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“Grey mentioned it,” I say. “When I asked for more history on Franco’s experiments.”
She looks back at the road. A muscle in her jaw works once. “Did he mention my parents were fated mates?”
“No.”
Her knuckles go white from where she grips the wheel harder. I wonder why she’s telling me all this if it’s so hard to say. But she goes on, her voice flat.
“It nearly killed him when she died.”
Her words click into places where I’ve been struggling with unanswered questions. “That’s why you don’t want a mate.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to.”
The silence that follows has weight to it. Not hostile. Just heavy with truth.
“It's not just that it hurt him,” she says eventually. Quietly enough that I know this is something she hasn’t said out loud before. “It's that he didn’t have a choice. The bond just… wrecked him. He loved her completely, and then it took her, and then it almost took him, and none of it was something he had any control over.” She pauses. “I need to be able to choose everything in my life. Everything I do and don’t do. Everything I open myself to. Or protect myself from. For me, that’s not negotiable.”
“I understand that,” I say.
“Do you?”
“Yes.” I mean it completely. “I built an entire institution around the principle that the wolves who go through it leave with more choices than they came in with.” I look at her. “I would never want to be something that cost you yours.”
She doesn’t respond right away. But something in the set of her shoulders changes. Like she’s decided I’m not the enemy after all. I’m not quite sure that’s the same thing as being her friend though.
We drive in silence for a while. The road climbs. The trees get denser and darker and closer to the asphalt, and the sky above them narrows to a stripe of pale blue.
Somewhere in the middle of a mountain pass, Mia gasps.
The car doesn’t swerve, but she nearly drops the wheel. It only lasts a second, and then she’s sucking in a breath and getting her bearings again.
“What’s wrong?” I demand.
“Nothing.” She shakes her head, grabbing the wheel again. “I’m okay. I just… We passed through the wards.”
I frown at the way she says it. Like it’s a question rather than a statement. Like she can’t quite believe it. “Is that bad?”
“For pack security? Yes. I’ve never passed through the wards. Franco left them locked up tight. The fact that we just drove right through means they really are failing.”
“Wait.” I hold up a hand. “You’ve never left Indigo Hills?”
Her shock shifts into something new. Something like wonder. And then: shame. “No. This is my first time.”
“Well, I hope it’s not your last. You deserve to leave this city for something that doesn’t need you bleeding for it.”
“Thanks.” Her smile is wry, but it’s there. She nods at me. “Shoot Grey a text, will you? Let him know we’re through.”
I send the text then give her a slanted look. “You didn’t know if this would work, did you? Getting out of the wards, I mean.”
She shrugs. “Grey and I had a feeling this road was a weak point given several of our scouts have found wolf tracks up and down this hillside.”
“And if it hadn’t worked?”
“Ramsey would owe me a new front end.”
I stare at her, trying to gauge if she’s serious.
