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So, she lifted her chin and held out her hand. “Oh good. You found it. Couldn’t remember where I left it.”
His growl of frustration filled the room, and everyone froze. “Explain.”
She took a deep breath, steeling herself. Clearly, she hadn’t thought her little stunt through. “He was warned, by Ava, and by me, several times. He couldn’t seem to keep his hands and body parts to himself, and he was not listening. I just taught him a lesson in manners.”
“And put yourself at risk in the middle of the night? I’m assuming you were alone? How did you leave this house without being seen?”
“I was with her.”
Axel’s glare turned to surprise when Nassau spoke. Even she was shocked that he threw himself on the knife for her stupid decision.
“You didn’t stop her.”
She couldn’t let him punish Nassau too. “Alpha, don’t be mad at him. I take responsibility for my actions. I’m grown, and I made the decision. However, and hear me out, this tells us something we need to know. My stalker’s not here. If he was, it would have been a perfect time to make another move. But he didn’t.”
He leaned his head into his hand, pinching the bridge of his nose wearily. “That’s insane, and—”
“And I got an email from him late last night, so I wasn’t worried. I haven’t gotten an email since the day of the last party.”
“What?”
Everyone’s attention snapped to her, and she clicked through her phone apps, looking for the email. “First thing that occurredto me was he probably didn’t have access to the Internet or an ability to email when he was here. No service and all. No access to our pack Wi-Fi. He must have gone back home when he realized where I was. And that’s why I got an email.”
Before she could finish, Keoni snatched her phone from her hand, like he was worried she’d delete it.“You can’t stay over there forever. It’s meant to be.” He looked up at his dad, frowning. “This could be a trick.”
“We can’t take a chance then. We tighten security—”
She grabbed her phone back from Keoni but looked straight at the Alpha. “I have a better idea. We combine what we were originally doing, leading him away from here, with your bait idea. But away from me. Send the guys back on the road to the mate tour while I stay here. He will look for me there. He has to know who I traveled with. Send a look-a-like and use them as bait instead of me. He will make a move if he thinks I’m not inside this fortress of a pack.”
“That puts the look-a-like in danger.”
“And we don’t know anyone who looks enough like you to fool him.”
Keoni had a point. At that, she thought carefully, then remembered the witches and Ava’s last disguise only a few months ago. “Then we make someone look like me. Cassandra will do it.” Then she grinned slowly, looking over at Keoni, then Axel. “And I think we have the perfect person to become the bait.”
Keoni looked at her, panicked. “I am not getting turned into a woman. I draw the line—”
“Not you, ding-dong. Someone who needs to learn what it’s like to be pawed at and constantly hit on. Someone who would benefit from being on the receiving end of people like him.”
Lana was the first to figure out what she meant. “Oh, my Goddess. That’s hilarious and if I get a vote here, then I vote yes. Hell, yes.” She giggled, clapping her hands together excitedly.
Zhair’s turned his boyish grin to his father. “Please let me be the one to tell him. He will die.”
“Only we don’t tell him he has to wear a disguise till he shows up with his bags. Oh, man. His face.” Keoni rubbed his hands together with glee, but Nubia clucked her tongue and shook her head, rising to take her own plate to the sink.
“That poor boy. You all are too hard on him. He just needs a little love is all.”
“Oh, he’d get plenty of love on the mate tour in disguise as me. Trust me.”
She blushed, but by then, everyone was waiting for Axel to speak. So far, he had only stared into the distance, thinking through all this new information.
“Let me speak with the Aisling Beta. If he can’t find a reason not to, then we will send you all back out. But…” He glared at her, and she naturally shrank from the power of the elder alpha. “You must follow my rules. No more taking risks. You won’t go anywhere unguarded. You understand? This could be a trick to get us to relax.”
“Yes, Alpha.”
“And Isaiah?”
The whole room waited in silence for Axel to answer Keoni’s question, but he took his time, chewing his pancake slowly.
