“How about you get to the fucking point?” Cliff growls in a low, hushed voice, making the hair along the back of my neck rise. “Are you accusing us ofstealingElowen? Or stealing a random omega? Cuz I’ve got no clue what your problem is anymore.”
Anton's eyes flash with a fury so deep it seems to age him, carving shadows into the lines of his face. But Cliff doesn't flinch. If anything, he leans into it, shoulders squaring and chin lifting.
"Nothing to say?"
Anton's jaw works, his teeth pressing together so hard I can see the muscle jumping beneath his skin.
"You need to get your fucking guards in check, Anton." Cliff's voice drops into that register I didn’t know was possible. Quiet, flat, and somehow more terrifying than a shout. "And leave. My pack. Alone."
Perrin's eyes cut sideways, looking past me, at Adam. It's the briefest flicker—half a second, maybe less—but whatever passes between them lands like an order.
Adam’s warm hand grips my elbow, and he pulls me back, away from the alphas. I stumble toward the door, my feet finally remembering how to work. Perrin is right behind us, and for one bright, dizzy second I think it's all over.
Then a tall slender shape fills the doorway, and we all freeze.
Angelica steps into my apartment like she's been waiting for her cue, and my heart slams into my ribs. She's so tall, razor-sharp, and radiating the kind of authority that fills a room before she does.
My feet move, backing up until my shoulders hit something solid.Perrin. His hand finds my arm immediately, steadying me. I hug my notebook harder, my knuckles going white around the warped cover, as I look Angelica up and down.
The she-alpha is wearing a white linen suit, spikey heels, and her red lips are pressed into a flat, dangerous line.
Her eyes sweep the room like she already knows what she's going to find. Moving slowly, she slides a cell phone into the sleekblack purse hanging from her wrist, then she looks at Anton and nods once.
He called her.
Of course, he called her.
Perrin pulls me back another two steps, then he moves in front of me, his shoulders squaring. And I realize with a dim, terrified clarity that the beta is trying to shield me with his body.
Across the room, Raff’s frame jerks, like every instinct he has is pulling him toward us. But he stays put, positioning himself where he can see both Anton and Angelica at the same time.
"Angelica," Cliff says as he angles his body toward the she-alpha. “It’s nice to see you.”
Angelica's sharp blue eyes move lazily around the room before landing on Cliff. "I've been wanting to talk to you," she says. Her voice is warm and precise, carrying the kind of sweetness of someone who is furious and has decided not to show it yet.
"You know where I live," Cliff says simply.
The corner of Angelica's mouth twitches as if she found what Cliff said funny. "I never go to an enemy's house," she says in a cold, flat tone.
Something shifts in the room, and Raff goes very still.
"Are we enemies?" Cliff asks.
Angelica tilts her head slightly. "That depends." Her eyes slide off Cliff and find Raff, and her expression sharpens by a degree. "Why were you running through my market with a goddamn omega thrown over your shoulder?"
I stop breathing, and Adam inches a little closer, the warmth of his body seeping into my side.
My skin prickles everywhere at once, a hot, crawling awareness of every inch of my exposed flesh.
Neck.
Wrists.
Arms.
I pray the drugstore scent-blockers I put on this morning hang on, but that was hours ago and I've been moving and sweating and my heart has been hammering since the second I heard Anton's voice.
Trying not to spiral, I press one hand flat against my thigh and focus hard on keeping my breathing even.
