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“Too far,” Rico murmured, even as I moved in front of Chris, my chest bumping his.
“I don’t know that it was,” Tanner said, rubbing a hand over the back of his head. “He needs to hear it at some point, right?”
“Damn right,” Chris said, jutting his chin up at me defiantly.
“You’re so goddamn stupid,” I snapped in his face. “You’re going to get yourself killed. And for what?”
He didn’t even flinch. “For my pack. If you think we’re just going to abandon them, then you don’t know us as well as you think you do.”
“You’re human. What chance do you stand against—?”
“Are you leaving, then?” Jessie asked. “Because last time I checked, you’re human too.”
I glared at her as I stepped away from Chris. “It’s not the same. I’m a goddamn witch. I have magic—?
?
“And I’m pretty good with a staff,” she said. “Ox’s crowbar too, since he can’t use it anymore. You know, silver and all.”
“Rico and me got our guns,” Tanner said.
“And I’ve got my knives,” Chris added.
“And we’ve been trained to fight wolves,” Rico said, standing firm. “For years. So what if we end up having to kick Carter’s ass? He deserves it for making us run laps. You know I hate running laps. I get shin splints.”
I gaped at them.
The stared back at me.
“You’re all out of your minds,” I said faintly.
“Probably,” Chris said with a shrug. “But we’ve stuck by you this long. And hell, we’ve faced crazed Omegas, a wannabe Alpha with big teeth and an even bigger ego. What’s a disease that makes our friends lose their marbles in the long run? Just another thing we’ll deal with.”
Rico laughed but covered it up quickly with a cough. “Sorry,” he said, wincing slightly. “That wasn’t funny. Fear response.”
“You’re going to need us,” Jessie said, and the others fell silent. “You most of all.”
I scowled at her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
She smacked me upside the head. “Men. You’re fucking idiots. Why the hell do you think, Gordo? Look. I don’t pretend to know a thing about you and Mark. I don’t care what happened to you guys or what turned you into this asshole who’s so used to pretending he doesn’t hurt like the rest of us that he doesn’t see that we’re absolutely done with his bullshit. If this happens, if what that bitch told us is true, you’re going to need us, Gordo. We’re your friends. You need us as much as we need you.”
“Team Human for the win,” Chris said, smiling fondly at his sister.
“We can do things the wolves can’t,” Tanner added. “If they’re going to go feral, then they’re going to need us to watch over them until we can figure out a way to get them back.”
“And besides,” Rico said, grinning wildly at me, “it looks good for my street cred when I kick so much ass.” His smile faded a bit. “Even though I can’t really tell anyone about it. Because werewolves are secret.” He was frowning now. “Why the hell am I doing this? I’m already getting laid.”
These ridiculous humans. How they had the hearts of wolves.
“Fuck all of you,” I said helplessly.
They weren’t fooled.
I WAS out at my truck, ready to head home to get a couple hours of sleep. I needed to rest. Facing off with Pappas had drained me. Elizabeth had offered me a bed in the Bennett house, but I hadn’t slept there in years. She knew I’d say no. The guilt that had settled in my chest at Michelle’s implications about my father wasn’t helping. I couldn’t stand Elizabeth’s eyes on me, knowing the blood that ran through my veins came from a man who had helped cause the death of her husband, and potentially the destruction of her pack yet again. She didn’t blame me. It wasn’t who she was. But I blamed myself enough for the both of us.
I took the coward’s way out.
She knew. Of course she did. She let me go with a wave of her hand.
