And I'm all but certain he's lying to the schoolandthe Council about being half vampire.
The only question is, what's so dangerous that being seen as a vampire hybrid is thelessthreatening option?
"That doesn't mean he should be trusted," Killian presses.
"I don't need to trust him to use his expertise." I cross my arms, standing my ground. I never expected him to roll over and wag his tail at the idea of me going to see his nemesis, even if it is a one-sided hatred, but here's the moment of truth. Time to find out just how much of an alphahole this wolf can be. "Look, I'm not asking for permission. I'mgoingto see Villeneuve today. I just need to know if you trust me."
Killian stops pacing, his eyes flashing an unnatural blue for a moment. I see the war in them. The protective predator fighting against…
A frat bro.
Neither half of this man is exactly civilized. Maybe I got my hopes up for nothing.
He finally lets out a growl of frustration that bleeds into his words. "Fine. But you're not going alone."
I blink, surprised he's not fighting it harder. Kyle would have stamped his feet—literally, in most cases—and stormed around, forbidding me from doing whatever it was that defied him. Sometimes I got the feeling he didn't actually give a shit, he just liked refusing for the sake of control.
The fact that Killian is adamantly opposed to anything remotely related to Villeneuve, especially where I'm concerned, and he's still backing down—even if he's making his displeasure known—is…
Well, it's surprising.
"His wards won't let you through," I point out. "Remember?"
"Then we'll wait outside," Micah says.
"Like stalkers?"
"Likeprotection," Killian counters. "Regina, you were alone with that man for two days and it drove us all batshit fucking insane. We still don't know what his agenda is."
"I was fine then," I remind him. "I'll be fine now."
"Yeah, with four wolves watching his property the entire time," Sean says. "If he'd tried anything, we'd have found a way through those wards."
"Or died trying," Rowan adds dryly. "And trust me, he knows that."
"We're running out of time," I say finally. "The new moon is tonight and Sadie already gave me all the supplies. If we're going to do this, we need to make sure the ritual is correct."
"Fine," Killian says, his lips twisting like it physically fucking pains him to relent. "But we're not sending you in there alone with him."
"I have an idea," Sean says.
In unison, we all say, "No."
"Aw, come on," he pleads. "It's a good one."
"Doubt that," Killian says under his breath.
"What's the idea, Sean?" I ask, fully prepared for it to involve flamethrowers. He's… concerningly quick to suggest fire as a solution to most problems.
"Villeneuve might not go for having four alpha wolves in his house," he reasons with a grin. "Too much raw testosterone for Mr. Books. But maybe he'd agree to let just one of us past the wards."
I blink at him and realize I'm not the only one staring. Rowan looks downright unnerved.
"What?" Sean asks defensively. "Bad idea?"
"No," Rowan admits like it hurts him to say it. "It's actually… a good idea."
"Yeah, man," Micah agrees with a nervous laugh. "I thought you were gonna say we should use a trebuchet to fling ourselves over the wards or something."
