A beat of companionable silenceensued.
“Feels strange,” I finallysaid.
“Whatdoes?”
“That it’sover.”
“Over? It’s just beginning. The pack’s so big now. Speaking of”—his eyes practically glowed—“I’m going to need Betas. Would you consider being one ofthem?”
“Me?” I squeaked. “Why? Did Lucas turn youdown?”
The smirk was slow to come, but it made an appearance on Liam’s hard-edged face. “Haven’t asked himyet.”
“Well, youshould.”
“I’m going to need at least two orthree.”
“I’m no politician, Liam, but maybe you shouldn’t designate only Original Boulders for thejob.”
“I was thinking of making Sarah aBeta.”
I smiled. “She’ll make a great Beta. And so would Lucas. Now you just need a Creek, and you’ll have a holytrinity.”
His expression gentled. “You’re right. So wise, MissClark.”
“Why thank you, Mr.Kolane.”
We smiled at each other a moment, and then his gaze dropped to myabdomen.
Worried he might mention the tether, I said, “Morgan mentioned they were six. Well, five, because Aidan wasn’t living with his pack backthen.”
He raised his gaze back to my face. “Huh?”
“Original Creeks.” When he frowned, I added, “Did the others have tainted blood too, or was she the onlyone?”
“Oh.” His nostrils flared. “Funny you should ask. I just had a long chat with Lori aboutthat.”
“You trusther?”
“I trust she wants to live.” He rubbed his palms against his thighs. “One of them was Cassandra’s father—the one supposedly murdered by Julian. The other was her grandmother; she died of old age two years back. And then there was Lori and Alex, but they were never exposed to the toxic spring since they were born years later. However”—he rested his hands on the bed—“they were exposed to somethingelse.”
Ifrowned.
“The heavy dose of Sillin Cassandra ingested after the poisoning, it transferred to them during the pregnancy, which gave them a very high tolerance tosilver.”
How interesting . . .“Like a new and improved race ofshifters.”
“Exactly.”
“So the only OC left is Lori?” Iasked.
“Yes.”
“And you’re sure she has no silver in herblood?”
“I had Greg run tests on her. No silver showed up. Besides, Lucas killed Alex, and his blood didn’t poison him, so it’s safe to assume Lori’s silver-free.”
I chewed on my bottom lip. “How did Cassandra survive when the rest of her packdied?”
