The shock of her revelation made my footing falter. Cassandra shot out her arm to steady me, and it felt like a wooden bat against mysternum.
“I also know y’all think I cheated to win and you’re desperately tryin’ to figure out what I did. One of the reasons for your trip to meet with the Rivers, if I’m notmistaken?”
I keptsilent.
“Let me save you some time and headaches. I did not inject Julian Matz with any substance.” She glanced at the deck where more Creeks had arrived. Although most were busy eating, many gawked at us. She returned her attention to me and canted her head to the side. “So, have you picked a dateyet?”
“You didn’t even want to fight before. Why so adamant about itnow?”
“’Cause I want to go home,andyou have nothin’ I need or wantanymore.”
“We have Sillin. A lot of it.” I had no clue if the amount we had constituted alot.
“I have enough to tide me over for a couple years. Besides, if I beat Liam, I get your pack’s stock, and the Pines’, for thatmatter.”
Icy fingers climbed up my spine.She knows it’shidden. . .
“So it’s a win-win forme.”
“If you lose, you getnothing.”
“If I lose, my pack still gets theSillin.”
“You mean to tell me, you’re doing this for yourpack?”
“Everything I do is for my pack.” Her gaze tightened on me. “I didn’t ascend to the highest tier for a title; I did it to better the lives of shifters.” She gestured to the terrace. “Please, be my guest, Ness. Go around and ask my people what they think ofme.”
I was most definitely not going to ask a bunch of shifters what they thought of their Alpha in front of said Alpha. No one wouldevertell me the truth. I thought of the Rivers’ contact then—Avery—about how he’d said many were rooting for Liam, which meant Cassandra was either delusional orlying.
“No one visits us for a week, and now two Boulders in aday.”
Her voice made me follow her line of sight. Lucas was glaring at me while descending the stairs two at atime.
Shit. Shit.Shit.
“That one’s particularly insufferable, isn’the?”
I didn’t answer her, just started striding toward Lucas before he could cause a bigger scene than Ihad.
29
“What the fuckare you doing here, Clark?” he spat out as I joined him in the middle of thelawn.
Cassandra was still standing in the shadows of the evergreens, and the rest of her pack had remained on theterrace.
I pursed my lips. “How did you even know where Iwas?”
“Liam wanted to speak with you, so we drove over to your house. Jeb said you were at the campus bookstore, but the campus bookstore doesn’t open at the ass crack of dawn, so I’m not sure how he fell for that. He probably assumed you went to see yourboyfriend.”
“August isn’t my boyfriend,” I said, making sure my mouth was visible to Morgan. I wanted her to know this. Even though she hadn’t threatened August, it couldn’t hurt to get him off her radar. “And I’m here because I was trying to get her to put the peace treaty back on thetable.”
“You think Liam’s changed his mind because of the—” I stepped on his foot so hard that he grumble-shouted, “What the hell’s wrong withyou?”
“I’m his Second. I should get to make these calls without being undermined by someone who has no rank in thepack.”
His jawunhinged.
“Now let’s get out of here. We’re making a scene. I bet Liam would hate that even more than his Second coming to negotiate on his behalf. And even though you didn’t ask, the duel’s stillon.”
