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“I know what’s going on,” I cut in with a laugh.
They whirled around, surprised to find me in the room with them. Mika’s eyes were wide and terrified.
Smirking at him knowingly, I said, “Don’t get your panties in a wad. Zoe is all bubbly and goofy most of the time, but that doesn’t mean she’s helpless. She’s one of the reasons we got out of Simon’s lab the first time, remember?”
Mika’s face turned red, and he scowled at me. “But what if Simon has something that can nullify magic? Zoe would be defenseless.”
As soon as he’d finished speaking, a look of horrified surprise took over his features. He’d more or less admitted to being interested in Zoe.
“Wait,” he stammered, closing his eyes. “I, uh, I didn’t meanjustZoe. Um, I meant all the magic users. Uh, well, I…” He trailed off helplessly.
Wyatt and I burst out laughing. Seeing the ever stoic and broody Mika Sheen all tongue-tied and flustered, talking about a girl and trying to cover his tracks, was too much.
“Mika,” I said quickly, not wanting him to think we were making fun of him, “don’t get the wrong idea. We aren’t laughing at the thought of you and Zoe together. In fact, I think you’d be a cute couple.”
“Who said acouple?” Mika demanded, his voice going up an octave. “I didn’t say that. No one said that.”
“Calm down,” I said, patting the air with my hand in an easing gesture. “It’s all right. I know a lot of packs aren’t keen on interspecies relationships, but fae are very open-minded about it, and Zoe is even more open-minded than most fae. Her family is the same, so I think you’ve got a good chance with her. If you want to pursue it.”
Mika blinked rapidly. He’d obviously thought any chance with Zoe was too outlandish to truly consider. If I had to guess, he’d probably told himself that if anyone found outabout his feelings, they’d tell him to forget about it. That I was encouraging him was a confusing surprise.
“Um, yeah,” he mumbled. “Thanks. I need to, uh…I need to go.” Mika stood and hustled out of the room without another word.
Wyatt watched him go with wide-eyed amazement before turning back to me. “Zoe and Mika? Seriously? When did you become a matchmaker? You’re getting soft in your old age.”
I swatted his shoulder. “I’m not even twenty-five yet, jackass.”
Wyatt put both hands over his heart and batted his eyelashes at me. “A hopeless romantic, even at such a tender age.”
Rolling my eyes, I took a seat next to him. “Enough. Time to be serious. Mika does have a reason to be worried. This attack on Simon is going to be dangerous. People are going to get hurt and killed.”
Wyatt’s grin faded. “It’s like any other mission. Unless we get incredibly lucky, there will be casualties.”
An idea had been tickling at the back of my mind for a little while, and I wondered if it was even worth considering. “I can’t help but think that whatever happens will, in part, be my fault. This attack is mostly my idea. Maybe there’s a way to even the odds somehow. A way to give us a leg up on Simon.”
“And what would that be? A tactical nuclear bomb?”
“I’m working on it. It is a little strange, but I’m keeping it to myself until I’m comfortable talking about it.”
Wyatt groaned and rubbed a hand over his face. “Well, that doesn’t sound at all ominous. I know that look on your face. This littleideayou have is going to put you in danger, isn’t it?”
I shrugged helplessly. “I wouldn’t call itdangerousper se, but it might be risky.”
“I can’t let the woman I love dive into somethingriskyon her own. I guess I’m in this with you. Whatever it is.”
My stomach gave a happy little flip, as it always did whenever Wyatt told me he loved me. The words came easily for him, like he’d been saying them his whole life.
Grinning back at him, I reached forward and poked him in the stomach. “You know you love my little plans.”
Wyatt groaned again, then laughed. “Yeah. We’ll see about that.”
Chapter 8
Wyatt
The next morning, I woke just as the artificial fae lights of Haven brightened in a sort of simulated sunrise and sunset the magic users of Haven had set up after Crew created the place. Kira lay curled against my side. As I looked down at her peaceful face, I found it surprising how natural andrightit felt to have her there with me.
Sneaking around onThe Reject Projecthad stressed me out. Hiding our feelings and desires had been one of the most exhausting things I’d ever done. Even before the show, I’d spent years concealing my feelings for her. I’d done such a good job of it, I’d believed my own lies. But the more time I spent with Kira, the more everything seemed to fall into place. Like I was where I’d always belonged.
