“Well, that was an absolute mess,” Carlos snorted, raising an onyx eyebrow as he took a long sip from his glass. He seemed more inconvenienced than concerned.
I then noticed we weren’t alone. The little girl who had touched me bounced over to Carlos’s side, wrapping a protective arm around his leg. Her hazel eyes, matching Carlos’s hair color, studied me intently. I gaped at her, still sprawled on the carpet, until the world stopped spinning.
“She did rather well for her first time, didn’t she?” a cool, collected feminine voice remarked, analyzing me.
Pulling myself up, I saw the woman in the armchair. She wore a tight black dress but looked professional with her short heels and crisp shoulder-length cut. Her warm brown eyes held a guarded look.
“Yes, she did,” Carlos agreed with the woman before turning his attention back to me. He tapped a nail against the rim of his glass rhythmically. “I genuinely had no idea how little you knew until today. I might’ve prevented this mess if you’d known earlier.”
“Known earlier?” I scoffed. “In case you missed it, I’m trying to escape this hotel with my mates. Maverick has declared me his prisoner. Everything’s already gone to hell, and I don’t have time to stick around for revelations that should’ve come days ago!”
“We have a few minutes, which will have to be enough,” he replied, his tone tense enough to make me pause. “Delia has notified your mates that you’ll catch up with them if they make it out.”
I glanced at the little girl who met my eyes fearlessly and waved. She looked up at Carlos, a question burning in her eyes. He gave me a glance before nodding and placing a hand on her shoulder.
“I’m Delia, and I’m a white wolf too,” she grinned, missing a few baby teeth. “I brought you here! I can go wherever I want, but Dad usually doesn’t let me.”
I raised an eyebrow at Carlos, whose gaze hardened as he brought Delia back to his side, taking another long drink.
“Everyone thought gambling was Arnold’s thing, but he had no more skill than a child at an arcade. I’ve been crawling around in the dark, getting my hands dirty. We both have a lot to fight for. Forming an alliance with you means risking quite a bit, but you are the first I’ve seen who has a chance against him. I knew it that night when you drained Arnold Fox.”
Part of me wanted to deny it-I wasn’t a murderer. But I had killed those men, and I’d do it again to save the people I love.
“So, you want an alliance with me and my mates?” I asked, glancing at Delia, clearly Carlos’s child and a white wolf. I was curious about the woman in the chair.
“Veritas is my beta, a white wolf as well,” Carlos noted, catching my gaze.
My surprise must have shown. The twins had told me that the beta position was nearly always male, despite rules changing sixty years ago.
“Against my better judgment, he is trusting you,” Veritas frowned, drumming her manicured nails on the armrest. “The information he gives you could destroy thirty years of work. If you betray him, your abilities might kill me, but you will go down by my side.”
“She’s quite abrasive; it’s my favorite quality,” Carlos shrugged, making Veritas snort dryly.
“I need to know we’re on the same page. At first, I just wanted my freedom. But now, it’s more than that.” I grimaced, thinking of Maverick Billford. “I don’t know the full extent of Maverick’s plans, but they must end. I want every white wolf to be free and all corruption removed from the High Table.”
“So young for so many aspirations,” Veritas murmured, her chestnut eyes fixed on my face.
“Yeah, well. Human life wasn’t working out too well for me. Turns out, I fare better here,” I snapped back.
“Then you’ll find we are on the same page, Sophia,” Carlos said firmly. “You have some alliance with Zack Billford, so I assume you know some of what he does.”
“It’s not exactly an alliance,” I admitted. “We tolerate each other for mutual benefit. But yes, having Zack Billford as an ally could change everything.”
“He helps get wolves to his borders without getting caught. I transport them to my territory and give them what they need for a new life. They can leave if they wish, but most stay and build something. This has given me powerful allies, ones tired of hiding and ready to fight.”
“That’s where they’ve all been going,” I chuckled incredulously.
“I’m not the only one with white wolves. Maverick and Griffin have them too. That’s how Maverick discovered your activities. He has a white wolf who can see memories through touch. She was inches from you on your way into the council room.”
Carlos promised to stay in touch but was vague about his methods. He gave the twins an address to a safehouse where I’d wait for them. We needed to lay low for a few days, let Maverick’s troops scatter, then head home.
Alliances were risky. Carlos was trusting me with his pack’s secrets, and I trusted he wasn’t sending me into a trap.
“She can only transport herself to places she’s been before,” Carlos explained. “She doesn’t need to roam the place, but a simple foot in the door will allow her free roam. Staying in the safehouse will give us a constant connection until you must return to your pack. From there, we’ll figure something else out.”
It was hard to doubt him when Delia grabbed my hand and smiled up at me, her child-like innocence untouched by the harsh world we lived in. Seeing the softness in Carlos’s eyes when he looked at his daughter, I knew he had protected her well all these years.
“Are you ready?” she whispered, grinning.
“I think so,” I nodded, smiling back.
The hotel room around me twisted and warped before morphing into something else entirely. The Persian carpet became white and scruffy, and the antique sofa elongated into a modern-looking sectional. The brick fireplace was replaced by a long bar stocked with unopened decanters and bottles of expensive liquor.
The scent of air freshener and stale cleaner lingered, telling me someone had recently cleaned the place. I stood by a panel on the wall with at least ten light switches. After a few tries, I managed to flick on the lights. Ten circular lights protruded from the ceiling, making me wince as they bathed the room.
I descended two stairs to the sectional and plopped down. It was surprisingly comfortable, but it did nothing to ease the nerves building in my gut. Waiting was the worst part. I’d rather be with Ethan and Kieran, fighting whoever might stop us from leaving. It’d be worth it to know they were safe, that Kat and everyone else were too.
I flicked on the television for some noise. Within the silence, I could hear every creak and shift in the house. I contemplated grabbing the tablet and gave in when curiosity won over.
There was no password. The screen brightened, revealing nearly twenty different live video feeds from various parts of the house, including one of me on the living room couch. I clicked on the feed showing the long driveway, all but shrouded by trees. The next tab held a map with a small section circled in red. I chuckled dryly.
I wasn’t far from the hotel, probably only a couple of hours away. If they were in wolf form, they’d make it here quickly, assuming no one was injured. My thoughts turned dark. I focused on the tablet as a distraction.
The last tab was on the Internet, showing a news channel website. In bold letters, a catchy headline topped a long paragraph. I refreshed the page and nearly dropped the tablet when an image of myself flashed on the screen.
It wasn’t just one, but an entire gallery. Me pressed against Kieran in the council room, a look of fury on my face. Another where I was at the stand, my mouth open as I declined all three of their offers. I felt oddly invaded but couldn’t stop myself from reading the paragraph beneath the photos. It confirmed my fears: I was dangerous, a powerful white wolf on the loose, running from the High Table for acts of treason. Maverick Billford had all but declared war on us without issuing a formal declaration.
I swiped the news article away, trying to steady my thoughts. The remaining High Table members were offering a hefty reward for my capture-alive, not dead. Carlos was playing his part, staying in the shadows to keep his operation safe.
I propped the tablet up on the table and stared at the live feeds. There was only one camera I was interested in-the one leading directly into the house. As the television droned on in the background, I watched the tablet, waiting for my mates to find their way back to me.