“What are you doing here?” Mack asked, ushering her right back out the door with me on his heels.
“You weren’t at breakfast, and I didn’t want to miss you,” she said, peering past her brother to focus on me. “You look rough, Zee.”
“The witch bound her wolf again last night.” Mack closed the door behind me before shooing us toward the path. “I let her sleep longer than I should have, but she could have used a few more hours.”
Or days.
She eyed me and nodded. “Everyone’s talking about your trip, but nobody knows where you’re going,” Tali said. “Do you?”
Mackiel gave her a brotherly shove toward the tunnel. “That information’s above your pay grade, pup.”
“Right.” Tali was in front of me, so I couldn’t see her face, but her tone implied heavy eye-rolling. “If you don’t know, just say so, dumbass.”
Most days, their bickering made me wish I had a sibling to antagonize. Today, every decibel drove a spike through my temples. They didn’t stop until we reached the mess hall, which was already half full, the other half clogging the serving line.
Hitch materialized at the door before Mack could reach it, swinging it wide and greeting my boyfriend with a clap on the shoulder and a grin that never reached his eyes. “Heard you returned just in time to leave us again.”
Mack gave him nothing. He never did. “Duty calls.”
“Fuckin’ A.” Hitch barely spared Tali and me a glance before sending Mack toward the front of the line. “Make room. Let Denael get some grub so we can send him on his way.”
The line parted as if Mack were royalty. Hands reached out toclap his back, voices called his name, and a chorus of greetings followed him down the line. Escorting recruits safely to and from the farm had earned him a hero’s reputation, and the pack treated him accordingly.
He grabbed my hand and towed me to the front. I snagged Tali’s wrist on the way, dragging her along before the line could close behind us. We loaded our trays with sausage, eggs, potatoes, and bread, then found three seats before Mack’s fan club descended.
They peppered him with questions, asking how the recruits were and whether he had seen their brother, daughter, or mate. Mack fielded each one with patience I couldn’t have faked.
Jealousy wasn’t the issue. I’d rather eat glass than be the center of that much attention. Perfectly content in the shadow of his spotlight, I put my head down and inhaled my breakfast.
Tali poured a glass of orange juice from the pitcher on the table and passed it to me. “I almost forgot,” she said, digging deep into her pocket. “I have something for you.”
She thrust her hand in front of my face to display a small stuffed brown and white paw dangling from a keychain. It was the rabbit’s foot Mack and I had found for her in an old souvenir shop in the ruins.
“I can’t take that. We gave it toyoufor luck.”
“But I have teeth and claws, so I don’t need luck. You…,” she looked me over, frowning, “need luck. Just promise you’ll live long enough to give it back.”
The insult was right there, begging to be addressed, but the lump in my throat wouldn’t let me. I fastened the charm to my backpack strap with clumsy fingers and pulled her into a hug before my eyes could do something embarrassing. “Thank you. Stay safe while we’re gone.”
“You, too. Keep your nose clean, kid.”
Since she’d stolen my line, I channeled Rust and ruffled her hair for being a punk. “Everyone’s a smartass these days.”
After we ate, the entire pack gathered at the den's entrance tosee us off. They seemed especially happy that I was leaving, but I couldn’t blame them for that. With any luck, the dragon would follow us right into whatever trap the alpha had set for him.
Movement was a drug, and I was an addict who’d been sober for two days too many. Even the torrential rain felt like a gift as I climbed onto my bike. The past two days had been suspiciously sunny, but Seattle had a reputation to uphold. Spring meant drowning season, and the sky was fully committed.
The smell of wet everything hit my nose as we fired up the bikes and followed Dad north on I-5. We slipped into formation without a word—a habit drilled so deep it was practically reflex. Mack took the rear, and when I glanced back, my boyfriend was gone. In his place rode the soldier, scanning every shadow with the cold focus of a man responsible for getting people home alive.
Witnessing this badass side of him was kind of cool.
We exited the freeway into streets that looked like a war zone crossed with a botanical garden. Magic had chewed through the infrastructure, and nature had swallowed the leftovers. The shimmery blue barrier loomed larger with every block, close enough now that I could feel its magic prickling against my skin. My hackles rose. Every instinct I had begged me to turn the bike around, but I followed Rust down a narrow alley, past a notice stamped with the Peace Council seal that read
Welcome to the Seattle Teleportation Station.
This neutral ground is protected by the Peace Council. Violence of any kind will not be tolerated.
The stench of magic wafted off a barely there glimmer surrounding the property. As we entered the parking lot, the ward slid over my skin like a giant soap bubble that left no residue. Definitely a more tolerable experience than my passage through the dragon’s ward. I parked in the open spot next to Rust.
