"The fuck is a trebuchet?" Sean asks, wrinkling his brow.
"It's like a medieval slingshot," Micah answers warily.
"Dude!" Sean bellows. "Forget asking Villeneuve, the trebucket is a way better idea!"
"Trebuchet," Micah corrects.
"Bro, since when are you French?"
"And just like that, the balance of the universe is restored," Rowan says with a sigh of relief.
It's not an unreasonable compromise—the idea of bringing one of the wolves, not the fuckingtrebuchet—and having one of them with me might actually make Villeneuve more forthcoming.
"Fine," I agree. "One of you can come. Butonly one, and you have to promise to behave. That means you decide who's coming without World War Wolf."
"I'll go," Killian says immediately.
"No chance," Rowan objects. "You can barely say his name without growling."
"He has a point," Micah says. "Maybe someone with a little less... history with Villeneuve?"
"I'll go!" Sean volunteers, raising his hand like we're in class.
We all fix him with a pointed look. He's definitely run out of good ideas.
"What?" he says defensively. "I can behave."
"You called him 'Temu Dracula' to his face during freshman orientation," Micah reminds him.
"That was just a joke," Sean mutters. "He has no sense of humor. Which totally proves my point."
"Rowan should go," I decide. He has been the most level-headed of the bunch and the least antagonistic toward Villeneuve. The only one I can trust to behave rationally. I hope. "He's the only one of you who might actually manage to be civil."
Killian doesn't look happy, but he knows I'm right. "Fine. But if he tries anything?—"
"We'll handle it," Rowan says smoothly, placing a calming hand on Killian's shoulder. "I'm not going to let anything happen to her."
Killian relaxes slightly, and if I'm being honest, so do I. It's not that I feel like I have a reason to fear Villeneuve, who's been nothing but kind to me, but I also know better than to trust a supernatural I really don't know very well. Especially one who's managed to hide his entire identity this long.
Rowan is definitely the voice of reason in a house full of impulse and instinct. I'm starting to understand what role each of them plays, and this is his.
"Alright then," I say, draining my coffee cup. "Let me get dressed, and we'll head over."
As I climb the stairs to my room, I can hear them arguing in hushed voices below. Debating how they're going to spread out around the property and what to do if something goes wrong. For once, even Sean is being completely serious.
If they took their academics half as seriously as my safety, the Dean wouldn't be breathing down their necks.
But it's…
Sweet.
Chapter 5
REGINA
Rowan istense beside me as we walk up the winding path to Villeneuve's modernist manor. Behind us, I know the other three are hidden in the treeline, just beyond the range of Villeneuve's wards. It would have freaked me out a few weeks ago, but instead, it's… oddly comforting?
At least as long as they're human right now.
