rabbits could bite,” he says with a chuckle.
Horror clamps down on my heart so hard that my chest screams with pain.
“Bring him back,” I snarl. “Right fucking now!”
“It’s too late. Trish was with me, and she took him to Kaazu while I waited for you. Guess you should’ve come sooner, honey,” he says with pity. “I’m sure you can figure out the rest.”
“He wants me to come alone, or the kid dies.”
Magnus taps his nose. “Smart girl.”
I grab fistfuls of my hair and pull in panic and fury. “I don’t even know where Rockhead’s pack is!”
Magnus pats his own collar. “You feel it, don’t you? Kaazu is giving you a little tug to lead the way,” he explains before giving me a little five-fingered wave. “See you tonight. Don’t be late. You know how much Kaazu hates that.”
I open my mouth to shout or curse or beg, but he’s gone before I can utter a single syllable.
“Fuck!”
I’ve turned and slammed my fist into the trunk of the tree before I even process the pain as my knuckles split open. I punch it over and over and over, blood spilling down my hand and dropping onto the forest floor like noxious rain.
The more I punch, the more the weight I’ve carried on my shoulders bears down, getting heavier and heavier until I can’t stay upright.
I collapse onto my knees with fury, my shoulders caving in with the world around me.
My fault. Everything that’s happening is my goddamn fault.
I’m not being a martyr. I’m not overexaggerating. This is the greatest truth of my life. And the fact is, I knew it would come to this point. I knew, and I still stalled. And my warring indecision brought me right here, to this point.
I sit prostrate on my knees for...I’m not sure how long, as my mind shores up. I give myself this single moment of crippling self-doubt, of overwhelming worry, and of smothering anger.
And then I get up.
I dust myself off. I steel up the barriers in my mind and let my expression take on the signature glare that I use to face every fucked up facet of my life. I start walking back to the compound, where I’ll have to give the performance of my life.
Cliff’s and Freddie’s lives depend on it.
21
Jericho
I wake up with a start, realizing all at once that Jetta isn’t in bed, my phone is going off, and I’ve only been asleep for about an hour.
Leaning over the side of the bed, I snatch up my discarded cargo pants, dig out my phone, and open up my messages.
I see a group text from Igor sent to all the enforcers, and it instantly makes me sit up, a fist around my gut.
Igor: Troupe Delirium is gonna be performing at Pack Rockhead.
“Shit.”
I leap out of bed and get dressed, cursing at the fact that Jetta’s not here. Does she already know?
I rush downstairs, noting the lack of pack members in the house despite the fact that it’s early evening and most everyone should be here by now, hanging out and eating.
The moment I open the front door of the warehouse, I see why. There’s a big group of shifters gathered around, Igor and Alpha Hugo included.
My eyes snag onto the female with the black and white hair, and I immediately move to her side. She looks even paler than usual, and I can hear her heart pounding. When I’m beside her, I frown. “Why do I smell blood?”
She doesn’t even look at me. “I hit something.”
Snatching up her hand, I gape at the sight of her bloodied and split knuckles. “Jesus, Jet. What the hell did you hit?”
She yanks her hand away and wipes the blood on her leggings. “Don’t worry about it.”
My brows draw together at the way she takes a step away from me, like she wants to make sure no part of us is touching. Which is polar fucking opposite of the way we’ve been for the past few weeks. Hell, I was inside of her not even an hour ago, but all of a sudden she won’t even look at me?
“What’s going on?”
I look over to see my question was voiced by Luca. He’s walking up hand in hand with Reese, and the pack rat’s eyes are darting around at everyone gathered.
Hugo glances at Jetta before answering. “We just got some news from our plant in Pack Rockhead.”
Plant? I didn’t know we had someone on the inside of Pack Rockhead. I don’t even know how