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“I think I can answer that one,” Petra said. “She told you she came into the human world in Chicago, right?”
“I think she said she ‘entered’ here, but yeah. Close enough.”
“We know she’s been here since at least 1872, and Chicago wasn’t very big then, at least by modern standards. And most of it was contained...” With a dramatic pause, Petra put a new image on screen.
“Within the ley lines,” I said. “So she’s got some connection to Chicago’s ley lines, and she’s stuck near them.”
“Bingo,” Petra said. “We know she can go at least to Edentown, so she’s got a little perimeter beyond this central triangle. But not much of one.”
“She’s been waiting,” Theo said. “Not just for her opportunity to get into Chicago short term—but to getoutof Chicago long term.”
“And then the wards get weaker,” I said. “She thinks if she gets back into Chicago, she can draw on the ley lines, maybe, and use that power to break her bonds.”
“Or she figured out the Cornerstones, somehow,” Petra said.
There was a knock at the door. We looked up, found an admin in the doorway. She looked at me. “Someone’s here to talk to you.”
“To me?” I rose, flipping through possibilities. Jonathan Black. The demon. Connor. “Who is it?”
“A shifter. Called herself Breonna.”
“Interloper,” I said with a curled lip. “I’ll be there in a minute. Keep her in the lobby, please.”
The admin nodded, clipped back down the hallway in sensible shoes. I ran a hand through my hair, then rolled my shoulders, tried to shake out some of the building tension. “Do they seriously not understand the deadline we’re under?”
“I bet they do,” Theo said. “And I bet they’re fine if it passes.”
I glanced back at him. “One less Apex to worry about?”
Theo nodded sagely.
“Assholes,” I said.
“You need backup?” Theo asked, voice carefully neutral.
“No, thanks. I’ll take care of it.”
I was glad the hallway was empty, because I was perilously close to fanging out and letting monster play with Breonna awhile. But that wouldn’t help Connor and the Pack. So I’d keep my cool as long as I could.
I found her in the lobby in workout gear. Leggings and a sports tank in a gleaming pink that showed off toned muscles. Her usual style of dress or just part of the display?
“Breonna,” I said blandly. “What do you want?”
“Dating a shifter, but you aren’t even going to bother with politeness when one of his Packmates comes to see you?”
“Are you his Packmate? Last I heard, you and your buddies are doing everything you can to tear the Pack apart.”
“We’re asking important questions,” she said. “Questions we have every right to ask.”
“About whether I hurt my parents on purpose?”
“How do I know they weren’t in on it?”
“Logic, for one. What do you want?”
“You’re an obstacle, and I want you out of the way.”
The straightforwardness was almost refreshing. “An obstacle to Connor—or the Pack?”
