"She seems kind of...sweet to me," he said with a shrug. "Maybe you're being too hard on her."
Fucking hell. She'd brainwashed him too. Had I gone around looking like that when she'd had my balls in a vice?
I strode forward and clapped a hand to his shoulder, making him look me directly in the eye. "She's getting in your head. Don't believe anything she says."
"Why would she lie?" He frowned and I bit my tongue on the truth. I couldn't tell him what I knew or I'd be admitting my own guilt in everything I'd done with Twelve.
"Just trust me," I pushed. "She's bad news."
He sighed as I stepped back, rubbing his chin. "Maybe she just needs something to occupy her."
"Like what?" I grunted.
"Like a new job maybe. Pike needs a team to renovate the library. It might be what she needs if you’re concerned she’s misbehaving, boss," he said and my ears perked up at that.
Twelve was soon going to be returning to work and I'd been worried about having to monitor her alone again down on the maintenance level. And I sure as shit didn't need any more time with her than I already had. Especially after I'd just suggested to her that we could start playing the hunting game again. Like a fucking weak-minded moron. I couldn't risk that happening a second time. I may have wanted to believe I was incapable of being tempted by her. But I'd just proved that wasn't fucking true. Not in the slightest. Besides, renovating the library sounded like a tedious as shit job that would drive her insane, especially since she’d told me how much she hated dusty old books. Seemed like a win-win situation to me.
"Good idea," I said with a nod. "I'll make sure she's signed up."
"Beers tonight?" Hastings asked and I found I was glad of him doing so.
I nodded, giving him a tight sort of smile because apparently building friendships was alien to me and turned me into a fucking robot.
"Yeah," I forced out. "See you then."
He grinned like I'd made his day and he walked off, heading down the stairs on his patrol. I sighed as I realised I’d better head back to the therapy session and finish taking notes. But I swore to the stars, if Twelve started up that Cinderella bullshit again, I was gonna lose it.
I arrived at the Mess Hall early after my thrilling group therapy session and strode in to the near empty room with my stomach grumbling and daydreams of pizza and burgers and chocolate cake. Of course, my reality was going to be some form of processed, low priced, high carb, low taste thing, but a girl could dream.
I headed for the counter to collect my food seeing as none of my Wolves were here to do it for me. Usually they fought over who got to bring it over for me anyway, so I was doing them a favour by taking that issue away for the day. That was just the kind of altruistic leader I was.
"Wait up, wild girl, I thought we had a date?"
I turned at the sound of Sin's voice, and found him striding towards me, tattooed arms on show where he’d tied his jumpsuit around his waist and his white Darkmore tank stretched tight over his broad chest.
"I didn't realise we'd set a time," I teased, waiting for him to approach me as I placed my tray down at the start of the line for food.
"I thought I'd surprise you," he said, moving to tower over me and leaning against the wall. We were effectively blocking off the access to the queue, but the few Fae who had shown up to eat weren't dumb enough to try and push past us. "I was going to bring you flowers, but you don't seem like the type to go in for cliches, so I got you something better."
"What?" I asked, a smile tugging at the corner of my lips. Only Sin Wilder could make me smile this easily after having to endure two hours of group therapy under Cain's watchful eye. Luckily the Vampire bastardo's shift had finished so we didn't have to worry about his bat ears listening in on us.
Sin dipped his mouth down to my ear, nipping the lobe playfully before he whispered my answer so that only I could hear. "I shoved a Sunstone Crystal up a Werewolf's ass for you yesterday, pretty girl."