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If it’s not…
I shake my head at my reflection in the paint-speckled bathroom mirror. I can’t think about that now. I’ll cross that bridge if—or when—we come to it.
Back in the store, I find Willow chatting with the clerk, a man with a large belly straining the front of his Led Zeppelin T-shirt and a graying beard that hangs all the way to the center of his chest. He’s beaming at her like she’s the most delightful thing he’s encountered in years and though I can’t say I care to see another man looking at my mate like that, I can’t fault him.
She is delightful.
So fucking delightful that by the time we board the ferry and are standing at the railing, watching the city skyline creep closer, I’m beginning to have serious doubts about our plan.
“We should get a hotel room,” I say, tightening my grip on the metal beneath my hands. “I have some money and a weapon stashed with a friend who works in luggage storage at Grand Central. We can fetch it, get you locked up somewhere safe, and I’ll handle Cam alone. I’m already so much stronger than I was yesterday. If he tries anything, I can handle him.”
“Unless he makes you forget why you’re mad at him,” Willow counters, “Or where you’ve been for the past few days. Or that you and I are on the same team now.”
I glance down, assuring her, “I wouldn’t forget that.”
Her brow furrows. “You might not want to forget it, but Cam is powerful, Maxim. Clearly. If he’s managed to bring entire packs around to Bane’s way of thinking in just a few weeks, we would be stupid to underestimate his gift.” She nibbles her bottom lip, making me want to do the same.
But sadly, there’s no time to indulge those feelings, and we don’t want to attract any more attention than we have already. Willow and I are easily the most striking people on this ferry and driving the most hideous car. Even with the scarf I purchased at the ticket counter wrapped around my neck to hide the wound Bane left behind last night, the combo has drawn more than a few curious looks.
“Honestly, I’m still not sure I’m up for the challenge,” she adds. “What if his gift is stronger than my mother’s and I can’t resist it at all? Or what if I’m just so tired and worn down that I’m not as resilient as I usually am?” She grabs the end of my scarf and gives it a light tug. “I don’t want to forget that we’re friends.”
“Friends?” I wrap an arm around her waist, drawing her closer. “Is that all we are?”
Her lips twitch, but she doesn’t smile, and her green eyes remain clouded with fear. “Fine, I don’t want to forget that your cock is my favorite new toy and I want to kiss you and laugh with you and have babies with you and give you shit every day for the next five or six decades.”
“Seven,” I insist, curling my fingers into the small of her back under her sweater, loving the way she shivers beneath my touch. “I want to wake up naked next to you on my one hundredth birthday and show you I’ve still got what it takes to make you scream.”
“In terror?” she asks, arching a brow. “No offense, big bad, but not even you are going to look good naked when you’re a hundred.”
“Oh, ye of little faith.” I bend, pressing a kiss to her forehead, but she pulls away before I can transfer my attention to her lips.
“Seriously, we don’t have time to flirt,” she says. “What if I fail? What if Cam does a head job on me and convinces me to turn against you? I know I look relatively harmless, but Maggie was right, Maxim. I am ruthless, especially when it comes to protecting the people I love.”
“I know,” I say. “It’s one of the things I like best about you.”
“Thank you, but there’s a dark side to that. You know there is. All Cam would have to do is convince me that you’re a threat to Diana or Hermione or my parents or something, and that’s it. I would be your enemy again. And I would be a bad enemy.” Her lips tighten, shifting to one side before she adds in a softer voice, “Not long ago I was having some very serious thoughts about taking over as Alpha of North Star and locking you away in a cell so you couldn’t mess things up. I wasn’t going to torture you or steal your life essence or whatever Kelley wanted, but…I wasn’t going to be nice or fair, either.”
My brows creep higher on my forehead. “Really? And you think you could have pulled off a coup?”
She shrugs a shoulder. “Maybe. With Diana’s help. And if I’d had time to turn the women in my focus group against you by deftly and subtly pointing out all the ways their lives would be better with me in charge.”
I laugh.
I probably shouldn’t, but I can’t help myself.
“What?” she challenges. “I’d be a good Alpha. I can empathize with the powerless people in your pack way more than you ever could. I know what it’s like to be one of them. I see what they need and how they’re being overlooked and silenced in ways you don’t.”
“I believe you,” I say. “It was just the way you said it—so matter of fact. No one else talks to me like that, Willow. No one else would dare.” I brush her hair from her face. “I think you’re stronger than you think, and that you’ll be able to handle Cam just fine. But if you’re really worried, I have an idea where we might be able to secure some backup.”
Hope sparks in her eyes. “Really?”
I nod. “Secure backup and give your mother her first taste of North Star pack living at the same time. Kill two birds with one stone.”
Her jaw drops. “My mom? But how? I’m not even sure where she is. I mean, I have a general idea, but I haven’t dared reach out to her or Dad since they left. I was afraid it would put them in Pax and Victor’s crosshairs.”
“Understandable. The St. Louis pack is inclusive, but relatively defenseless.” I push on before the question in her eyes can pass her lips. “When it became apparent our allies were becoming few and far between, Hermione reached out to the St. Louis pack. They pledged their loyalty so long as you remained under North Star’s protection. I couldn’t see any reason for that request unless…”
“My parents were there,” she finishes. “Yeah. They are.” She tightens her grip on my scarf. “Do you really think it’s safe to bring them into this? And would we be able to get them to the city fast enough?”
