of interest to the humans.”
I shake my head in denial.
He ignores me and continues, “King Lock’s actions within the borders of Wolf-Haven have garnered much attention from the rest of the world. And while most wish to form alliances with the up-and-coming wolf shifter population, some are against it. There are those who prefer to keep the shifters and humans separate. More extreme humans wish to send the wolves back to the dark ages. Or worse, eradicate us all.”
The politics between humans and shifters doesn’t interest me. “None of that is my business, nor does it have anything to do with my mate.”
He shakes his head. “As much as you might wish to live in a bubble with your mate, you don’t. She is an attention-seeking human and you?—”
I reach for him, but he ducks me.
“An actor, she’s an actor!” He throws his hands up in surrender. “And you are a prince. You’ve already made the news and I suspect you will continue to do so until you bring your bride home to Wolf-Haven and leave the world of humans behind.”
I ignore his assumption that we’ll be moving to Wolf-Haven and zero in on the thing that’s been bothering me. “Did you send the paparazzi and police to Yannis’s house knowing I would go full wolf when I saw my mate die in front of me?”
He examines his thumb, refusing to meet my eyes.
I clench the steering wheel. “Why would you do that?”
His eyes shine as he says, “It was rather a brilliant plan. You see, a few years ago, when your brother found out that Vanessa is your mate, he asked me to keep tabs on her.” At my growl, he rushes to add, “Nothing sinister, just the occasional check to make sure she still lives and works in the same places and that she wants for nothing. Over my time watching her, I discovered that she really is quite a good actor, but terrible at choosing roles, so I decided to step in and help her along. I figured if the paparazzi witnessed the murder-mystery debacle, it would put her in the news and give her a leg up in the acting world. I thought you’d appreciate this method over leaking her sex tape.”
“Vanessa has a sex tape?” My heart stops for a few seconds.
“Not yet, and now thanks to me, she won’t have to,” he replies. “My plan had the added benefit of giving you the push you needed to further your bond with her. See? Brilliant.”
I’m unsure whether to wring his neck or hug him for enacting such a stupid, convoluted plan. “Why would you help her with her acting career?”
He shrugs and reaches into his pocket, tossing a handful of nuts into his mouth and crunching. “She’s a decent human. Seems like a shame to let her talent go to waste when she likely only has a few months left to live. Why not let her live her dream?” He glances away but I catch the shine of tears in his eyes. So, he’s not entirely unaffected by my mate’s plight.
And he’s neatly brought us to the subject of my mate’s mortality. “You said Lock has a plan that may allow her to survive the curse?”
He looks sorrowful. “No, he’s working on one. We all are. Magdalene especially. She’s taking this challenge personally. She doesn’t have anything yet, but she’s hopeful.”
I’m surprised, but I shouldn’t be. My sister-in-law, a powerful Rage Witch, has a heart of gold. Of course she would want to help. I should’ve asked her myself, but I’ve spent too many years alone going through each cycle of losing my mate. It hadn’t occurred to me to ask my family for help.
Warmth invades my chest and I clear my throat. “Uh thanks… thanks for watching over my mate and trying to come up with a way to save her. Means a lot.” I pin him with a feral look. “But if you meddle in our mating again, I will pluck every feather from your hide and mail your naked bird ass back to Wolf-Haven in a shoebox.”
I have a lot to think about and barely notice as Thorny leaves the Jeep to return to his nighttime perch. I drive back to Vanessa’s place and take one of the guest spots. Pushing my seat back, I cross my arms, close my eyes and allow my thoughts to drift.
A banging on the window wakes me abruptly. I yelp as I bang my head on the roof and jam my elbow against the steering wheel, blaring the horn.
Sun streams through the windows, telling me its morning.
A wide-eyed Vanessa opens the passenger door. “Sorry about that. Do you mind driving me to the screen test? They emailed the part I’m auditioning for and I want to practice my lines.”
“Sure,” I say, relieved that she isn’t insisting on doing the driving. “Buckle up.”
She does and I turn my head away from her, breathing into my hand in an attempt to gauge how bad my morning breath is.
“Here.” She digs through her purse and hands me a pack of cinnamon gum. “This’ll help. I should’ve offered to let you use my bathroom to clean up.”
“I’ve spent weeks sleeping in the forest with nothing but stream water and a stick to clean my teeth.” I press the starter button and pull out of the lot. “I’m used to roughing it.”
