I didn’t cry right away.
After Regan left me in my room, I showered and dressed, all the while completely dry-eyed. My mind felt blank, my thoughts scattered. Shock. I was in shock.
It hit me hours later. I shot up in bed, wide awake and panicked. The clock read a little after three in the morning. My heart hammered and I blinked, trying to make sense of the images behind my eyelids that had formed into nightmares dark and vivid enough to wake me. Images of blood and still-pumping hearts and gleaming knives. I willed them away and gulped water from the bathroom sink.
I didn’t sleep again after that.
I tried redirecting my thoughts, anything to distract me from the realization that I was now a target—the heart on the ceiling had been a clear threat—but all it left were thoughts of Regan. The image of the crowd cheering her victory after the tug of war. How my dad had looked at her from his seat in the stands, proud and unsurprised that she’d won. Owen.
I hadn’t bothered to search him out after I’d lost. I didn’t want to see his look of disappointment. I couldn’t handle his pity. I had enough of my own to drown in it.
At seven the next morning, someone knocked on my door. I stayed where I was in my bed, staring up at the ceiling. “Come in,” I said.
The door opened and Regan walked in. “Pack your bag,” she said.
I blinked. “What? Have I been kicked out?”
When she only stared at me for a minute in response, my stomach flip-flopped. I knew it. I knew I had done so terribly at the Test of Strength they weren’t going to bother continuing the competition. I hadn’t just lost the role of alpha; I had lost all my pride, my only shot at having a family, and any chance that I might be the one to end up with Owen.
Regan’s brow creased. “They haven’t told you yet, have they?”
My eyes began burning, but I kept my composure. “I guess they thought they didn’t have to. I’ll get my things and be on my way.”
“Uh, I think you have the wrong idea, Charlie. You’re not getting kicked out. We’re going on a trip.”
I looked up, too surprised to bother wiping away the tear that tracked down my cheek. “Huh?”
Regan took a deep breath and something about the set in her shoulders made my nerves hitch. I had a feeling the truth wouldn’t be much more pleasant than what I’d assumed. “The heart is being considered a direct threat against us. We’re getting moved out of the house for now.”
“Did they find what the heart belonged to?” I asked, although I suspected I already knew.
Regan shook her head. “They’ll have to analyze it, but I think it was a deer heart, judging by the size. It’s pretty similar to a human’s—similar enough to be scary.”
“It’s scary either way,” I said with a shudder I couldn’t suppress. When Regan didn’t disagree, I decided to voice my suspicions. “Do you think someone knows about our hunting lesson?” I tried to keep my tone light, but the look Regan gave me was serious business. And I couldn’t shake the memory of that vampire who had been watching us that day.
“I think it’s possible,” Regan said in a tight voice that invited no more discussion.
“Where are we going?” I asked instead.
Regan scowled. “An overnight visit at the Rossi estate.”
My eyes widened. “Have you ever been there before?
“No. This will be a first. We’ll get a tour of their estate and be formally introduced to the coven. There’s going to be a fancy dinner, so take one of your dresses,” Regan said. Her nose wrinkled when she said it.
My stomach was flip-flopping again, but it had nothing to do with a bleeding heart. Unless you counted my own. I was breathless at the thought of going to Owen’s home. I would have to see Owen’s parents again. I would probably meet other family, too. And I would have to do it on their land, on their terms. Without letting anyone see how I felt about him. Or the fact that Regan was closer to having him than I was.
Regan’s expression softened. “Nobody is going to hurt us in the vampire territory. Carter and some of the other wolves will be coming with us, and they’ll look after you. I’ll look after you. And it would be too suspicious if someone attacked us on the vampires’ home turf anyway. You’ll be safe.”
I gave a shaky laugh. “Yeah. Safe. Right.”
Regan sat next to me. “Do you know what this means?”
“That we’re going to have to impress the future in-laws?” I asked.
If Regan was amused, she didn’t show it. “This means we could investigate.”
“Investigate?” I repeated. “You and me?”
She nodded. “If you’re up for it.”
“I don’t think the vampires put the heart in my room,” I said carefully.
I noted Regan’s hesitation, but couldn’t read whatever was shuttered behind her eyes. “I was thinking more of investigating what happened to my mom.”
“Oh. Right. Of course.” I nodded. “I’m game but what can we do?”
Regan sighed and ran a hand through her hair, frustrated. “I can’t keep sitting around doing nothing. I thought I could count on Dad or the council to look for my mom’s killers but all they’ve done is make friends with them. It’s heinous. And now this threat against you … I can’t let it go. Not anymore. And I don’t think I should. I’m an alpha.” She met my eyes and smiled. “We both are.”
I shook my head and gave a sad snort. “Right. You saw me. I—”
“Did great,” she finished. “Seriously. You should be really proud of how well you did today.”
My eyes narrowed. I wanted to accept her compliment, really, I did, but … “Why are you being so nice to me?”
She stood and fidgeted with her hands. When she spoke, her gaze flitted to different parts of my face, my mouth, my hair, my forehead. Everywhere but my eyes. “I know I’ve been hard on you. This whole situation is … There’s not really a word for meeting your sister for the first time and then having your excitement dampened by being told you’ll have to fight her for the right to lead a pack you already thought belonged to you and marry the guy you hate most in the world.”
I snorted. She had a point.
“Anyway,” she went on, “I think we’ve both seen a side of each other—and ourselves—we don’t like very much. But what happened today, the threat against you, made me realize that after all this is over and the dust settles, you will still be my sister. And I like the idea of that. Of always having someone on my side, like family is supposed to feel like. I don’t want to waste any more time before starting that.”
I stared up at her, our eyes meeting and holding. She didn’t look like she was breathing. I knew she was waiting for my answer. Afraid I would reject her idea. Reject her.
I was torn. The contest wasn’t over. There were still miles to go in competing against her. Plenty of reasons to make her my opponent. My enemy. But alpha competition aside, she was right. We were sisters. That meant something deeper than a short-term reason for rivalry. Or at least, I wanted it to.
On a deep breath I said, “Where do we start?”