“That’s—serious.”
“Yeah. And I doubt he’ll stop once he conquers the Elite Pack either.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning he wants to rule over the biggest pack in history and it’s only a matter of time until he comes for the Rocky Pack as well. That is, unless Morven decides to bend a knee.”
For a second, Mason is quiet, and I hear a scratching sound, like he’s clutching at his hair.
“He wouldn’t do that,” Mason says, not with the confidence I’d hoped for.
“I really hope not. In fact, I was hoping he might see some sense and join forces with us against Walter.”
Mason scoffs. “Fat chance. Morven’s only concern right now is finding Mia. He blames your pack for her going missing.”
Hunch confirmed. My feet are getting cold, so I dig them into Jasper’s comforter, enjoying the way his scent lingers on his pillows.
“That’s what we thought.”
Anxious, because I’m scared to ask the question I need to, I rub the palm of my free hand on my knee until it hurts.
“Mason,” I say, trying to convey how serious the situation is with my tone. “I think the only way we’re going to survive this is if we find Mia and Olivia, if we can reconcile things between our packs and fight Walter together.”
“I hear you.”
“So I need to ask—you’re Mia’s best friend, do you have any idea where she might be?”
Mason exhales long and hard and it’s difficult to tell if he’s thinking things over, deciding whether or not to give in and tell me what I want to know, or if he’s just disappointed because he can’t do more to help.
Finally, he says, “I wish I knew. Seriously, Max, you know I’d help you if I could. But the last I heard from Mia, she and Olivia were on the road.”
“So you have heard from her?”
“Not for, ooh, six months? They were moving around, changing locations. There’s no way to tell where they’d be now.”
“Can you still get in contact? Call her?”
“I’ve tried a few times, but she doesn’t reply to texts and her cell started sending me straight to voicemail about two months ago.”
“Right, okay.”
“You have the ability to sense all of wolfkind, don’t you?” he asks, reminding me of my blood-wolf powers. “Why don’t you just, you know, do your thing and find them?”
It’s the million-dollar question, one I’ve been praying no one would ask.
“I guess, I’m still figuring out the best uses for my powers. People want me to use them to help fight this oncoming war, or to bolster the spirits of the pack, but I don’t know that that’s what I’m supposed to be doing with my powers. I don’t know if I’m supposed to use them to spy on people or find people who don’t want to be found. It’s a big responsibility and I don’t wantto abuse it. I want to make sure I’m using my abilities in the best way that’s helpful, but doesn’t ...” I trail off, unsure where I was going with that thought.
“Doesn’t make people uncomfortable?” Mason helps.
“Maybe.”
“You can’t help how other people are going to feel,” he says, and he’s not wrong, but I’m still not sure what role I’m supposed to play in the future. As the luna I’m supposed to help my pack, but as the blood wolf I have a duty to all of wolfkind, and something feels weird about those two threads crossing.
“Wait,” Mason continues without me having responded. “If your alpha is in a coma, who’s driving the bus?”
“The next in line,” I say, deadpan.
“Oh my moon gods,” Mason says. “Jasper the Stoic is leading the pack?”
