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She waved a hand. “I know, I know. Let’s get out of here.”
She led us to the car, all the while eying the perimeter as warily as a wolf, then drove us toward the city and to her dad’s house. He didn’t live far away, but he was definitely outside of the pack’s territory. I briefly wondered whose idea that had been.
“I’ll listen to whatever it is you have to say, and then I’ll call Nathan and let him know what’s going on.” Perdita glanced at us from the driver seat. “You’re safe now.”
“Did you talk to him already?”
“Did you really think I was going to let him worry for a moment longer than he had to?” She gripped the steering wheel a little harder. “He cares about you a great deal, Dorian. It’s about time you understood that. He didn’t take you into his own home lightly. He doesn’t do anything without a reason. He’s been so worried. I haven’t seen him like this in, well, years.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, truly feeling it now. There was nothing like a guilt-trip.
“He didn’t feel like he had a choice,” Margo said. “Victor would have hurt me if it wasn’t for Dorian.”
“Victor needs his head examined,” Perdita said fiercely. “What on earth was he thinking?”
I’d never seen her as tense with anger before. “It’s just the dominant thing getting out of control.”
“Bullshit. I keep telling you that’s an excuse. Do you know what Byron has that the last alphas didn’t? Self-control. It’s one thing to boss people about, even make them fear you, it’s quite another to control your instincts when people are depending on you. It’s a bigger deal to earn their respect.”
“He needs more than respect,” I said. “There’s a killer in the pack. One of us is picking off the others. Maybe getting competition out of the way. Maybe they’re targeting women to distract the rest of us, rile us up like Victor. There’s something really weird going on, and I think Margo is the key to solving it.”
“I’m not letting you two put yourselves in any more danger, not for the pack, not for anyone.” She glanced at me. “It would break my heart if anything happened to you, Dorian.”
I fell silent then because I wasn’t about to make her a promise I couldn’t keep.
We finally arrived. The house was empty bar two wolfhounds standing guard in the way instinct seemed to compel them. Margo and I explained everything we had come up with to Perdita.
“I need to call Nathan,” she said when we were done. “Amelia needs to meet Margo properly. And it’s not that I don’t believe you, but I think Margo’s parents really need to be a part of this.”
“Tell them about werewolves?” Margo cried, sounding horrified. “Aboutme?”
“There’s no way they’ve lived with you for this long without knowing there’s something different about you,” Perdita said calmly. “I think they’ll be relieved to know there are explanations for everything. Look, I’ve been through this with my own family. Whatever they’re imagining now is as much of a struggle for them as the truth. They deserve to know.”
I held Margo’s hand while Perdita made some calls, but she couldn’t calm down. “It’s going to be okay,” I whispered against her hair, enjoying the way it smelled, the way I felt now I was back with my family. As long as Perdita didn’t hate me, I could handle whatever happened next. “I’ll take whatever blame is being dished out.”
“It’s not that.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “I’m afraid they’ll look at me differently when they know everything.”
“They love you.” I held her against my chest. “Besides, after the werewolf thing, nothing will seem weird again.”
That at least got a smile out of her.
In under an hour, a car pulled up outside.
“Wait,” Perdita commanded, peering through the curtains, her back rail rod straight. At least she was taking our concerns seriously. Her body quickly relaxed. “It’s them.”
We greeted them in the hallway—Margo’s parents, Nathan, his sister, Amelia—a mess of people hugging and talking over each other. I wasn’t even aware of Margo’s parents reactions—my focus was all on Nathan.
He gripped my shoulders, looking me over, then hugged me a tad too tight. When I made a sound of protest, he released me then slapped the back of my head.
“You little idiot,” he said, sounding frustrated. “Stop doing exactly what you’re told by people who don’t matter. Better yet, stop listening to the wrong people. Start trusting yourself, Dor.”
I held up my hands in protest. “But that’s why I’m here. My gut says Margo is innocent, that she’s the one who can stop the murderer.”
“What’s happening?” Margo’s mother asked. “What murderer? What’s going on here?”
Perdita subtly got between us. “I think we should all sit down.”
“Sit down?” Mrs. Harding spluttered. “They just ran away together. We should be separating them.”
