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I wasn’t in the mood to discuss my brother, my past, or field any of the million other questions she’d ask. After my talk with Kyle, I wanted to hold back on everything and not have to think at all.
“I need to get going. I have a lot to get done. I’ll talk to you two later.” I gave them my best fake smile that showed everything was sunshine and rainbows.
Margo hesitated and sighed. Though we hadn’t known each other long, she understood “Tori-speak” fluently by now and knew not to push. I couldn’t express how much I appreciated that.
She gave me a quick hug, then went back into the café. I said a quick goodbye to Audrey. She followed me for a moment before hesitantly putting her hand on my arm to stop me.
“Tori, I’m so sorry for letting the cat out of the bag. I figured you would’ve told Margo since the two of you are so close.”
“It’s fine.” It wasn’t, but what was done was done.
Audrey fiddled nervously with her purse and chewed on her bottom lip. “That sounds like a lie to me. I don’t want you to be mad at me. I really regret it. If I’d known beforehand, I wouldn’t have said anything. I truly am sorry. This sounds crazy, but you’re the first person I’vewantedto be friends with. My parents picked my friends out for me based on what their families were worth or what they could do for them. So I’m used to fake, annoying friendships with fake, annoying friends who weren’t friends at all.” She looked at me pleadingly. “I don’t want that with you. I want a genuine friendship where we can be honest with each other.”
Taken aback by the sincerity and sadness, I couldn’t do anything but forgive her. In actuality, there was nothing to forgive. I should’ve told her not to mention my brother to anyone.
I hugged her. She stiffened, but then tentatively hugged me back.
“We’re good, Audrey, I promise. I’m just annoyed with myself for not being clear that I didn’t want him mentioned at all. It’s not that I’m worried Margo will say anything, because I know she won’t. It’s just the questions she’s going to ask. She’s determined, and I’m not ready to have that conversation.”
Nodding vigorously, Audrey said, “I get it. Really, I do. I wasn’t thinking. I really am sorry.”
“I know you are, but there’s nothing to be sorry about.” I gave her one of my genuine smiles.
Who knew that Audrey and I would put in the effort needed to have a solid friendship? The idea was crazy, but welcome.
Of course, having another friendship would make it that much harder for me to leave.
“I’m also not apologizing because your hunter brother is insanely gorgeous or anything. I truly want us to have a full-out, genuine friendship.” She giggled.
My eye-roll was so hard, I was amazed my eyeballs didn’t get stuck in the back of my head like my mother used to warn me about when I was a child. What was with this woman and my brother? She was a wolf shifter, and he was a hunter. They were oil and vinegar.
I’d never understand, but maybe Audrey had been under her parents’ thumbs for so long that she wanted to rebel in every possible way to piss them off. Nothing would do the trick more than being my friend and getting close to my hunter brother.I highly doubted anything would come of it, but she seemed to enjoy playing around with the idea.
“That is the third time you’ve mentioned Kyle’s looks, and that’s three times too many,” I warned.
Smirking, Audrey mimed the zipping her lips, locking them, and throwing away the key. “I hear you loud and clear. We’ll have to chat more later because I’m about to miss my hair appointment. After the past few days, I’m in desperate need of a blowout.”
Audrey gave me a quick hug, then ran off to the salon. I shook my head and chuckled. She was something else.
Margo and Audrey were so different, but they brought an energy to me. Knowing I’d be losing that soon broke off another shard of my heart. When I was on the run, I’d never thought much about friendships or the loneliness I endured. It was all about surviving and making it to the next day, to the next meal. But now I had the sense that it’d be even harder to go on the run again because I’d know what I was missing out on from good friends, amazing sex, and Ridge. It always came back to Ridge.
Steadying my breathing, I rolled my neck and set off in the direction of Blackwood Manor. I decided against calling Ridge and having him get me. I needed a long walk to clear my head, settle my emotional resolve, and get a much-needed break from the insanity that was Blackwood Creek.
I couldn’t deny that I enjoyed being a part of the town now—craziness and all. It drove me nuts some days and made me want to strangle people left, right, and center, but the place had a certain charm. It was because people cared. I’d never admit that—I wasn’t crazy—but the town infused me with more determination to help Ridge make Blackwood Creek a safe place for shifters and humans alike.
Chapter47
Ridge
Journals of the Blackwood family alphas and historical records of my ancestors kept during the 1800s were piled high in front of me on my desk. Ever since I’d come home from my visit with the very human Zander, my ass had been glued to my chair, trying to find any morsel of information I could get my hands on.
Starting with my ancestors, associating or knowing anything about the dark witches the hunters worked with to increase their hunter capabilities. I spent several hours reviewing each book quickly to see if anything popped out. When nothing did, I contacted alphas of other packs to ask if anyone had heard about the whereabouts of witches in recent years or if they had any thoughts of the dark witches of the past.
It was a long shot, but if they knew about current witches, maybe we could find some light witches willing to help us. Witches couldn’t be all bad—at least, I hoped not. We didn’t deal with witches because they were a rarity, and I was ashamed to say that I didn’t know much about them. I worried that, like shifters, witches had slowly been snuffed out by the likes of people like Matthew Hopkins, the self-styled witch finder general in the UK in the 1600s, similar to what the hunters were doing with us.
I was desperate to fix whatever this Giselle witch had done, so I was willing to track down every lead I could if it might lead to a light witch. Hopefully, I could convince said witch to help Blackwood Creek as a whole because I had no doubt that the hunters would strike again, and soon.
With as high a rank as Kyle held in the organization, the hunters would be coming for him one way or the other. After what I’d seen at the compound, I was sure they’d arrive with full artillery. We couldn’t match that firepower ourselves. Not yet, at least.Shifters and humans alike would be in danger.
