Dennis clenches his jaw, mouth shut tight as he glares at me. I glower right back. “Fine. We’ll do it my way again.”
When I reach for him, he thrashes in his chair, straining so hard his wrists get scraped raw and start to bleed. “Stay out of my head!”
“Then tell me who in the pack paid for the job.”
My fingers graze his skin, and he frantically shouts, “I can’t! I’m a lone wolf. The Huron River pack is large, strong. If I betray them, I’ll be killed.”
I lean over the table, coming closer to the wolf so I can look him directly in the eyes. “Newsflash, buddy, you’ve already told us it was them. You’ve already betrayed them. Now tell me what I want to know, or I’ll steal it from your head. I don’t like doing that, but I will because I need to know who wants me dead.”
When I reach for his hand again, he blurts out the answer I’m looking for. “It was the luna!” He deflates as the words leave his lips, and he slumps over in a resigned heap. “Luna Marie of the Huron River pack paid us.”
Both Nick and Director West gasp, but I’m a lot less surprised than I should be. I’m also relieved it wasn’t Alpha Toth. That betrayal would have stung deep.
“The luna?” Madison asks, blinking in disbelief.
I’m not surprised she’s upset that a luna—a pack’s most respected and honorable female—would do something so underhanded. Of course, she wasn’t there to see how fast Luna Marie murdered Daniel and Maya.
I freeze, the blood chilling in my veins as I piece together a bit of truth I’d missed before. “It was Luna Marie,” I murmur.
Everyone frowns at me like I’m insane, since we’d already established that fact, but I’m not talking about the contract on me anymore. It was Luna Marie who had stolen the pack money. Or, she’d been blackmailing Maya and Daniel to do it, anyway. She must have known about their clandestine relationship and used it against them. Then, she killed them both so quickly to keep them from spilling the truth. And now she’s trying to tie up loose ends with me. She can’t know for sure how much I know, or how I figured out the secret in the first place. She knows I have powers that helped me solve the mystery, but not what exactly those powers are. I’m a wild card that she can’t afford.
“All right,” Director West says, breaking the quiet that has fallen over the room. “Gorgeous, you may uncuff him. Since he has broken no law by trying to claim a human mate, and he has given us the information we needed, he is free to go. Bring in the luna of the Huron River pack for questioning, though. She may have technically broken no law, but she clearly has ill intentions toward Ms. Jacobs. We need to figure out why and make sure no more attempts to harm her are made.”
I know the answer to that, but I’ve sworn secrecy to Alpha Toth, and I don’t know if he’ll want the FUA knowing pack business, so I keep quiet. I need to talk to Alpha Toth, but before I do, I need to take care of one more thing. “Hang on one second,” I say to Nick when he moves to release Dennis. I grab Dennis’s hand once again and ask, “What’s your biggest secret?”
The question was asked so randomly and so suddenly that he doesn’t have time to try and distract his mind before his thoughts betray him. I get a picture of a young face in his mind’s eye. His daughter. He keeps her hidden in the human world. She’s about eight years old, and she’s half sorceress. She is the reason Dennis wanted to claim me as a mate. He wants her to have a mother, and he wants a strong partner to help keep her safe. The underworld isn’t always kind to mixed breeds, sorcerers especially. That’s why he abandoned his pack and became a lone wolf—to protect her. But being a lone wolf is dangerous, so when he heard of me and how dominant I would be if turned, and that I had special abilities and strong ties to the FUA, he wanted me on his side.
I pull my hand away in surprise. He gapes at me in horror. “Why?” he rasps. “Why did you do that?”
“Insurance,” I whisper. “You know what I can do. Mine is a dangerous gift to have. People might try to kill me or use me because of it. I don’t like that you know about it, and I don’t trust you. So you keep my secret, and I’ll keep yours.”
His face turns green. He doesn’t trust me, but he doesn’t see how he has a choice. If the sorcerer community learned of his daughter, she would be in danger, and he will do anything to protect her.
My face softens, and I grab his hand again to give it a squeeze. “You have my word. I’ll never tell a soul, so long as you do me the same courtesy.”
My compassion surprises him. He’s shocked that I didn’t just want to use his secrets against him to get revenge, since he’s being let go. “I won’t,” he swears. “I’ll never tell anyone.”
“Then neither will I.”
I feel bad for the guy. Not enough to become his mate, of course, but enough to scribble down my phone number onto a piece of paper and hand it to him after Nick lets him out of the handcuffs. He stares at it, confused. “Just in case you ever need my help,” I explain.
His jaw falls open, and his eyes bulge. I give him a smile. “Good luck.”
“Thank you.”
Getting back to the matter at hand, I look away from Dennis to find Nick and Director West watching me, as if waiting for something. Curiosity burns on all their faces. I shake my head. “It’s not illegal and will bring no harm to anyone. It’s his secret to keep, so don’t ask.”
Madison’s lips twitch up into a smile. “Of course not. We’re just impressed with how you’ve handled this entire situation. Perhaps you would join me for dinner?”
“So you can try to recruit me some more? Sounds like fun, really, but wouldn’t you know, I already ate? And besides, Parker said I’d have to leave Terrance’s clan if I joined. Is that true?”
Director West sighs. “Yes, that’s true. But you don’t really belong there anyway.”
I bristle. Terrance’s place is the first place I’ve ever felt I did fit. “Maybe it’s not conventional, but Terrance does want me there.”
Director West holds up a hand to placate me. “That’s not what I meant. I know exactly how Terrance feels about you. He considers you clan. But the fact is, you are human. And some day Terrance will expand his clan. He’ll take a mate. Have children. How will you feel when that happens? Will you be able to live in a den of trolls?”
I squirm under her stare. I hadn’t thought about that. Terrance is one thing, but a bunch of others? And none so welcoming or understanding as Terrance? “He’s the first real family I’ve ever had,” I say, though my voice lacks conviction.
Director West’s answering smile is small and calculating. “What about Oliver? Do you not consider him family as well? You know how happy it would make him if you joined us.”
Ooh, she fights dirty.
Her smile turns smug. “Just think about it.”
When I narrow my eyes and ball up my fists, Nick chuckles and grabs my shoulder to lead me out of the small interrogation room. “Come on, little spitfire. Why don’t you come with me out to the Huron River pack instead, since I know you’re heading that way anyway.”
I grin at his rueful smile, not feeling the least bit ashamed. “You betcha, cowboy. Any chance you own something other than the motorcycle, though? As much as I love it, it’s freezing out there, and the human doesn’t have an internal heater.”
Nick’s grin turns wicked. “Would you rather take the Porsche or the Lotus?”
Werewolf gossip. There’s really nothing like it. By the time Nick and I get from the guard shack to the parking lot park in front of the pack’s clubhouse, word of our arrival has already spread. Half the pack is out there to greet us. Both Alpha Toth and Rook are in front of the masses.
While Alpha Toth extends a formal welcome to Nick, Rook grabs me, sniffs hard, then growls. His eyes start to glow. “Why is your hair a mess? Why is your coat ripped up? And why the hell do I smell strange wolves all over you?”
He doesn’t says so out loud, but as he inspects me for any kind of injury or bite, his thoughts keep repeating, My human!