“What is it?”
“It’s… complicated.”
I waited.
One minute passed.
Two.
Three.
Four.
We continued flying past houses. They grew closer together as we went.
“If you want me to pretend I’m claiming you as my mate while we poke around this lady’s pack, I think I deserve to have all of the information.”
He nodded, but didn’t explain.
“Maverick,” I pushed.
“I’m trying to figure out how to phrase it without hurting you.”
My forehead creased. What could it possibly be? “I don’t understand. Did she birth your baby or something? You and I aren’t actually together, so I don’t?—”
“Nothing like that, Bloom. She hates vampires. She’s the reason the war started in the first place.” He let out a long breath. “She wanted me because I was really fucking good at killing them, and she hates that my pack and I ended the war without wiping the last of you out.”
I went still. “Oh.”
“Yeah.”
I should’ve guessed that.
I tried not to let it freak me out. Maverick obviously didn’t want me dead, and the war had been over for a really long time. “So she could be targeting you just by making vampires look like murderers again.”
He nodded. “There’s a vampire in my pack. The humans don’t know, but she does.”
“How is there a vampire in your pack?”
“He’s mated to my Omega. Nolan. His name is Oren. They got together during the war. It was a big part of the reason I tookdown the Alpha I replaced.” He glanced over at me. “I don’t hate vampires. They were out of control with turning humans, but the war was a lot worse than it needed to be. It should’ve ended decades earlier than it did.”
I nodded slowly. “So if Cassidy didn’t want you dead for having a vampire in your pack, she’s going to want to kill both of us now that the world knows I’m your soulmate.”
“Probably.”
“And she really might be the murderer.”
“We’ll know by the time we leave.”
That was good.
Unfortunately, Harper was officially right about my badass plan.
There was no way I was solving this murder on my own. I didn’t know anywhere near enough about werewolf society to figure it out.
My best bet at finding the killer so I could pin Steven’s death on them, was probably going to be playing along with Maverick’s plan.
I was going to have to put on my acting hat and pretend I was claiming Maverick like a wolf.
