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“With Viper?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t worry about him. He’s all bark and no bite. But I’ll keep an eye, and my ears peeled. Are you really worried about him?”
“I didn’t use to be. I don’t know why James made me lead this mission, but now I am. He looked very angry in the Palace earlier. It must have felt like I was taking his position.”
“I’ll prefer you in his position,” Ilad said and shrugged, then smiled at me.
“Oh, it’s too much trouble,” I told him.
There was a chatter behind me, and when I turned around to see the cause, it was Viper and his gang. He walked up to me immediately and stood feet apart and confrontational.
“We are here,” he said.
“Good,” I said. I was tempted to tap him on the cheeks like he was some cute dog, but I didn’t. We were out in the open, andJames would be very mad at them if they fought here. “Let’s get going then,” I said instead and turned to the others—eleven of them in total.
They were supposed to be ten. That was the ultimate number in a pack. I was the addition. The addition many of them didn’t want.
Not that I cared for their opinion.
I was the last addition, and here I was, leading them on a mission. I ignored the sick feeling in my stomach as we walked on.
I walked beside Ilad, who I still had a couple of questions for.
“What can you tell me about these lone wolves?”
“Not much,” Ilad said. “They keep to themselves mostly. But I think they have a leader. A werewolf called Luke.”
“What’s he like?”
“Very dangerous. At least everyone says so. Very powerful too. He used to be an alpha of some pack a while back. The pack died, I don’t know how, but he came down here to get away from the memories and the shadows. You know it is hard for an alpha to move on when that happens to them.”
“What does it feel like? Losing a pack as an alpha.”
“It’s like losing your limbs. You get so used to having them around. You know, they are always there for you whenever you need them. Then they died? It feels like losing a part of you. Terrible thing.”
“Can you find out how his pack died?”
“I can,” Ilad said. “But what good is that? We are chasing them off. They won’t be in our lives anymore. I think it is best to only have info about people in your life. You know I could get you something on Viper.”
“Oh, that’s needless. I don’t need to play games with Viper. He wouldn’t dare come up against me; if he does, he’ll be taught a lesson for the umpteenth time.”
“Hate is a dangerous fuel, Hayley. He used to be irritated by you, but now he hates you. Be careful.”
“I will be. Thank you, Ilad.”
He nodded and left me alone. I knew he was right, but I saw no reason to worry. To me, Viper was just a cockroach that you can’t bring yourself to squash because that would be repulsive. You have to learn to live with it, and there isn’t much damage it can do but be a nuisance. I wouldn’t lose a night’s sleep over Viper.
I have bigger things to worry about. I reached into my shirt and wrapped my fingers around the pendant. Something about it felt different today. It was heavier and colder than usual. Before, I would go hours without remembering that it was on my neck, but now every passing second reminded me of it. I initially thought it was just my mind playing tricks because of the dream, but it looked more and more like something else was happening.
Find the person with the other half. The pendant binds your destiny together.
My mother had said. I haven’t found the other half yet, and I had given up looking for it long ago. How do I find the other half of a pendant? It seemed impossible.
We were coming to our destination, and people were looking at us.
They recognized us as James’s pack, and seeing us there meant there might be trouble. They didn’t like that. Parents made their kids go inside; the teenagers looked at us with awe. They would give anything to be us, to walk with such confidence. The older ones looked at us defiantly, showing they were not scared of us, but I knew it was just a front. They were all scared shitless. None of them would dare to raise a hand against us.
