I clung to those words, let them echo in my head as I turned and kept walking. The pack’s laughter faded behind me, and the darkness ahead looked softer, more forgiving.
I didn’t know if my piecescouldbe loved back together.
But for the first time since I left Eyrie, I wanted to try.
The walk back to the pack house felt like wading through tar. I was out of breath by the time I reached the porch. I wanted to climb the stairs straight to Jess’s apartment and hide in the dark. I had to go through the common room to get to the stairs.
The entryway was all glass and warm wood, a living room lined with nice couches and overstuffed chairs. The place was empty except for the faint glow of the kitchen light and a few wall sconces until I stepped inside and realized I was wrong.
The women were waiting.
There were four of them this time, not counting the toddler in a unicorn onesie who sat quietly on the carpet, stacking blocks. The grown-ups perched along the far couch, heads bent in close, but the second I walked in, they turned as one and smiled.
It was the smile of predators who had just found a wounded rabbit in their den.
“Hey, Harper!” chirped the one with a platinum pixie cut. She wore a pink track jacket and a pair of Lululemon leggings that made her legs look like they belonged on the cover of some fitness magazine.
The others followed her lead, all chorus and echo. “Oh, hi! We were just talking about you!” “Come sit down! We want to get to know you.” “Are you feeling better after your long day?”
I froze. My first instinct was to flee, but then I heard Maddie’s voice from this afternoon: “You look great. You’ll fit right in.” I could do this. I could pretend.
I stood stock-still. “I was just heading upstairs.”
They came to me, blocking my way.
We all stood in a small circle. The air around me prickled with perfume and competition.
“So,” said the pixie, “how are you settling in?”
I hesitated. “Okay. Just getting my bearings, you know?”
The second woman, tan and tight-faced, her lips the color of an angry plum, leaned forward. “You were a dancer, right? At that club?” She said the word like it was a diagnosis.
I nodded. “I was a dancer, a prima ballerina. I trained at Juilliard for two years.” Maybe if I reminded them I was once respectable, it would blunt the edge.
The third, a redhead with a margarita in her hand and bitterness in her eyes, pounced. “Juilliard? That’s like really impressive. But what kind of dance do you do now? I heard it was… uh…” She glanced at the pixie for backup.
“Pole dancing,” supplied the fourth, a round-cheeked blonde who looked like she’d been pretty before she’d had three kids and decided the world owed her an apology. “Isn’t that what you did?” Her smile was wide, but her pupils never left my face.
I felt my cheeks flush. “Yeah. I mean, I don’t…” I started, but was immediately cut off.
“But you did more than just dance, didn’t you?” asked the blonde, voice sticky-sweet. “I mean, I have a cousin who bartended at clubs, and she said sometimes the girls do… other things for money. Not that I’m judging. We all do what we have to.”
“She’s not judging,” repeated the redhead, nodding solemnly. “We all know how hard it is for single girls. Sometimes you just need to survive.”
I tried to back away so I could make it to the stairs, but they had my exit blocked. My skin itched under my clothes.
The toddler, oblivious to the tension, upended her block tower and let out a little whoop.
The women ignored her. They’d found better prey.
The pixie pressed, “You and Arsenal are fated supposedly, but he never claimed you. That’s so odd! Like I’d guess he’d think twice now.”
They all made a noise at this, a blend of ahh, right, the sound people make when the plot twist lands exactly where they expected it.
“Well, he’s always been such a stand-up guy,” the blonde said. “Everyone says he’s the most loyal wolf on the planet. Which is why it’s so… surprising. I mean, not that it’s any of our business, but we were just shocked to see him bring you here. Like, of all people.”
“Of all people,” echoed the redhead, teeth bared in a smile.
