Oh, she had to teach this jackass a lesson. “You know I could take you down with at least three different moves right now, right?”
“Maybe.” He shrugged. “My training is just as good as yours. Regardless, take me downwithoutsilver in your hand, and we’ll just grapple. You have silver, you get spanked.”
Her mouth opened and then shut, but words failed her. She cleared her throat. “You even try it, asshole, and not only will I have you arrested for battery, I’ll kick your wolf-ass to the lake and back.” Then she’d take whatever silver she had and shove it through his stubborn hide.
“Then we understand each other.” With a hard press of his mouth on hers, he released her and stepped back.
The door opened.
Pete and Lenessee walked in. Pete’s eyebrows rose, and he glanced from Mia to Seth, his hand resting casually on his holstered gun. “Everything okay here?”
“Fine.” Mia shoved past Seth and reached for the stack of papers. She wanted to stay and question Seth about being with Ruby the night she died, but the room kept spinning, and she needed to throw up. Like now. “Mr. Volk refuses to cooperate. I’ll let you handle him.” Keeping her chin up, she swept from the room, continuing through the hallway until she reached the outside. Enough of this crap. If Seth wouldn’t tell her the truth, she’d find out herself—after the world stopped spinning around her.
The transition was getting stronger. What did that mean?
Chapter27
Mia stumbled into the cabin, where the scent of baked chicken nearly made her hurl. Her vision hazy, she waved a hand at her mother and Dotty, where they sat at the table, eating dinner. “I’m sick. Flu. Stay there.”
Her mind spun, right along with her stomach as she crept up the stairs and fell onto her bed. Had Seth killed Ruby? If so, why? If not, why the big secret that he’d been with her that night? Mia had to get over this transition so she could think again and figure out what had happened to Ruby and Mandy.
If Seth was a killer, she’d take him down.
If he wasn’t, she’d probably have to apologize to him.
Either way, if her head exploded, she wouldn’t have to worry about it.
Her brain might shatter. She whimpered and yanked a pillow over her face. Flashes zinged behind her eyes. Lights shaped like sharp knives. Her blood boiled to the temperature of lava.
She bit her lip to keep from crying out and tasted copper. Minutes compounded to create hours. Her mother checked on her a couple of times, smoothing a cool hand over her neck and muttering.
Then the house went silent as nighttime fell. Blissful quiet surrounded her while her body went crazy. Dreams combined reality with imagination. In a haze, she ran through the forest in wolf form, the night alive, the colors vibrant.
Every time she woke back in her bed, she breathed out in disappointment—and pain. Agony escaped her body through every single pore.
Tears shot from her eyes to soak the sheet. Tremors racked her body until her teeth rattled.
Finally, a steady hand removed the pillow from her head and rolled her over onto her back.
She whimpered in protest as moonlight bathed her body where it streamed in from the now-open window.
“Shhh,” Seth whispered, stretching out and cradling her. “Two things will help you through this: the moon and me.” He wiped tears from her cheeks, the pads of his fingers rough but his touch gentle.
The shuddering subsided. Warmth cut through the chill. “What’s happening?” she croaked through a mouth that might’ve well been filled with cotton balls.
“You’re transitioning from human to mate.” He stroked her arm. “Relax and let the change happen. Soon you’ll be so strong, you’ll be able to arrest me anytime and anywhere you want…without backup.”
Ha. She’d seen how strong he was. She’d always need backup with him. “I don’t want to change.”
“You will as soon as you feel healthy again.”
The strong scent of wild sage filled her nostrils, providing a sense of safety and peace. “How are you here?” she slurred.
“My lawyer is very good. All you had was the recording, which isn’t proof I killed anybody.” Seth unbuttoned her sweat-soaked shirt and tugged her arms free. The air instantly dried her.
Mia sighed as her body relaxed. “Did you kill her?”
“Of course not.” He pulled off her pants and settled the blanket securely around her. “You know I don’t need to use silver to incapacitate anyone. Nor do I kill women.”
