"Closer to two," Javi corrected him. "It's going down on the twenty-seventh."
"Doesn't matter. It's a simple enough escort job. And Cole might—willbe better by then. He'd skin all of us if we canceled over a little blip." He couldn't look at Cole while he said that. Instead, he met the eyes of each of his fellow betas and willed himself to seem as confident as he could.
"So what do you mean by 'run interference'?" Javi asked. "Are you telling me to lie to the pack?"
Was that what he was saying? Nico balled his fists to keep from nervously tapping his finger against his leg. Underneath his skin, his wolf bristled and stretched, aching to be let out.
He had to be decisive. "For now, yes. If anyone asks, tell them he has the flu."
"You ever heard of a werewolf with the flu?" Hugh asked. He was fidgeting with the wipe from the antiseptic packet, rolling it into a tiny ball between his fingers.
Nico glared at Hugh, who was not helping. "There's a first time for everything."
"And if he doesn't?—"
"He's going to get better," Nico said. And this time, he did sound like an alpha. He took a deep breath and let the heavy mantle of leadership settle over his shoulders. "We just need to give him time."
Chapter
Two
"I can't believethey're making you work so late on a weekend!" Aya's voice was a bit tinny through the speaker on Elise Nevin's phone. "Are you okay? I can come keep you company."
"For the fifth time, it's totally fine." Elise couldn't tell if she sounded angry or just tired. "This is my job; I signed up for it."
"I thought you signed up for taking phone calls and managing their schedules. You're an admin assistant, not a doctor."
Elise took a deep breath anddidn'thang up the phone. Her coven sister would never believe that the call had dropped. "I work for a wildlife rehabilitation program. Sometimes they need all hands."
Sometimes. Sure.
Not tonight though.
"Promise to let me know when you get home, though, okay?" Aya pressed. "I don't like the thought of you out alone so late."
"I'm twenty-four freaking years old. We're literally the same age. And a fully blooded witch. I can handle myself." If Aya was at the zoo with her instead of on the phone, Elise might have sent a spark of magic at her just to prove it.
"That doesn't mean you're?—"
"Sorry, Aya, I need to go. My boss is calling." Elise punched the button to end the call and set her phone in her locker with more force than was necessary. If it hadn't been covered in her cute, sparkly pink case, the screen might have cracked. And then she'd be really miffed.
She rested her forehead against the closed locker next to her open one and massaged her temples. It was always a bit too bright in the locker room, and she hated the constant buzz of the overhead lights, especially when they started flickering, announcing it was almost time to change them. Maintenance didnotconsider the staff room a priority.
She didn't like lying to her coven. They were her closest friends. Her chosen circle. She'd caused a stir in her family when she'd chosen to join a newly forming coven instead of taking her place in the Wallace Grove coven like everyone else in her family had for generations.
Her path had been laid out for her since birth. Learn gentle magic. Marry a nice witch-boy with strong, aggressive magic from an allied coven. Have three or four magic-rich children. Rinse and repeat for all generations.
Forever.
Some women in her family never even left coven grounds.
Not that she could blame them. The coven estate was over a hundred acres and was a small town in and of itself. Some called it paradise.
She'd been suffocating there since she was thirteen.
Now she was her own woman.
And her chosen coven still thought she was a delicate little flower.
