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“I’m sure I won’t need to use it, but thank you,” I say as he tucks my pant leg over the knife and rises to his feet.
We bundle up in our coats, hats, and gloves—it finally snowed this week, and it looks like the freezing temperatures of winter are here to stay—and head across the compound to a house close to the clubhouse.
Two women answer the door with bright smiles and giddy squeals. They’re sisters, both tall and lean with more muscle definition than I’ll ever manage. One has blonde hair and the other brown. “Nora!” Rhea, the older of the two pulls me into a hug. “Finally. Come on, we’ve got a lot to do and not enough time.”
Rook starts to follow us in after the sisters shuffle me into the house, but Lila, the younger sister, stops him. “No way, mister. You go away. You can’t see her all dressed up until the ceremony starts.”
I don’t have the heart to tell them that he already saw me all done up in the dress at my party last week.
“Go,” Rhea insists with a stubborn stomp of her foot, pointing toward the clubhouse where the ceremony is being held.
Rook frowns at me, and Lila throws her arm over my shoulders. “You’ll see your mate soon enough,” she says.
Rook preens at how she refers to me as his mate and finally smiles. “All right. Just hurry up. And take good care of my mate.” His eyes shift to me and hold steady. “Be safe. I’ll see you soon.”
The two women coo over his gentle warning of safety as they shut the front door. “Ah, he’s worried about leaving you. That’s so cute,” Lila says.
Rhea smiles, too, but hers is sad. “I can’t blame him after losing his last mate.” She sucks in a deep breath and shakes off her melancholy, flashing me a bright smile. “I’m so glad he’s finally found a new mate.”
Lila nods enthusiastically. “For sure. No one deserves to be happy more than Rook, and the way he smiles at you…” A lovesick sigh slips past her lips. “You guys are so cute together. You’re going to be so happy. I can tell.”
Guilt stirs in my stomach. The only people we’ve told the ceremony is a sham are the wolves we know are loyal and are ready to fight. Everyone else thinks it’s real so that Jeffrey and his spies won’t suspect we know about the attack. I’m afraid the news that the mate pairing isn’t really happening is going to hurt a lot of the pack. They love Rook too much and are so excited to see him happy.
“Come on,” Rhea says, shaking me from my thoughts. She leads me through the house to the master bedroom. “Okay, let’s see the dress.”
“Yes, put it on, I’mdying,” Lila adds.
They leave me alone to change into my dress, and I tighten the knife around my ankle. Rook’s right: I don’t know how to use a knife, but I do feel safer with it on. Once I have the dress on, tingles shoot up my spine. That familiar warning of impending danger raises the hairs on my arms and neck. It’s strong enough that sweat breaks out on my forehead and my stomach rolls. The dread in my chest is almost paralyzing. Someone wants me dead, and they want it violently and immediately.
Grabbing the silver knife from the sheath on my ankle, I tiptoe into the hallway and freeze when I hear Luna Marie’s voice.
“Luna?” Rhea asks, voice laced with surprise. “I thought you were out of town.”
Out of town… In hiding… I suppose those are the same thing. That was the downside to this plan. In order for us to keep the surprise, we couldn’t let on that we know of Marie’s treachery. The pack just thinks she left town for a while on vacation.
“You ladies head on over to the ceremony,” Marie says. “I’ll help Nora get ready. I’d like to have some one-on-one time with her.”
Yeah. I’ll just bet she does.
Rhea and Lila comply so quickly that I don’t bother calling them back. It’s clear that even though they don’t know what’s going on, their loyalties lie with their luna. Obeying her is ingrained in them. I’m not sure they won’t side with her when she attacks, and I don’t need to take on three wolves. I can only hope that Rhea and Lila get to the clubhouse fast and tell Rook about Marie showing up.
I sneak back into the master bedroom and lock the door behind me. I grab my phone and send off a quick text to Terrance that Marie is here and I need help. Then I head for the window. It’s my only means of escape at this point. Before I can escape, the bedroom door crashes open and Luna Marie grins at me with a smile that’s pure evil. There’s a hungry gleam in her eyes.
“Well,” she says, looking me over. “Isn’t that a pretty dress? It’s a shame I’m going to have to ruin it.”
I have no idea what to do or say. I have no idea how to fight a werewolf.
“I’m going to enjoy ripping you apart, you little human bitch. You’ve taken everything from me. You bewitched Peter somehow and forced me out of my pack, and now you’ve taken Axel. I know he plans to mate with you instead of me.”
I roll my eyes at her jealous, villain-esque monologue. “You forced yourself out of the pack when you betrayed your alpha, and as for Axel…” I shrug. “Peter knows he’s coming, and the pack’s ready for him. He’ll be dead by the end of the evening.”
Marie’s smile widens. “That’s what you think. It’s not just Axel’s pack—”
“You mean your little lapdog Jeffrey? Oh, Peter knows all about him, and the wolves he’s managed to talk into mutiny. They won’t be any trouble. The pack’s itching to take them out first.”
Surprise flashes in Marie’s eyes, and her face becomes hard.
“Oh,” I add. “We’ve also been working with Evan Fuller all week. Most of his pack hates Axel and have agreed to turn on him and fight with Alpha Toth. Axel is sorely outnumbered, and he has no idea.”
