Chapter 20: Mona
Ican’t put my finger on why Kendrick seems so off to me. It’s like that feeling when the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, like someone’s watching you, but when you turn around, they aren’t looking at you at all. That’s what being around him feels like. I can’t believe this guy is the king of the shifters. He looks like an accountant.
Kendrick avoids direct eye contact. He looks over my shoulder, and sometimes up toward the sky as he contemplates his answers. He’s kind of small for an alpha, wearing a plain white t-shirt beneath a button-up and cargo pants. His brown hair is a little too long, and his face is young but sharp.
“The enforcers are meeting with Orion and Silas to discuss strategy. No one knows how to fight back against the witches better than Silas,” Grayson starts. Either he took what I said about trusting his brother to heart, or he’s just presenting a united front for this Kendrick guy.
Kendrick makes a small sound of understanding, then looks out through the trees behind the hospital. He says nothing fora minute. I resist the urge to fill the silence because Grayson doesn’t say anything either. Like he’s used to this.
Eventually, without looking at either of us, Kendrick says, “Silas was trapped with the witches for years. Do you believe he’s capable of telling the others how to fight back?”
“Silas was outnumbered, bled dry, shackled, beaten and—” I swallow the last thing I want to say, because it’s none of this guy’s fucking business what happened to Silas. My omega is offended for my mate. She is fiercely protective of Silas, and this man has no business passing judgment on him. “Where wereyou?” I snarl. Maybe Grayson was right. Maybe it was a little bit his fault that they didn’t find Silas and the other shifters sooner. But if it was Grayson’s fault, then it was definitely Kendrick’s, too.
“Huh?” I taunt. “Where were you? I didn’t see you there fighting against Deidre. Even with three of us, one of whom is half-witch, and we still barely got away!” I shout.
“Mona—” Grayson starts, but Kendrick cuts him off, lifting his hand into the air.
Kendrick’s eyes watch me with interest. Big and brown, the kind of warmth that might feel gentle on a normal day, but right now makes me think he is a sociopath for his lack of response.
So I’m surprised—shocked, really—when they soften toward me and he tilts his head. “You are right, Mona. I wasn’t there. I wasn’t implying Silas was incapable of fighting back. Sometimes… sometimes I phrase things in a way that sounds harsher than intended. I was simply asking Grayson to share why Silas is capable. Not that he is or isn’t. If we can understand why his power didn’t work against the witches, or what advantage they had over him, we can be prepared in the future.”
I bristle, crossing my arms across my chest. “Oh. Well… he’s been through a lot. So, be nicer, please.”
Kendrick smiles, and it’s just as warm as his soft brown eyes. He leans closer, and I watch his nostrils flare.
There is something familiar about his scent, but I know we haven’t met before. His fingers flex on the table, and before this moment gets any more awkward, I steer us back. “Silas and Ghost will know what to do. Setting up perimeters will help. Ghost built a ward around the cabin we stayed in, so he knew the moment the witches crossed the barrier.”
Kendrick contemplates this and nods. “I’ll have him do the same here.” Kendrick looks to Grayson. “We can have the ward include the wild wolves’ dens, but we won’t be able to do the whole mountainside. The further Ghost’s ward is stretched, the weaker it will be. But if he draws on the clan’s strength, that could help.”
“What if he draws on his mate’s strength?” I ask. The way Ghost explained fated mates makes me believe our magic, reunited, strengthens it, and why bonding marks are so powerful. We may not be bonded, but I am still his mate, even if he denies it.
Kendrick’s brows lift, eyeing me curiously. “Ghost does not have a mate.”
The two continue to discuss plans to keep the witches out. Ghost will enforce a ward, and Grayson will notify the clan of the boundaries. Unfortunately, Ghost is our only witch, so he will be the only one who knows if a witch crosses. For some reason, this doesn’t concern Kendrick.
He does, however, remind Grayson not to share Ghost’s lineage with the other wolves. Gray will tell the clan not to pass the border, but not why. They won’t know it’s magically reinforced, they’ll just assume that’s the extent of the enforcers’ patrol.
Kendrick plans to keep Ghost’s identity a secret. For how long?
Will Ghost live the rest of his life in secret? Is Kendrick the reason he rejected me?
Suddenly, my feelings toward the taciturn wolf turn sour. As if he can sense it—he probably can—his eyes turn to me in surprise. Then concern.
I stand, climbing out of the picnic table. “Gray, can we catch up with Orion and Silas?” I ask.
Grayson nods, climbing out of the table. He says goodbye to Kendrick, who watches us with an odd expression. Almost as if he doesn’t want us to go.
We climb into the truck and drive toward the meeting hall. Usually, the enforcers meet at the gym—half the muscle-bound alphas are usually already there—but for more serious business, they meet in the meeting hall, which is attached at the far end to the jail. The entire building is close to the cafeteria.
Everything is close to the cafeteria.
The thought of it makes me hungry. Then my stomach growls.
“I will feed you, mate,” Grayson says seriously. As if it’s his duty.
“Food would be good…” I try to smile, but my heart isn’t in it. I’m still stuck on Ghost. He’s keeping his distance, but the gap inside me isn’t getting any smaller. Every time I think of him, a sharp zap of electricity stings my heart, right in the place where his bond should be.
“What is wrong, Mona?”
