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Willow stands, smiling up at the much taller woman. “Thanks. I’d like that.”
I like her smile, I realize. It’s…sweet.
But Willow’s more than sweet. She’s strong and stubborn and brave. She went through hell last night, but she still held my gaze this morning without flinching.
She still flashed sex eyes my way, even after all she’s been through.
And yes, I know some Betas can’t help but respond sexually to an Alpha, but she had no trouble refusing Pax. Fighting him, even.
No, she might not like the fact that she’s attracted to me—she clearly doesn’t—but she didn’t shy away from it.
That takes guts.
I like guts, too.
I remind myself that strangers can’t be trusted, but as Hermione and Willow leave the room, I don’t try to stop them. I didn’t clear Hermione to take our prisoner anywhere but from her room, down to interrogation, and back again, but my second made her position clear. She thinks we should give this little wolf the benefit of the doubt.
Maybe we should. Maybe we shouldn’t.
And maybe there’s a way to find out for sure, if I’m willing to call in a favor…
Trusting my gut, I pull up the text thread with Trix and ask—Does your sister still deal in truth stones? If so, I’m in the market for a few.
Again, Trix doesn’t keep me waiting. We’re totally secure on this line, right? I assure her that we are, and she continues, Yes, she does, but she’s out of town with her boyfriend. Can it wait a week? I could ask around for another recommendation, but Felicity’s stones really are the best. She doesn’t cut corners with the spell work the way a lot of the bigger operations do. And she’s excellent at keeping secrets.
I frown, but reply, That’s fine. It can wait.
She sends back a smiley face and a thumbs up and then, Sweet, can’t wait to see you tonight!
I frown harder, and before I realize what I’m doing, I’m cancelling the date. I explain that some unexpected pack business came up and promise to hook up with her soon.
Trix is cool about the change of plans, but her final text, a playful warning not to “find a girlfriend” between now and next week hints that she senses there’s another woman on my mind.
And there is, even though starting something with Willow is impossible. The most I can offer our refugee is a provisional place in our pack and protection for her and her child—if she proves trustworthy.
Truth stones will cost a pretty penny, both in coin and in the risks inherent in purchasing forbidden spells.
Fairies are forbidden to sell charms outside Fey circles, and the High Fairy Court doesn’t just punish fairies who break the rules. They take their pound of flesh from the people who buy enchantments, too, a form of deterrence that’s unsurprisingly quite effective.
But there are always customers who will accept the risk in return for the reward, and it looks like I’m about to become one of them.
I’m putting my safety, and the safety of my pack, in jeopardy for a wolf I barely know. Who means nothing to me.
It’s not the smartest thing I’ve ever done. Not by a long shot.
Perhaps I’ll rethink the wisdom of the purchase before the week is through.
But deep down, I know I won’t.
My gut is screaming that I need to find out the truth about Willow Astor—that she’s important to the future of the North Star pack in some way I can’t logically sort out, but that my instincts know for certain.
And my instincts are almost never wrong.
Maybe it’s just that having Pax Darius’s son under my control will change the dynamic between our two packs forever, finally giving me the leverage I need to start re-establishing a presence in The Parallel.
That’s probably all it is, and Willow’s usefulness to the North Star wolves will end when she gives birth.
But that doesn’t mean I have to add insult to injury. I don’t want to have anything in common with Pax, either, least of all a shared habit of treating his mate like shit. If Willow passes the truth stone test, I’ll make it clear I’ve changed my mind and she’s welcome to stay as a full-fledged member of our pack.
