“No more magic hoods,” I finally said. “I couldn’t care less where y’all eat, sleep, and shit.”
A slight twitch appeared on Li’s jaw. “I… agree. We’re on the same side. The hoods are obsolete.”
Hill shook his head in a slow, offensive manner.
I raised my chin, holding Li’s gaze. “And I get to tell Marcus you’re watching him.”
The two people across from me stole a quick glance at each other, their brows knitted in confusion. “Why would you do that?” Between Hill and James, I wasn’t sure who’d exclaimed first.
I crossed my arms and sat back in my seat, having expected a protest. “Because he deserves to know.”
James flung his arms in the air. “See? This is the same shit I was worried about.” The tension in his voice was thick. “Find someone else.”
Li brushed off James’s demand, pinning her almond eyes on me. “Aren’t you concerned he’ll begin altering his behavior?”
“Director Li,” James stressed.
“He won’t,” I replied. “He still underestimates me.”
James leaped to his feet, finger jabbing at Li with every shouted word. “Don’t fucking ignore me!”
Li’s eyes flicked to James, and the temperature in the room dropped.
I watched in horror as James’s eyes grew wide. He gasped, his hands shooting up to his neck.
In the short time it took for me to leap from my chair, the red on James’s flushed face turned a disturbing shade of blue. He clawed at his throat, his nails already breaking skin. He flailed in agony, and I eased his fall as he dropped to his knees.
I could feel the sorcery skimming across every inch of my exposed skin. Despite its violence, it was light and without the mire normally accompanied by black magic.
I would’ve been in awe… had I not been absolutely terrified.
I was right. This woman waspowerful.
I turned to Li, ready to beg her to stop—but the witch blinked, her dilated pupils shrinking to normal, and James gasped for air.
He crumpled to the floor, coughing in a violent fit. I rubbed his back as his breath returned in shallow bursts.
“What makes you think the werewolf underestimates you?”
I glowered at Li, but I had enough sense to appease her rather than provoke another psychic attack. “He thinks I don’t know he’s having me tailed.”
I’ll admit, the first night I sensed a shapeshifter behind me in the shadows, it scared me shitless; anyone would be on edge after that battle. But then my fear soon morphed into fury.
Marcus had invaded my privacy, and for a moment, I was ready to send his werewolf back to him in a body bag… until the reality of our situation made me pause.
Marcus knew about Latoya. He knew that my sister’s return was messing with me… more than I’d ever admit to James. So maybe his desire to help was genuine—just in the stupidest way possible.
But I couldn’t deny that Iwasoff my game. I should’ve noticed Tobias and Viper long before I did that morning.
Li nodded her head in approval. Hill didn’t react at all. And James couldn’t lecture me about wolves stalking their prey because he was too preoccupied with breathing.
“Humankind needs another victory, Joey.” Li rose to her feet and smoothed down her pencil skirt. “Besides the nullified threat to the treaty, it doesn’t seem like this poison has crossed state lines.” She picked up the manila folder, giving me a pointed look. “It’s your job to ensure it doesn’t. And the best way to do that is to eradicate it at the source. The werewolves. Work with the Alpha, Joey. Stop this poison from spreading.”
Chapter Six
Marcus
Club Luna was emptier than usual, even for a weekday. If it had been any other night, that would have worried me. But as luck would have it, the bar remained stocked, and the heady scent of need still filled the air.
