“Did you get to eat?” I ask quietly.
She shrugs. Her indifference is fanning my quiet rage. I nudge her arm gently, hoping she’ll answer, and she does.
“Sort of. Everyone brought me food, it was very nice of them.”
“But…”
“But then they wanted to talk so much and kept holding my hand, I didn’t get to eat.”
Andrea snorts in amusement behind us as we walk toward my truck. I turn and glare at her. “You’re supposed to keep an eye on her.”
She stands a little taller. “Mona needs to learn how to deal with them herself. She needs to set boundaries. She has all this power, and she doesn’t even attempt to use it.”
“That was alesson?” Mona cries.
“In more ways than one.”
Mona buries her face back into my chest as I tug her closer. To Andrea, she mumbles, “Your methods suck.”
Andrea opens the truck door for Mona. Mona eyes her suspiciously, waiting to see if it’s a trick. What the hell happened between these two today?
“Maybe next time fifty people crowd you, you’ll actually put effort into taking care of yourself rather than letting everyone swallow you whole.”
Mona looks like she wants to strangle Andrea. Instead, she mutters insults under her breath, which we can hear perfectly, and slams the door in Andrea’s face.
“Same time tomorrow, boss?” Andrea turns brightly to me.
I grumble, “If she lets you in the door.”
Andrea salutes me, gives Mona a sardonic grin, but before she takes off, she pauses a few steps away. “For the record, I don’t think she’s upset about being crowded.”
Knowing Mona can hear every word we’re saying, I ask, “And why do you think she’s upset?”
Andrea says the last thing I expect. “Wolves have long memories. Maybe they don’t hold grudges, but the time when Silas went missing, making everyone worry, is in the past. He’s home, in one piece. So they all wanted to reminisce about the good times.”
There weren’t many good times when it came to Silas, not in the most recent years—and I realize what she means.
Climbing into the driver’s seat, I find Mona, her energy even sadder. Her scent is dim, even the bright jasmine floral, slightly faded.
“Can I take you somewhere?”
She looks over, surprised. “Yeah, of course. Where?”
I start the truck and head toward the cabin, but instead of cutting around the bend, I take a left onto one of the little side roads that leads further up the mountain.
“Is it safe? That we separate from everyone, I mean?”
“I promise, I won’t put you in jeopardy.”
She softens. “I know Orion.”
“Yes, it’s safe. Have you been up here yet?” The witches came onto our land from West Creek, which is still on the mountain but it rides west, closer to the human town. That’s how they got on our lands. Not only have patrols tripled, and the witches no longer have the element of surprise with Stance or other rogues working with them—we haven’t caught that little fucker yet, but we have some enforcers out looking for him—but we’re headed higher up the mountain. Unless the witches airdropped, we’re good.
“No, I haven’t. You know, I’ve really only been around for a month. Less, even.”
My mouth drops open in shock. “How can my entire life rearrange so drastically in only a month?” I wonder aloud.
“Right?” she laughs lightly.
