Penny leaned in toward me and whispered, “I told him that if he managed to catch me a squirrel, we’d be doin’ the dirty tonight.” With a grin, she added, “He caught five.”
I smiled, but then I frowned. “You’re consolidating the link tonight?”
“Are you crazy? I’m not ready for that.”
“But I thought-if you have sex, doesn’t it-”
She grinned. “Um, hello. Ever heard of condoms? Got to test the goods before you buy them.”
“Oh.”
Before she could lead me toward Isaac, Liam spoke in my mind, I didn’t bring you along for a sex ed class.
Hackles raised, I scanned the room, spotting him standing with Zack by the picture window. I bet that if my mate had been Liam instead of August, my Alpha wouldn’t have had such a problem with my conversation.
Please come. We’re about to discuss Morgan.
For a moment, I didn’t move, didn’t want to move. At least not toward him. When I took a step back, he repeated my name through the mind-link, and it halted my retreat. He was using his alphaness to manipulate my body.
How I wished I could speak into his mind. I’d tell him exactly what I was thinking.
Unless you don’t care to find out what the Rivers know about the Creeks.
“Ness, you all right?” Penny asked.
“I need to”-punch Liam-“talk with the Alphas.”
Liam had his back to me, so I glared at his shoulder blades as I wound my way around the boisterous shifters.
“Nice of you to join us,” Liam said out loud.
I squeezed my fingers into fists that knocked against my thighs.
“So, let me recap what I’ve just learned,” Liam said. “Morgan’s never lost a fight nor a duel before, and the Aspen werewolves who tried to run after their Alpha lost were picked off one by one.”
“Picked off?” I asked, setting aside my annoyance. For now.
“Killed,” Zack said. “My daughter . . . the one who was . . .” His voice trailed off as he cast his gaze on the glimmering river beyond the window.
My heart pitched because I recognized the look of loss all too well.
He returned his attention to us. “She and Will were trying to get back here. They were caught before they crossed the Colorado state line.” Pain deepened the network of fine wrinkles over his sunbaked face. “Stupid blood-link made tracking them so friggin’ easy. If my baby hadn’t traveled with Will . . .” His voice caught.
Because she wasn’t linked to Morgan, but he was.
He cleared his throat. “But she wouldn’t leave him behind.” His deep-seated hatred told me we would’ve gotten his alliance had we slain the bear or not.
“Being noble comes at a cost.” Liam’s voice was soft yet carried over the rumble of talk around us. I’m sorry for snapping at you, he added.
I kept my gaze riveted to Zack. Liam and I would discuss his mood swings later, in the privacy of our shared hut. If he wanted to keep me at his side, he needed to change his attitude. He pushed as hard as he pulled. At some point, he’d shove too hard, and there would be no luring me back in.
He’d be on his own against Cassandra.
I thought of August then, of how calm he was, how he contained his temper even in moments of great stress. Thinking of him deepened the hollowness behind my navel. A hollowness that had annexed my entire chest.
“. . . all taken Sillin,” Zack was saying.
I shook my head to dispel the fog of my thoughts. I needed to focus.
“And I never heard of anyone able to shift with Sillin in their blood. It nulls our werewolf power.”
“Ness was thinking Morgan could’ve rubbed it into her skin,” Liam said.
“Like an ointment?” Zack hiked a thick eyebrow. “Hey, Sam, come over here a sec.” As Samuel made his way over, the Creek Alpha explained that his son was studying to be the pack doctor. “We got a question for you. What would happen if we applied Sillin to our skin? Would it get into our bloodstream?”
“Apply Sillin?”
“If it’s mixed into a cream,” I clarified.
“As soon as it’s exposed to air and heat, it loses most of its effect.”
“Most is not all,” I said.
He took a swig of the drink in his hand-a fizzy transparent concoction that smelled incredibly bitter. “If there is a residual effect, it would penetrate the bloodstream. Not to depress y’all, but I wouldn’t put too much stock in that theory.”
“She had nail polish,” I blurted out.
All three men’s foreheads grooved.
“She doesn’t seem the type to wear nail polish. I mean, she wears no other makeup.”
The men were still doling out confused stares.
“Maybe she puts the Sillin in her nail polish. If she brushes it on her nails right before a fight, then manages to claw through a wolf’s body, perhaps some of it gets into her opponent’s bloodstream.” When still no one spoke, I added, “Is my theory that inane?”
Sam sighed, swirling the ice cubes in his glass. “Not inane, Ness.”
“It’s an interesting theory,” Zack said. “But the effect would still wear off fast.”
“Maybe nail polish locks in the drug’s properties,” Liam said.
“Maybe.” Sam’s hesitant tone trampled most of my hope.
“Could she”-I swallowed-“could she have won without cheating?”
I didn’t dare look at Liam as I said this, too afraid of the I-told-you-so expression that was surely written all over his face. If she had won without help from any substance, then I’d ruined his chances of defeating her by forcing him to wait.
“Everything’s possible with that woman. The best advice I can give you two is to watch your backs around Morgan. Watch your fronts and sides too for that matter. I wouldn’t it put it past her to strike from any direction.”