He doled out more precautions, but his voice faded into white noise as I pondered why Morgan, the great and feared Alpha of the Creeks, had asked to meetmebeforehand.
Was she looking for an ally in mypack?
39
Iwentin to work the next day with a mix of excitement and dread bubbling deep in the pit of my stomach. August exacerbated the dread part of my mood. His concern was so heavy that I asked him if I could leave early. Before I could drive away, he asked if I wanted him to come at seven too. When I turned down his offer—because I feared Morgan wouldn’t appreciate me bringing a bodyguard—his eyes darkened like the evergreens on a moonlessnight.
I hadn’t meant to hurt his feelings and almost backpedaled, but he’d be there shortly after me. Besides, I wasn’t frightened. Well, not overlyfrightened.
Especially after Sarah dropped by, chattering nonstop about the meeting. She swung three dresses onto my bed. Even though I insisted on wearing something of mine, she told me this was asoirée. A soirée apparently called for fancyattire.
“I’m not looking to seduce any Creeks,” I muttered to Sarah as I reluctantly tried dress numbertwo.
“One of the first things Julian taught me was that the way you present yourself, the way you hold yourself, the way you speak affects the perception people will have of you. By walking in looking like a thousand dollars—I think that one was actually two—you’ll stand out, because everyone, be they wolf or human, has a vested interest in beauty andriches.”
She fingered the black tulle of the midi skirt while I blanched. I’d never asked how much the red dress I’d worn to her brother’s wedding cost, nor the little white number that still hung in mycloset.
I smoothed down the stiff bustier top that shoved my breasts together. Considering mine were way smaller than Sarah’s, I asked, “Can you even fit into thisthing?”
“Nope. Internet order I was too lazy to return. It’syours.”
For a second, I pondered reselling it, but it would probably hurt Sarah’s feelings. Plus it was really niceandblack, so probably easy to wear to otheroccasions.
I finally turned away from the floor-length mirror glued to the back of my bedroom door. “You’re like a fairy godmother. Except instead of little wings and a gray bun, you have sharp claws that can shred a man’s throat, and a sharper attitude that can shred hisego.”
She slashed through the air, manicured nailscurving.
My lips quirked into a smile that tumbled off when a carhonked.
Sarah lurched off the bed and peered out my window. “Liam’s here. Are you gonna beokay?”
“Yeah,” I lied, going into my bathroom and fishing my mascara from the glass in which I kept my toothbrush and eyeliner. Even though my hands trembled, I managed to apply a thin coat of makeup to my lashes without incident. I left the rest of my face bare. The dress was loud enough. I fluffed out my hair which had dried a bit wavy and fit my feet into my blackheels.
“Let’s pray tonight doesn’t turn into something out of a slasher film,” Sarah said, running her hand along her hair, which she’d had professionally flattened. It made her look like a different person—less wild and morerefined.
I gasped. “Why would you saythat?”
“I was justkidding.”
“Well, it wasn’t funny,” Imuttered.
Sarah did something very un-Sarah-like. She gave me a hug. “She has no reason to murder us. She probably came to beg for her son’s life. And maybe offer us an alliance.” She squeezed me tight, her flowery perfume prickling my nostrils like rose thorns. “Or maybe she wants to marry you off to herson.”
I pulled away. “What?”
Sarah shrugged. “I was justspeculating.”
“Well don’t speculate about something so . . . soawful.”
“You’re mated. Just use that excuse if she tries to marry youoff.”
As I wrenched my bedroom door open, I caught my reflection in the mirror. My face was as wraith-like as Isobel’s had been back at thehospital.
Liam honkedagain.
“Better go before he comes upstairs and hauls your ass into his bigcar.”
My heartbeats snagged behind my compressed ribs. “I’m not ready,” I whispered,panicked.
