Billy slowed slightly, ears perking.
Lex scoffed, but her whole face softened as she looked at Lochran. Just days ago, she’d been adamant she’d never summon him. Now? She looked at him like he’d hung the damn moon. It wasdisgustinglycute.
“Headless Hollow is one of the few towns in America that exclusively caters to magical creatures from all walks of life,” Lex explained. “It’s been on my bucket list for years! I didn’t know you had a property there, Cat?”
“I don’t, technically. I’m just looking after it until...”
Lex met my eyes, understanding flickering there.Until Jen gets released from mortal prison and comes back to the coven.
“What do you say, Lochran?” Lex asked, smoothly steering the conversation away from my incarcerated cousin. “Oh! And Billy, you should come too!”
“I don’t want to be a third wheel—” Billy began, her eyes flicking briefly to Lochran. He just smiled, supportive in thatI will cheerfully endure anything for you,even if it means inviting your emotionally constipated wolf-shifter best friend on our first vacation togetherway.
Lex gasped. “I know! What if Lochran and I go alone, and you can stay here and mind the house for us? Itadoresyou, Billy.”
Fantastic. Even the random wolf shifter had a house that loved her.
Meanwhile, my house had left scissors on my pillow and a lock of my hair on the floor this morning because I’d caught Priscilla creeping around my yard last night and told her, before I could stop myself, tofuck offwithin Creep’s earshot. Honestly,if the house loved Priscilla so much, maybe it should’ve just opened its doors to her instead of me.
Witch-bitch and murder doll? A match made in hell.
“And haven’t you always talked about just letting your wolf roam free and away from your pack?” Lex continued. “Here would be perfect. There’re no mortals around, so you can spend your days frolicking in the woods, hunting bunnies, and rolling in fox poo to your heart’s content.”
Billy’s lips twitched—the first ghost of a real smile I’d seen since she’d scented Jake. “I donotroll in fox poo. Or poo of any kind,” she said, her grin spreading. “And I’ll have you know I happen toadorebunnies.” She threw a glare over her shoulder and muttered, “Now black-haired, wraith-like witches on the other hand...”
“Perfect!” Lex squealed. “You can wait out the rest of the week with us and look after the house while we’re gone.”
“You’re staying here for longer?” Jake asked, breathless as he jogged up to us, Priscilla scowling at his heels.
“I... um... I dunno. Maybe,” Billy said, her cheeks flushing.
Her phone buzzed, and a look of pure, blessed relief crossed her face.
“Hey, Cassie!” she answered brightly. “Why are you calling me from your burner phone?”
I glanced around. Lex and Lochran were making heart-eyes at each other like they’d personally invented love, while Priscilla—nose wrinkled as if she’d caught a whiff of something rotten—glared daggers at Billy. Jake, meanwhile, looked deeply confused and started jabbing a finger into his ear like he was attempting and failing to fish something out of it.
“Wait,wait, calm down, Cass,” Billy said, panic threading through her voice. “What do you mean you’verun away? You do realize Death on Dark Wings is about to leave for the year, andevery single wolf in the pack is supposed to be there guarding his hoard, right?”
She paused, brows knitting, her tone shifting from panic to exhausted big sister in the space of a breath. “IknowI’m not there. Unlikeyou, I got special permission from the Alpha to leave.” A beat. “Yeah, well, you get special treatment when the Alpha is your best friend.”
Billy blew out an exasperated sigh. “Cass. You cannot just run off without permission. Jasper is going to kill you when he finds you—and hewillfind you. This isn’t like running away from Dad. Jasper could sniff you out from halfway across the world.He’s your Alpha.”
Her face twisted like she’d swallowed something sour. “Ew. Gross, Cass. He isnotyour fated mate. And why—why—did you put the research you did for Lex’s trial in your old high school folder? It was humiliating having everyone readCass wants Jasper’s knot. I am genuinely never going to recover from it.”
My cheeks flushed, but no one else batted an eye at the conversation.
“... but don’t you think he would’ve realized by now if you were fated mates?” Billy’s eyes flicked to Jake, and she let out a long breath. “Actually, forget that. Fated mates can be oblivious as fuck. I’veliterallyjust found mine, and I think it’s gonna take a full-on mating bite to the ass before he notices me.”
A high-pitched squeal erupted from the other end of the line, and Billy yanked the phone away from her ear with a wince as Cass unleashed a storm of delighted congratulations.
I glanced at Jake, who was still whacking the side of his head. No reaction whatsoever to the conversation revealing that Billy was his fated mate.
Unless... he couldn’t hear it?
Then it hit me like a truckload of Shuffle Truffles.
Dragon scale.
