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“I know.” I swallowed, still hating to think of that night. We were talking quietly enough that the others couldn’t hear, especially with the news still blasting, and I wanted to clear Vex’s name. “She wasn’t lying to us because she wanted to.”
“I wasn’t making any judgements—”
“She wasn’t trying to trick us. She didn’t have a choice.” I swallowed. “She was dark bonded—isdark bonded. Still.”
I really don’t know what had made me say it, but Prey was just… she’d always been steadfast.
It wasn’t exactly a secret, though we didn’t want the press finding out, but I trusted Prey. She was one of the few people in the world I trusted absolutely.
Prey’s only reaction was to go still, intense eyes fixed on me with that steadiness I remembered so well. She was always calm. I felt it in her aura, jasmine and myrrh, like a blanket upon the room.
Prey reached out slowly, her hand taking mine and giving it a squeeze before letting me go. “I’m so sorry, Love.”
“Thank you for… you know. For being there for her when I wasn’t.” I’d left her that day when she was going into heat. If I hadn’t… what would have happened?
How much less might she have suffered?
“I… I almost lost her,” I whispered. “Too busy worrying about… about Ebony, and the pack and what it would mean.”
“You want to know what I think?” Prey asked.
I sighed, rubbing my face and bracing myself. “Yes.” She had never been one for sugar coating anything.
“I think you need to give yourself a little more credit when it comes to Ebony.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re his cornerstone, Love. You need to have faith in what that means.”
“He’s the reason you—”
“You don’t need to remind me of what happened,” she said, and I saw the briefest shadow of sadness in her eyes, but it was gone in a moment. “You know he didn’t just blow up my chance with your pack—he blew up my chance at the Rangers show, too?”
“I know. He—”
“Do you think he hated me enough to go the extra mile?” she asked.
I considered that, unable to help glancing at my brother who was shooting dark glances our way.
No.
That part hadn’t sat right with me. Prey had been so upset about what had happened between us, she’d been ready to throw in the towel on movies entirely. Instead, she’d looked at a TV show with a dozen more seasons to go. A fresh start—almost a new career.
Except Ebony had stolen that from her, too.
The only explanation I had was that he’d done it to punish me. To drive the point home that I wasn’t allowed anyone but him.
“It wasn’t well known, but I was about to swap managers to get that role,” Prey went on. “I was dropping mine for Lucas Rivers.”
I paused, eyes narrowed.
“And then less than a year later all that shit comes out about him.” She wrinkled her nose. “Convenient timing, too, when you jumped right in with his replacement on the City of Dusk spinoff movie a week later. Contract fell right into your laps.”
I stared at her.
No. That hadn’t been convenient at all. I knew Ebony had triggered that landslide himself. I hadn’t argued for the filth he was unseating.
Exceptifhe’d known beforehand…? I leaned back, considering that.
