I think Ghost wanted to talk to me, but then Andrea walked in and honestly—a week ago, I would’ve given anything for that look, tripped over myself for a moment alone with him.
Today? My heart’s too bruised. I’ve got nothing left for him, I’m too fucking drained to handle his emotional carnival ride.
“Stop bleeding,” Andrea demands.
I can’t help it. I snort trying to hide my laugh. “And how do you suppose I do that?” I ask when she reaches for me and hauls me up to a stand.
She is making you a warrior, Beep says.Warriors bleed. Tell her it is her privilege to witness our transformation.
This time my laugh grows louder, and I’m nearly keeling over with it while we garner attention from the other enforcers.
Andrea eyes me skeptically, then suddenly grips my forearm like talons and tugs me close. Leaning in, she takes a deep sniff. “Why do you smell strange?”
I yank out of her grasp and sniff myself. “What? I don’t.”
“Yes, you do.”
Tell her she smells strange. Like an abomination,Beep snarks.
“Jesus fucking Christ,” I mutter to Beep. To Andrea, I say, “I don’t smell weird, I smell fine.”
“You smell… I don’t know. Different. Stronger. Richer.”
“Like good fortune is coming my way?” I ask brightly.
She deadpans, “Sure.”
Ignoring the expectant look on Andrea’s face, as if I might have any sort of explanation as to why I smell weird, I turn and head out of the gym. If I don’t drag Andrea out of here, she might actually hurt someone. Me, namely. And I can’t handle Beep’s delusions of grandeur at the moment.
“Hospital?” I ask when we step outside. The sun is hot, blazing high in the sky. Still, I pull on a loose, long-sleeved cotton shirt to protect my skin over my sweaty tank top.
Andrea walks toward the hospital without answering me. It’s nearing the end of summer, but despite the humidity, you can still feel the start of fall coming. It’s in the leaves, the air. The nights are getting cooler, and the days aren’t quite as long. The bugs are less noisy, too.
“Have you explored much of the mountain?” I ask Andrea.
She grunts in response, so I nudge her. With a long, suffering sigh, she says, “Obviously. I’ve lived here all my life. I’m a hundred and twenty years old, Mona.”
She is sad. Give her omega energy, she will thank you for your consideration.
Beep,I reply in my head, exasperated,Andrea doesn’t want to be soothed. She wants her mate safe. And aren’t you usually all, it is not a gift to you—it is a gift to them,be kind and be gracious, Mona?I quote back to her the things she said to me, back before I understood how it felt to let my omega energy soothe someone else’s pain.
Beep harrumphs at this. Beep and Andrea occupy this strange space, where they are actually a lot alike, and Beep respects Andrea immensely, but doesn’t like to admit how much stronger she is than we are.
There are different types of streng—
I cut Beep off before she can start waxing poetic about the strength of all our magical omega abilities, and nudge Andrea again, who walks stiffly beside me.
“You’re right, that was a dumb question. I knew you grew up here. Have you ever thought of living anywhere else?”
She looks like she’s about to say something cutting. She knows why I’m asking. Her mate—her pack—lives in Arizona. I’ve gotten to know Andrea pretty well over the last few weeks, and while she takes some getting used to, I can’t imagine not being friends with her now. But, depending on where her head is at, she isn’t always easy to get along with. She’s about as soft as a cactus, but I keep at it, wearing her down until she lets me in.
It seems impossible that Andrea could get any more tense, but she does, so I apologize. “Sorry. I’m just—”
“No, it’s okay. I’m sorry. I’m just—” she lets out a small sound of frustration, softening slightly.
“I get it,” I remind her. I didn’t fully understand Silas was my mate when I saw him in my visions when he was still under Deidre’s control, but a part of me knew. My omega knew. It hurt watching him go through all that. And then, finding out what the years had done to him.
Andrea’s voice drops an octave. “Yeah, I guess you do. And for the record, no, I’ve never given any thought to living anywhere else. But mostly just because I know this place so well, I make a good soldier here. But I could be a good soldier somewhere else.”
