AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Although Lexi was feeling downtrodden, Harper wasn’t just her enforcer. She was her dear friend, who had just returned from a traumatic incident she wasn’t entirely sure she had recovered from. But Harper was stone-faced through it all, something wolves were guilty of being taught from a young age.
So Lexi tried to charm her, acting as one of the few people on earth who could make her eyes glimmer with quiet joy.
“I’ve been keeping an eye on her for the past few days. And I’ve seen nothing suspicious. She’s definitely very focused and stealthy, so she could be hiding it, but something about what happened to the dress …”
Harper’s eyes darted up to the replacement dress hanging innocently on the credenza.
“That seems personal and nearly childlike. It doesn’t strike me as enforcer behavior.”
Lexi understood her meaning. It was something a kid would do to the girl who was dating the boy she had a crush on. Spit in her drink and throw her shoes into the rain, not exactly calculated … more a crime of passion, if you will.
Lexi was about to voice her agreement when someone knocked on the door.
Harper held a finger up and regarded the visitor.
“The lady is getting dressed. How can I help you?”
A voice came from behind the door, small and meek as a mouse. “Some tea has been made for the madame. Something to calm the nerves, I believe.”
Lexi moved behind the privacy screen as Harper went to the door, opened it slightly, and then took the tea from the housekeeper. She closed it promptly, signally to Lexi that she could return to the main area of the room.
Harper held the mug and saucer at chest level, the steam swirling upward in hypnotic ringlets. The mug itself was decorated with a deep royal blue-and-purple banner that ran along the circumference of the cup. Gold sparkles reflected in the faint sunlight like the ruby-red and blue gems of her dress.
Lexi felt a glow of warmth in her chest, thinking that Xander had sent it up to her. He knew how upset she was about the dress, and the specified recipe would likely help to untangle the knots tightening in her gut.
She went to Harper, who was holding the beverage like a mannequin. Lexi grasped the saucer and the handle, grazing her friend’s finger as she did so.
But she wasn’t letting go. Lexi grimaced, thinking her friend was being playful at a strange moment.
“Harper …”
“Hold on.”
Harper held onto the cup and saucer with a death grip, her finger wrapping around the fine china like hooks in a fish’s mouth. Lexi impulsively stood still with her, a sweep of fear passing through her briefly alleviated body.
Harper’s eyes narrowed into tiny pinpricks, no light visible. Lexi knew she was tapping into her wolf. The black of her eyes swallowed any color, her nostrils widening to welcome in the tiniest molecule of an aroma.
Then, she lowered her head toward the mug, their eyes slowly beginning to meet. Harper was taller than Lexi, so it was rare for them to literally come eye to eye in such a way.
Despite not having the full engagement of her wolf, Lexi was alarmed because Harper was showing a reason to be.
Harper tugged at the mug and saucer, jolting them from Lexi’s hands. Some spilled onto the floor, steaming upward and filling the room with its lavender-and-orange-peel fragrance.
“Harper,” Lexi implored.
“It’s poisoned,” she said coldly.
Lexi let her arms drop to her sides. She felt heavy all over, like someone had attached an anchor to her waist.
“Poisoned?” she breathed.
Harper nodded, then carried the mug to the side table next to the bed like it was a bomb. She placed it down, her eyes never wavering from it as she spoke.
“There’s a certain scent to specific brands of poison … almost nut-like.”
Lexi felt streams of annoyance move through her. She knew her friend and enforcer wasn’t trying to be condescending. Lexi still had bits and pieces of access to her wolf, though it wasn’t full-blown like Harper’s and everyone else she had grown up with.
Lexi batted her fingers in the air with a scowl.
