Page 72 of Wolf Trial

“Sadie—” Verne began, a flare of something like worry, closer to panic in his expression.

“Are you my jailor?” I challenged. “Are you god, to command me?”

“I’m your alpha,” he replied, but without any real heat.

“Not my god, then,” I remarked, climbing out of bed and dodging Leander’s attempt to throw his arms around me. Or cage me.

“I’ll go with her,” Lainsz said before anyone else could speak. “She won’t get away from me.”

I fixed my jaw and looked him dead in the eyes. “Is that a threat?” I breathed, as soft as a whisper, as quiet as an arrow.

He leaned closer, a cruel smile tightening his face. “Yes.”

I looked down my nose at him. “Poor timing, Lainsz. My dance card for murder attempts is all filled up.”

“Your friends are outside,” he said, not acknowledging my retort. “I’ll supervise your conversation.”

My nostrils flared. “I don’t need to be supervised.”

“Killer,” he laughed, so patronising. “You’re a hazard to your own health, the health of others around you, and your mates. You can’t be trusted to handle a cactus without impaling yourself on its spikes.”

I gave him my middle finger. “Shame. I know just where to shove a cactus.”

A riotous banging came from downstairs, and Lainsz pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Is that them?” I asked, not sure if I believed it. Paige, maybe. We were both human, from a realm where wolves weren’t the enemy. But Elix, who’d been born and raised here?

I chewed my bottom lip, glancing back at Verne and Leander before I could catch myself. I didn’t need their approval or advice. I didn’t need them as safety blankets, either. I could pull up my big girl pants and face my friends without their moral support.

Even if I had no idea how to prepare myself for their rejection and hatred when it felt like I’d been run over by a JCB. I made myself leave the room, and swallowed a grunt, grabbing the railing as Lainsz led me downstairs. It hurt to walk away, a tension in my middle winding tighter the further I went.

“What?” Lainsz snapped when I stopped three steps from the bottom, my teeth gritted against the crack of pain across my middle.

“I was just stabbed, you soggy tampon.”

He blinked. Flattened his mouth into a line, but not before I saw the glimmer of a smile. The bastard almost laughed. This piece of shit thought I was funny.2

“What happened to Serendipity?” I blurted, pausing with my hand on the back of the sofa, my stomach tangled in knots at the thought of facing Paige and Elix. I couldn’t do it. I wasn’t brave enough to look them in the eye after lying every moment for weeks.

Lainsz crossed his arms over his chest, not quite looking at me. “Who?”

“Rogue’s sister.” At his blank look, I remembered he had no idea who any of my friends were. They were separate by necessity, as I would be separate from now on.

I sighed. I refused to follow Verne’s orders on principle, but he had a point. “The woman who was bound. The unconscious one.”

Lainsz shrugged. “How the fuck should I know?”

I gritted my teeth. “We went into the forest that night to find her. I risked my life and almost died again to get her away from Beaufort. So it would be nice to know if she’s dead or alive.”

Lainsz shrugged. “Can’t say I paid any attention.” I was about to lay into him when he added, “My attention was on the slayer dying in my arms. As you can imagine, it was a little distracting.”

I blinked. “Right.” When I lost my grip with consciousness, he’d been holding me, keeping me upright. It must have been Lainsz who got me to safety. Heat prickled the tops of my ears. “Thanks for that.”

“No problem,” he replied, flippant. Then, out of nowhere: “Don’t bullshit us, killer. If you’re in pain, just say so. Lying is a coward’s game, and it’s insulting to your mates. Don’t be a hero.”

I rolled my eyes, my attention jumping to the door when a fist hammered against it again. Paige; I’d put money on it. “No one could ever accuse me of that.”

“Didn’t you just say you went into the forest to rescue a girl? Seems suicidally heroic to me.”