kind of stuff? Can you do that?”
“There’s a very high price for something like that,” Deirdre said. “Suffice to say, no one on our team will be materializing out of nothingness.”
“Well...” Todd’s gaze slid sideways to Evershaw, and Deirdre’s expression turned into a storm cloud as she turned her full attention on her mate.
“You didn’t,” she said, gritting the words out between her teeth. “Tell me you. Did. Not. Call. Him.”
The alpha didn’t blink or otherwise react, although the rest of the pack inhaled and leaned away so they wouldn’t be caught in the crossfire. Miles said, “He’s on the alert, that’s it. Not going to intervene unless I call him. But given this asshole sorcerer is causing trouble within city limits, it’s Smith’s business, too.”
Deirdre’s eyes narrowed and lightning flashed in sparks around her. I bit my lower lip and started knitting again, trying to siphon off not just my magic but hers as well. Miles must have called that guy Smith, the fae that Deirdre clearly didn’t care for. The other witch’s expression shifted and turned into that eerie, icy bitch I remembered from our first meeting. Her voice got really, really quiet. “We shall see about that.”
“He says hi,” Miles added, apparently giving zero fucks about how much he’d pissed off his mate. “Invited us to dinner.”
Henry muttered under his breath about “don’t poke the bear” but clearly the alpha had not learned his lesson about provoking witches. Deirdre’s fury turned the air icy around her, and it looked like she even levitated off the ground a few inches. Ready to murder the next someone who defied her, no doubt. I just hoped she kept it together until we faced off with Rocko.
While she glared at her mate and the alpha did his best to look nonchalant—despite a few somewhat worried glances in her direction—Todd went on with the plan. Henry and I would approach the empty lot where Rocko insisted on meeting. We would distract him once he arrived, and try to figure out where he kept Silas. The rest of the pack would surround him and then kill him.
The wolves nodded, like it would actually be that simple, and I made a disbelieving noise as I looked around at them. “You can’t possibly think that will work?”
Once more, I became the center of attention. My voice went high as panic started to set in. They didn’t really take it seriously. They didn’t truly understand what Rocko could do. “He won’t let you get close enough to do anything to him. He’ll have defenses ready and probably some kind of trap set. He never does anything unless he’s sure he can win. This isn’t going to be easy.”
Henry’s arm tightened around me, trying to be reassuring, but all I could see were the people around us—they would all be hurt or killed if they ran up against Rocko without taking it seriously. Their blood would be on my hands as surely as it would be on Rocko’s.
Deirdre turned her attention on me, her glacial facade still in place. “He won’t be ready for you and me together. He asked what you were willing to trade for the wolf. Offer me.”
I reared back in horror at even the hint that she would go with Rocko, but before I could verbalize it, Miles barked, “No fucking way.”
Deirdre didn’t look at him. “Since my mate didn’t care about my opinion regarding the fae and how... involved they are in our life, I’m going to disregard whatever little temper tantrum he’s about to have. You and I will have to fight this, Ophelia, since we are the only ones who will take Rocko seriously and know how he will fight. He’s also going to underestimate us, isn’t he?”
I didn’t dare move, since it looked like Evershaw was going to rip into pieces from rage, and didn’t look away from her. “He’ll underestimate me, but he might give you a second look if you show up looking like your head is about to spin around and we’ll need a young priest and an old priest to deal with you.”
The corner of her mouth quirked up, which was even more disconcerting than when she frowned, and her feet settled back to the floor. “Make no mistake, I can make him believe I’m just a confused little witch looking for a some guidance from a clever older man. You just have to show him you’re desperate enough to trade someone else’s life for