“We can’t stay here,” he says. “Not with Harper sniffing around.”
I agree. “You’re right. It’s too risky. We should head back to the cabin."
“Yeah. We’ll be off the radar there…” He pauses, and I can already tell by the way his brow furrows that I'm not going to like whatever comes next. "You should go as soon as possible. I'm staying here."
“What?” Have I finally pushed the patient wolf to the end of his rope?
“I’ll catch up with you.” The relief I feel at those words is short lived when he continues. “I’m going to visit Adelaide first. See what information I can dig up.”
Every instinct I have screams against this plan. "No. Haven’t you ever seen a horror movie? Splitting up is always a bad idea.”
“Somehow I doubt my own pack is going to murder me at summer camp.”
“We should still stick together."
“I’ll be right behind you.”
“Wynn—”
"Adelaide will talk to me," Wynn insists, that stubborn set to his jaw that I'm starting to recognize. "No one knows I'm helping you. As far as everyone's concerned, I was just on vacation."
My hands clench into fists on my knees. The idea of Wynn walking into potential danger while I'm miles away at the cabin makes my skin crawl. But that’s silly. The biggest threat to Wynn’s safety? This demon. Detective Harper is a shifter. If he’d caught us today, he’d smell Wynn and I all over each other and catch the scent of us mingled together on our sheets. When he took me down, Wynn would fall with me.
"Harper’s closing in," I mutter, running a hand through my hair. “We shouldn’t take risks."
"It's practical. We need to know what's happening inside the Iron Pack. Maybe I’ll learn something that points us in the right direction. And who knows more about the pack than its Alpha?”
Josh speaks up from behind Bane's chair. "He's right. Wynn can talk to Adelaide directly and we don’t need to risk getting caught passing along info. We’ll still have to reconnect when I have all the magic ready, but we should keep our distance until then.”
I look between the three of them, feeling outnumbered and hating every second of it.
“Adelaide may tell Wynn more than she’d tell us,” Bane adds. “He’s still part of her pack.”
"Fine," I say through gritted teeth, even though nothing about this feels fine. "But if you're not at the cabin by tomorrow night, I'm coming back for you."
Do I imagine his expression softening slightly? "I'll be there."
“I'll start getting supplies together for you two,” Josh says. “Let’s see, you'll need...”
He seems to be making a mental checklist before he stops and hesitates, looking down at Bane in the chair. The Alpha reaches up, catching his mate's hand.
"I'll behave," Bane promises.
Josh leans down, pressing a kiss to his mate’s lips. He lingers a moment and some of the tension Bane carries whenever I’m in the room drains away. Josh rests his forehead against his mate’s for a second longer before going to the kitchen.
The simple affection between them… Not so long ago, I would have found their sickeningly sweet relationship nauseating. Now, I'm not sure what I feel. Envy? That can't be right. I don't do domestic bliss.
I need to get it together. What’s wrong with me? Nobody knows Wynn is working with me. He'll be safe in his own pack, talking to his own cousin. So why does the thought of him going alone make me feel like I'd rather do something horribly offensive, like go on a couple’s cruise with Bane Blackwood?
No boat would be big enough for the two of us.
"He'll be fine," Bane says, breaking into my thoughts. Wynn left, leaving the two of us alone. Uh-oh. The living room may not be big enough for the two of us.
"I'm not worried," I lie, forcing a smirk. "Just thinking about how peaceful it'll be without you around."
For once in his life, Blackwood doesn’t take the bait.
"If you're really mates," he says, "you need to trust Wynn."
