Processingcan go fucking die.
After another look, Morgan turns back to her yard and starts walking. She makes it five paced steps before I call her back. “Don’t tell Carina I’m here.”
“Only if you make me one promise.”
When she winks, my stomach churns—but I’ll offer a million promises if she gives me an in with Carina. “Which is?”
“Two vampires are arriving tonight. Don’t attack them.”
A fuckingvampirewill be near my mate? The urge to shift, to burst into Carina’s life again and drag her away by her damn shirt, overtakes any human logic—the logic reminding me it’s likely her friend, the witch–vampire hybrid, and her vampire mate—both of which should be safe.
“Deal,” I agree, because what else can I do?
Once Morgan disappears inside the house, I shift back into a wolf and take off for a run, spreading my scent around the town so the vampires know she’s already taken.
Sixty-Eight
CARINA
Waitingfor the sun to set feels endless, and the moment it does, I’m on the front step, bouncing in anticipation of Harlow’s arrival. Mom and Jasper are nearby, not speaking to one another. Or, more like, Jasper refuses to talk to Mom, but he’s come to see Harlow.
Minutes after the last of the dredges of light seep from the sky, two blurs appear from the forest. My eyes take a second to register the fact that Harlow is in front of me, after weeks of her being gone—which should seem like nothing after going years without her, but it’s not.
She wraps me in a hug that has me gasping for breath with her newfound strength. With a small, “Whoops,” she pulls back to study my darker purple eyes and black hair.
Harlow got the cooler version of being a hybrid. Being a half-vampire, half-witch, her red hair gained black streaks, and one eye darkened to black while her purple remained a pale shade. The shifter side of me must not be strong enough to keep the Dark version of me at bay.
“What happened?” She wraps a strip of my hair around her finger, frowning as Alec greets me with a tilt of his head, like the vampire king he is.
“Twilight Grove happened,” Mom replies, coming forward to give Harlow a hug and then shake Alec’s hand.
“I want to know everything, but I’m also getting the sense I’m here for another reason.” Her guess ends in a higher tone, multi-coloured eyes flicking between mine.
Mom takes the hint and leads the others inside. Alec lingers, hesitating as he stares at Harlow with an unnerving level of hunger and desire.
“I’ll be alright,” she murmurs to him, urging him to follow Mom. “I should be more worried about you than you should be about me.”
With an eye roll and a heated kiss that tears my attention to the forest, Alec unwillingly trails the other two inside, leaving us alone in the yard.
“We could stay here or go elsewhere,” she offers.
“Let’s walk.”
Our walk doesn’t take us far. Turns out, between the knotting of my fingers and the twisting in my shirt, my feet don’t have the energy to go any further than the Sinclair house—her old house. Harlow seems fine with it and turns for the path to lead me up to the wide porch where she drops onto the first step.
“So. Care to tell me why you reek like a wolf? Or can I presume it has something to do with the bite on your neck?”
My fingers brush over the long-healed mark, which is nothing more than a small scar. “It’s practically healed.” And hidden by my clothing for the most part.
“Healed?” Her brows lift, amused. “Have you looked in the mirror? It’s red.”
Ryder did mention something about my mark being permanent, so other shifters would always be able to see it andknow he laid claim to me. Maybe vampires, with their crazy good vision, see what I don’t.
Harlow sniffs the air, pulling her nose in. “In fact, this whole place smells like shifter.”
“That’s because…well,” I sigh, dropping onto the step beside her, “may as well tell you everything.”
For the third time this week, I launch into the complete story, beginning with Treaty Day for her. Every little detail left out of Mom and Jasper’s story for the sake of my own embarrassment, I admit to Harlow. Everything with Ryder, including our initial meeting, and the time together in the camp. Every moment, every fight, every time he tried to get rid of me, but I returned. Even though most of our life was spent apart, Harlow, in the short time I’ve known her as an adult becomes my greatest confidant.
