Kat's mouth flattened, but with no one at her back and the rules on my side, she had no choice but to give ground. She dipped her head in a submissive nod before spinning on her heel and stalking off without a word.
The four of us watched her go, waiting until she'd put enough distance between us.
Only then did Liam arch a questioning eyebrow at me.
I shrugged. "You told me to practice."
"With me—when I'm present."
I smirked at him. "I guess you'll be a little clearer next time."
He shook his head as my smile widened. He pretended at irritation but I knew better. He got as much out of our exchanges as I did.
I glanced at Connor. "Where did you come from?"
He nodded at the door. "I came through the same entrance as you."
Caroline quirked an eyebrow. "A smart ass, I like him. He'll fit right in."
I ignored her in favor of shaking my head at Connor. "Such a stalker."
He had the gall to look insulted. "I wasn't stalking you. I was monitoring your well-being."
Caroline laughed and nudged him in the arm. "That's pretty much admitting to stalking."
Connor shuffled, the confidence from when he'd confronted Kat draining away to make him seem less sure of himself.
Caroline propped her elbow on my shoulder. "You have the most interesting friends."
"Says one of those interesting friends," I observed dryly.
Liam ignored our antics, addressing Connor. "I hear congratulations are in order."
Connor's smile was faint, barely gracing his face before it was gone.
It wasn’t the first time I'd noticed he seemed to emote less when either Thomas or Liam was present.
I still didn't know if that was because of suspicion and fear, or whether his feelings were too big to chance anyone seeing.
I had a feeling it was the second.
Sometimes the people we love most had to be handled the most carefully. Whether that was because of anger or regret, only Connor could tell. I had enough of my own emotional baggage to want to venture where I hadn’t been invited.
"Why is it that whenever I'm out with you, I end up in a fight for my life?" Caroline asked.
"Because you have awesome taste in friends?"
Caroline rolled her eyes. "I don't think that's it. You're lucky things didn't get messy. I love these shoes."
I thought the other vampires were the ones who'd gotten off easy. If Kat had forced the issue, she would have quickly learned how Caroline had managed to climb her pack's ranks, years before anybody expected her to.
We would have gotten a bit bloody and bruised, but I could guarantee that between the two of us, our attackers wouldn't have been looking too pretty by the end either.
"As am I," Liam said. "Brax would have been less than pleased to learn his youngest wolf was in trouble once again."
Caroline grimaced, her gaze sliding away at the reminder.
The alpha and Caroline had a strange relationship. He tried to tell her what to do, and she pretty much did the opposite whenever she could get away with it.
