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She shakes her head, her face turning red. “You can try to justify the slaughter of my people all you want, but I will never accept it. And I’d rather burn my uterus out of my body than have your baby inside me.”

I feel the sting of that far worse than I should.

It’s not like I wasn’t already rejecting her for the Mark on her skin, the magic in her veins. I shouldn’t be surprised she doesn’t give a shit about the curse—and pregnancy, in general. She doesn’t care that in twenty weeks, my sister will die.

Astra seems to read the emotions at the table, because she shoves back in her chair and jumps to her feet. “I’m going to find my mother. That seems to be the most proactive course of action, while you chase your tails over a grudge you’ve been holding for a fucking century.”

She storms away, weaving past empty tables and out of the hotel’s restaurant. She turns left, heading for the exit.

“You want to mate with her,” Coral says, her voice dull. “She’s a real gem.”

“She’s got a point,” Roman groans. He rubs Jessamine’s shoulder. “I know you guys don’t like her because she’s a witch, but she has every reason to hate us. We kill covens. Torture witches. At the end of the day, it’s misguided hate. And it’s pointless. The only witch who has shown an inkling of being able to help us wasn’t even affiliated with a coven.”

He means her mother.

I get up wordlessly and follow Astra.

I don’t like that Roman agrees with her, but I can’t fault him for it either.

She’s sitting on a bench outside. We’re in the mountains just above the desert—we had stopped here because we were originally going to be cutting through Vegas, then across the state lines into California. Straight shot toward Los Angeles County.

But now, it’s pointless to continue without knowing what Astra learned.

I take the seat beside her. I can’t stop myself from reaching out and taking her hand. She lets me, which is a good sign. She’s not so pissed that she won’t touch me.

“When I was fourteen, my father tried to find me a mate.”

Her jaw tenses.

I fight the smile that wants to overtake my face, satisfied with her reaction.

“It wasn’t going to happen,” I assure her. “In fact, I’m not quite sure it works like that. I mean, maybe it does for some wolves, but others are blessed with fated mates. I guess I always held out hope that I’d be destined for someone special. Someone who wanted me just as fiercely. Fate’s gift to me.” I shake my head. “What a fool I was.”

She glances at me, then away.

“Even before that, my father’s pack was comfortable with the natural order of things. Nudity, mating, pregnancy. It wasn’t hidden from children—I mean, the sex was, of course—but by the time I went through puberty, my father didn’t really have to sit me down for any sort of talk. I knew what I was supposed to do. Find a mate. Fuck her, put a baby in her belly. Care for it when she inevitably passed away. Start again.”

Astra shudders. “That’s horrible.”

“I agree, little nightmare.”

I raise our joined hands to my mouth, kissing her knuckles to lessen the sting of the nickname. I know she said it reminds her of me, of wolves, but it seems apt to remind myself that her kind is fearsome, too.

“What happened to your father?” she asks.

“He died a painful death.”

We lapse into silence.

“Okay,” Astra says. “When’s the next new moon?”

“Just over two weeks. Tomorrow is the full moon. Why?”

She sighs and scrubs her face. “Well, I’ve been thinking… and I don’t know if we can do anything until then. But I have a plan. A tentative one.”

My brow rises. “Are you going to fill me in on that plan?”

Her smile is wry. “Well, I was going to leave it for a surprise, but it’s probably better if you know ahead of time. Don’t think you can talk me out of it, though. I’ll do it with or without you.”