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“And I was the only part that failed, wasn’t I?” Ahramin said. “The only one who got left behind, got caught, who got turned into this.”
“Ahramin…”
“I have no time for self-pity. What is done is done. But if you really want to know, yes, the white wolf has the timekeeper, and he is aboveground.”
Ahramin stubbed her cigarette into her half-eaten doughnut, the sugar sizzling upon contact with the ashes. Lawson watched as Edon wordlessly took it from her and tossed it into the trash. His brother was trying to make it up to her, but Lawson knew it would take much more than being Ahramin’s penitent servant to win back her love. Ahramin seemed to enjoy Edon’s misery, and ordered him to the corner store to buy her more cigarettes before they left the hotel.
She spun a lovely tale, one he was desperate to believe. Could it be true? That the plan had worked after all? That more wolves had escaped? That Marrok had been able to steal Romulus’s chronolog? Ahramin had run with the pack that hunted the white wolf—and she alone knew where the wolves were hiding. The hounds had an idea, but she had left before revealing his location to her masters; she could take Lawson to Marrok now if he wanted. If he trusted her. But what if it was all an elaborate plot to serve them up on a silver platter for Romulus’s taking?
There was no such thing as former hellhounds, he knew. Only dead ones.
And yet…he had helped her out of the hospital; he had let her back into his pack. The brothers had accepted it—he was alpha now; he made the decisions for them, decisions they did not question. She swore that she was no longer a hound, that Romulus had broken her collar. But why was she alive, then? He had never heard of a hound surviving such an ordeal—even Ahramin had admitted as much. She was almost daring him to disbelieve her. Daring him to trust her again.
“Lawson?” Bliss said, breaking his reverie. “I’m going to go check out, okay? Boys? Want to come with me?” she asked. Malcolm and Rafe nodded, following at her heels like lovesick puppies, Lawson noted.
As if he had acted any differently, Lawson thought, feeling his face flush a little. What was that all about—the previous night? He couldn’t think about his growing attraction to Bliss; his stomach twisted at the thought of it. He had wanted her the night before, that much was clear, and he still wanted her that day, he realized, watching her tall, slim form as she moved gracefully through the parking lot back to the hotel with his brothers. He hadn’t wanted to stop what they were doing—and he wasn’t entirely sure he was glad that they had, that she’d had the sense to stop it before they reached the point of no return. He remembered the way her body moved against his, his hands in her hair…but it was too confusing to think about Bliss right then. There was Tala to think of…Tala…who was with Romulus now.
As if she had read his mind, Ahramin spoke. “I wonder what Tala would say if she could see you now. With Bliss.” She hissed the name, then almost choked from a fit of coughing.
“I’m not ‘with Bliss,’ so she wouldn’t say anything,” he said, trying not to sound defensive. “There’s nothing to see. Nothing to say.”
“Right. I noticed she didn’t sleep in her bed last night.”
He crushed his coffee cup. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“You’re such a bad liar, Lawson. You always were,” she said. “But your secret’s safe with me.”
“I don’t have any secrets,” he said shortly.
Ahramin raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
“What are you guys talking about?” Bliss asked, returning to the van. “We’re all set. We can go.”
“Where are we going?” Ahramin asked Lawson. “Marrok is a day’s drive from here, and we’ll have to hike the rest of the way through the canyons. We should be there by nightfall. If he hasn’t moved his pack, that is.”
Lawson had to make a decision. “You will take us to the white wolf. If what you say is true, we have wasted too much time already. If Marrok is here, he will need our help.”
The group dispersed to the restrooms before the drive, but Lawson noticed Bliss hanging back. He turned to her. “You want to ride shotgun?”
She nodded and looked as if she wanted to say something more. She hesitated, then finally asked, “Are you sure about this?”
“I know what you’re thinking. You don’t think we should trust Ahri,” he said.
“No, I don’t. You told me when you were hurt that wolves never get sick, that disease and infection have no effect on you guys—but she coughs all the time. It’s not just from the smoking. What’s that all about?”
“I noticed it too. I don’t know.” He crossed his arms. “But I believe she’s not a hound anymore, Romulus broke her collar. You saw the scars on her neck.”
“If you say so,” Bliss said.
“She’s still one of us,” Lawson said. “I have to believe that.”
“Why?”
“During our escape from Hell, Ahramin sacrificed herself so that we would be free.” He cleared his throat. “She gave herself up willingly, and I have to honor that sacrifice. I have to believe…that what she says is true, that there is still wolf in her.” He took a deep breath. What he had to say would pain Bliss, he knew. He had a feeling she had stopped them from taking things too far the night before because she had wanted it to mean something more, something that he was not yet prepared to give, given the circumstances. He stared at the ground, at the gray gravel in front of him, not able to look into her eyes. “I have to believe Ahramin is still a wolf. Because if Tala has been turned, if she is a hound, I have to believe that she can return to me.”
Bliss took a deep breath. She patted his arm. “Of course. I would feel the same way if…” She was thinking of the boy she had once loved, Lawson knew. “But let’s just…be careful.”
He smiled at her. They were a team now, and he marveled at how quickly they had formed a deep understanding of each other in such a short time, from combatants to lovers to friends. “Always.”
