“You’re not mad I said we weren’t friends?” Nowmylip is trembling.
She softens a fraction, then laughs. “God, you’re ridiculous.”
“Andrea!”
“I’m sorry!” She throws her hands in the air, but she’s still laughing. “I mean that with all the love, Mona. You’re pathetically adorable, you annoy the shit out of me, but yes, we are friends. Wolves can sense lies, as you know, but there are ways around it, and you’re doing a shit job at skirting the truth. I’m almost afraid to teach you, but you’re so bad at lying, I feel like you should know the basics. But we’ll get to that later.”
“You are such an asshole!”
Andrea’s finger jabs my thigh. My pockets, stuffed with glass vials, clank in protest. One of the vials wedged into my waistband works loose and slides down my pant leg, landing with a musical ping into my tucked-in socks. I clear my throat.
Tell her,Beep says.
But Deidre said—
Tell her,she urges again.It’s the only way. Trust me. Andrea should know. She can help.
“The witch…” I sigh, the words spilling out of me with a mixture of relief and reluctance. “She came to see me last night.” I check the window, scanning for any sign of movement. The last thing I need is for one of my mates to overhear this.
“What!? Where? How? How did she get in? I don’t understand, Grayson didn’t say—”
“It was in my dream. In a vision. She… she made me a deal. All the deltas and alphas, everyone she’s captured, in exchange for me. And she’ll stop taking shifters, too.”
Andrea’s eyes widen. She’s quiet for a second, then she explodes in outrage. “No! Are you out of your goddamn mind? You can’t trust that harpy. No fucking way. She’s lying to you. She’ll never release them. And you’re just going to hand yourself over? We’ve risked everything to keep you from her. After what she did to Silas, to Lily—you’re just going to roll over and—”
I slam my fist against the dashboard, cutting Andrea off mid-sentence. “Enough!”
Her mouth snaps shut, but her jaw works back and forth. I can practically see the tirade piling up behind her clenched teeth.
“I know Deidre can’t be trusted, but Andrea... What choice do we have? We don’t know where she is. And I canseewhat she’s doing to all those shifters. Maybe… I don’t know. When I get there, I can reach out to my mates. They’d come for me. Maybe even get me out of there before it’s too late. Or maybe I could stop her myself…” I let the thought hang, unfinished.
The truth is, I had no intention of reaching out to them. Because they would come charging in without hesitation. The witches have been preparing for this, and I can’t—won’t—risk a world without them in it. Deidre would kill them all, I’ve seen what she’s capable of. She’s stronger now, more prepared than she’s ever been. And my mates, Kendrick… they’re flying blind.
“Mona…”
“She has Ingrid.” She doesn’t need the reminder, but I’m not above using her mate as leverage. Andrea’s shoulders tense.
“What is your plan, exactly?”
“If you’re just going to turn around and tell them—”
“I won’t.”
“How do I know that? How can I trust you won’t rat on me to Grayson the second my back is turned?”
She looks me dead in the eye. “Because I’m coming with you. Now, tell me the plan.”
Her offer doesn’t surprise me. I wonder if I sabotaged myself on purpose. The plan was flimsy at best—bathroom break at the gas station, quick shift, disappear into the woods before she noticed. But deep down, I think I wanted her to figure it out. With Ingrid’s life on the line, Andrea wouldn’t just let me go.She’d insist on coming along. I should feel guilty. I do, a little. But I’m too relieved to take it back.
Andrea has, after all, been planning to go after her mate since she found out what happened to her. She just didn’t have any information to go on. She does now.
I look at Andrea. “You’re not my bodyguard anymore.”
“Mona—”
“No. If we do this, if you’re coming with me, we’re equals. I’m grateful for everything you taught me—”
And for all the times she punched you in the face?Beep snarks.
