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Behind me, I can just about feel the heat of Duke’s fury warming my back. Pretending I can’t, I keep my own tone pleasant as I say, “If all that’s as you say, then it won’t be a problem if I go in and let her know that we’ll be taking her home soon. If she knows we’ve come for her, she’ll probably not be a danger to herself anymore. Don’t you think?”
Theo doesn’t have a retort for that. I guess the Alpha’s brainwashing only goes so far because I’d bet anything I had that his earlier response was dictated to him specifically by Walker. He never was gonna let me see Trish. At least, not for a couple of more days. Why, when he knows that part of the reason I’ve stayed is because I want to see her safe?
“Good,” I say, patting him in the chest where I’d just been poking him. “That’s settled. We’re going in.”
“Can we have some privacy?”
Theo hesitates before asking me, “Are you really a female alpha?”
Weird question. I was pretty sure everyone knew the truth about me by now.
I nod. “If it matters, then, yeah. So… privacy?”
“I’d heard rumors, but I thought they were exaggerating.” He says it more to himself than to me. “I never thought I’d really meet one. It’s incredible.”
Oh, come on. I don’t have time for this. Besides, he’s after Elizabeth. She’s just as incredible.
Right?
Suddenly, I’m not so sure. Not about her being incredible—because that curse is definitely something—but about Theo being interested.
When Shane first revealed his true colors, he told me about the bounty on my head. For more than two decades, my bio-dad believed my mother’s lie: that I died as a pup, drowning in the river that separated the Lakeview Pack’s territory from the Wolf District. I still have no idea how he figured out that I was alive, or that my name was changed, but he did—and then he offered a shit ton of money to any wolf who could tame me and bring me back to him.
But I’m here now, and Theo is already an alpha. Shane wanted me to mate him if only because lore said that any male who mated a female alpha became an alpha in his own right. There’s nothing I can do for Theo that’s any better than Elizabeth.
Or maybe I’m just reading too much into the whole thing.
Still, he knows I’m an alpha. Just like how Christian tested me yesterday, it’s like he needed confirmation. If he really wants it, I’m not above using my alpha nature to command him if I have to. To make sure Trish feels comfortable to tell me what’s going on, I’m getting some privacy for us.
Before I have to resort to using my wolf, though, he nods. “Five minutes. I can distract Brendan for five minutes. After that, I should probably be bringing you back to the cabin.”
Five minutes? I’ll take it.
We wait for Theo to say something to the other wolf, Brendan. The guard looks confused, but he nods, and Theo gestures for us to head inside. Without a moment to waste, the three of us do.
Immediately, I understand what Duke meant when he said cage before. I guess I thought he was so upset, he was making it sound worse than it was. Nope. Trish is literally in a room with iron bars preventing us from getting any closer to her.
In her shifted form, she’s a beautiful white wolf. She’s curled up on the carpet, ignoring the couch that the space has in favor of staying on the floor. Her eyes are closed when we enter, but when Duke murmurs her name—Patricia—they spring wide open.
Did she sense him? Or was she faking?
There’s no way to know because, despite the way her golden eyes brighten in recognition, she stays shifted.
I moved past Duke so that Trish knows I’m here. I’m probably the last person she wants to see, but it’s important that she knows I’m in her corner.
“Shift,” I order. “We have so much to talk to you about, but only five minutes.”
Duke spins, giving her his back. When Jace doesn’t, the big shifter reaches blindly behind him, grasping Jace by the shoulder before wheeling him around next.
That… that’s very interesting.
We’re wolves. Whether we’re in our fur or our skin after a shift, we’re naked. It’s completely natural, just a fact of life. It’s rarely sexual, until a mate or physical attraction between two shifters is involved.
And Duke knew where to find Trish...
I wait a few seconds, but she stays where she is. Cocking her head slightly, she gestures her muzzle at the bars, as if saying she’s locked in there. Oh. I understand. Until she’s out of the locked room, she’s not taking any chances.
Unfortunately, I don’t have the ability to open the cage. Not yet, at least. I plan on getting her out as soon as possible, but I can’t. Knowing I only have a few minutes left, I explain it to her—explain my agreement, ignoring it when Jace rumbles to hear what the Wicked Wolf expects of me—and I promise that I’ll get her home.
