“She’s contacted you. In your visions?”
There’s no point in lying, so I nod.
“What did she tell you? Exactly.”
I debate stalling, but the truth is, Andrea and I are both barely hanging on by a thread. And we’re obviously caught. So, I tell him about my dream the other night, what Deidre said. Threatened, more like. And I tell him she visited me again last night.
Finally, after hearing the entire story, he lets out an exasperated sigh. “I can smell her on you. The blood magic—she’s got her claws in you. It’ll burn off, but in the meantime, she can keep coming to you in your dreams—in the astral realm.”
“What do we do?” Andrea asks.
Ghost swings his gaze back to me. “I don’t suppose I could convince you to come home?”
I figure it’s not the time or place to point out he called Silent Peak home, like maybe it’s becoming his, too. I shake my head no. Then a thought strikes me. “You’re giving me a choice?”
He lets out a dark laugh. “No. Yes... I don’t want to see what the regret will do to your soul if I drag you out of here. I know what that kind of regret does to a person. When you make a decision that gets people killed. I won’t do that to you. And besides, I won’t force you to leave by magic. But I’m not letting you sacrifice yourself, either. Deidre said you’re close?”
Andrea answers. “Some town called Venus, deep in the valley. It’s this tiny place tucked away. There’s an old silo there. She claims she’ll sense when we enter the town limits and will contact Mona again. That’s when we’ll get the rest of the details.”
Ghost listens thoughtfully, coming up with his own plan. I have no idea what comes next, but just being beside him, his quiet confidence and control, is making some of the worry and anxiety melt off.
“Alright,” he concludes. “Looking at you, I don’t think she has any way to listen in right now, she isn’t watching you that closely.”
“She doesn’t have the power?”
“She does, but it would take time and planning. She’s got too many pans in the fire, so to speak. She can’t focus that much energy on you. But she will be able to when she checks in again. So, I’m tracking you, and I’ll be following along,” he points to the sky, “while you follow her directions. After you arrive, Mona, you will get in this fucking truck and you will turn around and leave. I’ll handle the rest. Do you understand me?”
“I-uh, but what about—”
“No. I’m not risking you. Not any further than that, and only then, because I’ll still be with you and will make sure no harm comes to you. But I can’t fight a coven of witchesandkeep you safe. You must leave.”
“But the other shifters—”
“Andrea and I will get them out.”
“Why Andrea? Why should she sacrifice—”
Andrea cuts me off. “My mate is in that silo, Mona. And besides, you promised me when we started that when it came to strength and speed, you would defer to me. For what you have done—I can never thank you enough for getting us this far. But Ghost is right. You will only get yourself killed. I am an alpha, I am damn fucking strong. Trust that. Trust us.”
“When you get to the silo, Andrea will stay, and you will leave. Promise me,” Ghost insists.
Perhaps he is right,Beep says.We have done our duty.
We haven’t. But Andrea is right, for sure. I’ll just get myself killed. I’m not a fighter. I swallow. “Okay. Fine. I promise I’ll get in the truck and leave.”
His shoulders drop with visible relief. “Thank you. Gray and the others are about a day’s drive behind us, maybe less. They’re tracking me, while I’m tracking you.” He points to a small white disc stuck to his shoulder, like the ones you stick to your phone or car keys.
I let out a disbelieving laugh. “Who’s using a smartphone?”
He huffs and shakes his head. “Kendrick, thank god. You’d think, being the oldest, he’d be the least tech-savvy. Your mates barely know which end to talk into.”
I smirk at that. Shifters—or maybe just wolves—have an aversion to technology. They’re more comfortable with nature; the tech somehow interferes with their lives and heightened senses. They prefer flip phones since they're cheaper—wolves break and lose things easily. Grayson has a smartphone, but he rarely uses it for more than texting.
“We should get going,” Andrea says, hooking her thumb toward the truck. She climbs back in to give us some privacy.
“Okay. Well…”
He nods. “Well.”
