I wasn’t some blood-thirsty executioner.
Everest leaned forward and caught one of my hands. “I have a plan.”
I tried to swallow, but jagged lumps clogged my airway like clumps of hair in a shower drain. “I need to…to run away.”
“No.”
I killed Liam’s father. The pack Alpha. The pack was going to come after me and shred me to ribbons.
“I have a plan. A plan that will keep you safe. I promise. It’s foolproof.”
Nothingwas foolproof.
Silver bars materialized in front of my eyes. The Boulders were going to toss me in that hole of theirs. I removed my hand from Everest’s and massaged my temples. If the pack didn’t kill me, the authorities would lock me up for involuntary manslaughter. It wouldn’t matter that it hadn’t been intentional.
Shit.
“Ness. I got a big player to help you,” he said.
I didn’t think the President of the United States could get me out of this mess.
“Julian Matz,” Everest said, as though the name should’ve meant something to me. It didn’t.
“Who the hell is Julian Matz?”
Everest flinched from my shrill tone. “The Pine Pack Alpha.”
My skin broke out in goose bumps. His plan was to involve the Alpha of the greatest enemy pack? Ice spilled into my stomach as an even more chilling thought settled. “Did you…tell him?”
“I had to.”
He had to. I was straddling the brink between fury and anger, and it was giving me a strong urge to gouge my cousin’s eyes out. “You told him! How dare you!”
Everest blinked. “Ness, I did it for you.”
Fuck. My life was fucked. Maybe I should attempt to fly off a roof like Becca. Or maybe I should turn into a wolf and travel to a distant mountain range and lose myself in the wilderness.
“Look, you’re going to meet with Julian tonight, and he’ll explain how he’s going to go about clearing you.” He gestured toward the shopping bag. “Wear the dress and meet me in the driveway at five. I’ll take you to him.” He checked his watch. “You have two hours to get ready.”
He got up and started walking toward the door.
“Why do I have to wear a dress?”
“It’s his nephew’s engagement party.”
Stab me through the heart. Not only did I have to meet with an enemy Alpha, but I had to attend an engagement ceremony where surely the entire Pine Pack would be assembled.
I’d almost rather have died.
Almost.
The dress Everest had gotten me fit like a glove…an actual glove. The stretchy black leather hugged each one of my curves, leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination. Nor did it leave any room to strap a knife to my thigh, which I’d considered.
But then I’d reconsidered it.
Bringing a weapon to a werewolf engagement party was surely in poor taste. What would I do with a knife anyway? If the blade wasn’t welded from silver, it would do me little good. Everest’s revelation made me bang a clenched fist against my mirror. A fissure streaked the glass. I stared at the crack as though it were an omen. What did breaking mirrors mean? Right…seven years of bad luck
I was doomed.
I took one of the pins I’d sandwiched between my lips and stuck it into the bun that was supposed to look sleek but ended up resembling a ball of yarn a cat would’ve chased down a staircase.
When my updo was done, I grabbed my bag, cell phone, key, and then slid on my black heels. On my way out of the inn, I crossed paths with Jeb. I prayed he had no inkling of what I’d done.
He crossed his arms as I passed by the bell desk. “Where are you going?”
“I’m having dinner with Everest.”
His forehead grooved. “Where’s he taking you?”
“He said it was a surprise for having forgotten to take me to the first trial.”
Jeb’s pupils twitched with guilt.
“‘Night, Jeb.”
He peeked over my shoulder at the parking lot, probably to check whether I was telling the truth about going to dinner with his son.
I climbed into Everest’s car with little grace, the dress constricting my movements. “I didn’t know they made straitjackets out of black leather.”
Everest cracked a grin, one of his incredibly toothy grins, and for a second, it made me forget that this was possibly one of the crappiest days of my existence. And I’d had my fair share of crappy days.
I hooked on my seatbelt. “So, who was that girl you were swapping spit with at Tracy’s?”
“Just a girl.”
“Same one from the music festival, right?”
“Right.”
“And you met her…randomly?”
The tips of his ears flushed. “She’s not an escort.”
I hadn’t meant to imply he’d met her through Sandra. “What’s her name?”
He flicked his gaze to me. “Why do you want to know?”
I was a little taken aback by that. “Because I’m your cousin, and your life interests me. But if you don’t want to tell me-“