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"They'll have to go through me first," I growl.
When she trembles next to me, I pull my girl closer, offering her stability against her wobbly stance. When she threatens to collapse, I scoop her up and cradle her against my chest before sitting down on the couch with her in my lap.
"How did this come about?" I ask, gently stroking Alyssa's hair as she holds back her fear, trying to look strong in front of everyone.
Dice shakes his head, still bleeding from Alyssa's attack. "A radio station was talking about the freak storm, and a caller came on the air, claiming they saw a girl force the skies open for the rain to spread while chanting a spell. She used her magic in front of people, and God knows how many saw. You should've told me sooner. I could have been helping you."
"They know?" she squeaks, making me wince.
"You showed yourself, babe. Dice is old enough to know the rumors of silver eyes. Deke overheard. Zee—"
I look up, letting my voice trail off. "I told him," Gage mumbles, gripping his head before turning his gaze to my shaking girl. "Do you remember anything—anyone who might have seen what happened? We can do damage control. People think they see paranormal activity all the time. They've got shows on it. We can write this off as a bunch of crazy talk if you can point us in the direction of the witnesses."
She shakes her head and quickly wipes away the few tears that have fallen. "I don't know of anyone. I don't remember anything since the widows."
"Nothing?" Gage asks, looking back to me, telling me with his eyes what he can't say with his mouth in front of her.
I tighten my lips. He wants me to say he's right—that we need to teach her to lock away who she is and try to only use the parts of her people aren't afraid of—the less dangerous parts. I refuse. She needs to be comfortable with all of her. It's the only way she'll ever overcome the darkness.
Dray appears in the room, forcing a knot in my stomach. I dread what he might say. His dark hair sweeps his brow as he collapses to a chair.
"Drackus will have my balls in a vice if anything like this ever happens again," he grumbles, and I visibly r
elax in my seat.
"You found them all?" I ask, feeling even better when he smirks.
"I got most of them—enough to keep anyone from believing in things they know nothing about. The councils won't know it was her unless they dig deep. They might send the Somage to investigate," he says, pausing as he looks toward Gage, "but I don't think they'll delve into it very far."
Gage smirks, nodding knowingly. "Something tells me the Somage won't find a damn thing."
I want to roll my eyes or pop off something sardonic, but I put my own feelings toward the dark user aside since he's going to come in handy. Alyssa sighs, her body going limp against me as the relief settles in.
"Well, I'm guessing everyone knows her secrets now," Dray says, leaning forward and gauging the room.
"The girls don't," Zee says, motioning toward the howling beasts calling to the red moon from the basement.
"They couldn't hear?" Alyssa asks, proving how new to this world she still is.
"Not while under the influence of the red moon," I answer. "They understand names and certain words, but they don't retain much when they shift back."
"Good," she mumbles. "I don't want Amy knowing. She'll fucking love it," she says, whispering the last part so low that I don't think she wanted anyone to hear it.
Her lips pucker like there's a bitter taste in her mouth, and I hold back a sigh. I know she still questions this stupid thing linking Amy to me. I hate it—fucking hate it. I wish I'd never met Amy. If there's a way to prove to Alyssa I'm never going to be with the lycan bitch, I'll find it.
"I love you," I murmur against her forehead when she leans into me more.
She lets free a genuine smile when she feels comforted by those three powerful words. At least I can do that much. I'll tell her as often as she needs to hear it.
"I love you," she utters softly, kissing my chest as she snuggles against me.
Gage's jaw clenches as he grinds his molars, but he doesn't vaporize from the room like he normally does when she shows me any sort of affection. Damn. I was looking forward to him being gone.
"Let's get some rest. We still have Thad's memorial tomorrow," Gage murmurs quietly, letting his eyes only gaze at the floor and not us.
The spell of temporary relaxation Alyssa had is broken with the reminder of her friend's sad fate. I'm starting to wonder if Gage didn't deliberately do that to crush the moment between us. If he did, that's low—even for a dark user. Even at my cruelest, I wouldn't have done such a thing.
"Aye," Dice says, yawning. "I've had my ass thoroughly kicked, so a night of rest will do me good."
