Emme appeared out of her mind with worry. She tripped over her feet as she hurried toward me from the kitchen. “Celia! We’ve been searching everywhere for you—” She stopped short, clasping her hand over her mouth. Her eyes widened as she took in my scraggy and taciturn form. She wheeled from me, her voice strained. “I—I—I’ll let Bren and Misha know you’re home.”

Taran met me with a glare, and her phone glued to the ear. “It’s okay, baby,” she muttered into the phone. “She’s back now . . . No. Don’t. That son of a bitch doesn’t need to know anything.”

I expected my sisters’ stress to morph into anger. Instead they regarded me with pity. I scoffed. Their fury would have been more welcoming.

Shayna approached me slowly. “How are you, Ceel?”

My expression didn’t waver. “Hungry.”

Danny rose from the kitchen stool and walked over to me. He sighed before taking my hand and leading me to the table. I followed him almost blindly, looking at everything without really seeing.

My sisters dispersed one by one, busying themselves in the kitchen and piling a week’s worth of food in front of me. I ate until I thought I’d burst, but somehow I still felt barren on the inside. Without a word, I headed upstairs to finally shower.

• • •

I returned to work the next day, embracing the distraction the stress of my job provided. Shayna had been calling me out sick, claiming I had the stomach flu. By the way the other nurses reacted when they saw me, it seemed no one doubted my fake illness. “Oh my,” I overheard one of my coworkers whisper. “Celia looks like hell.” She was right. But slowly my appetite bounced back, helping my physical self to rejuvenate and to camouflage my vacant spirit.

I remained unusually quiet, not wanting to talk to anyone, including my sisters. And while I had started to run again, it was more from a desire to be alone than to return to something I’d once enjoyed. I ran midday in the busy streets of Incline Village, instead of early morning along the desolate Tahoe beaches, deliberate attempts to thwart a potential attack, and to avoid seeing Aric. The Alliance believed the Tribe had abandoned the area. The absence of local activity suggested as much. But after I’d been jumped by evildoers galore, no way was I taking any chances.

Aric had returned for his belongings one day while I was at work. I’d come home to a half-empty bedroom, his key on my dresser, and his aroma lingering. Instinctively I took a deep breath, only to be sideswiped with memories induced by his scent. My head spun with images of our time together. I toppled back, clinging to the dresser for balance until my eyes finally focused upon the key.

I stared at it for a long while, wondering if Aric had hesitated, felt regret—felt anything at all. I pushed away from the dresser resentfully, deciding it was best not to know.

The weres remained unclear of where the demon lords leading the Tribe harbored their secret lairs. Each time a captured Tribesman divulged any information, he’d explode. Just like the wereraccoon had done on my doorstep.

“It’s probably some kind of internal spell, or curse, to ensure Tribe secrets and loyalty,” Danny rationalized. “I think the wereraccoon knew what was happening. From what Koda has said, the Tribe’s recruiting methods are very cultlike. They target lones, using their isolation and bitterness to lure them into joining. Maybe that guy got sucked in. And maybe he didn’t like what he saw.”

“You think he was trying to warn me?”

Danny nodded. “You or Aric. Based on the picture Liam found, the raccoon realized you knew him. Why else would he have run to your house?”

It made sense. I’d scared the raccoon off a few times, but I’d never given him a reason to want me dead. In looking back, he’d seemed so feeble and frightened. It would have been easy for someone like him to get in over his head. “He didn’t reveal anything, though. Not one word. Why would he just explode like that?”

Danny removed his glasses and cleaned them against his shirt. “Look at this way. If you planned to take over the earth, would you risk leaving any trace of evidence that could possibly implicate you? Or warn the good guys?”

I honestly never thought to make the world my playground. Yet I knew what Danny meant. “No. I guess not.”

I shuddered. It was a frightening time. The world as I’d known it had become a hellish nightmare almost overnight. Not only did humans continue to disappear, but many powerful witches had gone missing, and were numbers persistently dwindled. In response, Elders nationally expanded their Dens to become safe havens for the remaining weres and their families, while head witches grouped their covens.

The wolves never discussed the details of Alliance missions, but my sisters and I knew their assignments were explicitly dangerous. After all, weres as young as fourteen were being used as assassins. Some didn’t make it back.

CHAPTER 26

“Get the hell out of my house!” Taran screamed.

Gemini’s tone carried the hurt Taran’s words had caused him. “Taran, tell me what’s wrong.”

“Just leave. You’re going to do it anyway. You might as well do it now!”

I hurried down from my bedroom, confused and worried about what could have caused her to react so viciously. The wolves had returned after an almost-two-week absence. Taran and Gemini should have been locked in her room, not fighting in the kitchen.

Gemini had his arms around Taran. She shoved against his broad chest, trying uselessly to push him away. “I won’t leave you, Taran,” he said gently. “I love you.”

Taran stopped struggling and sobbed into her hands. “It doesn’t mean shit. You’re going to dump me, just like that a**hole dumped her!”

Gemini tucked Taran into his shoulder and stroked back her dark hair. “No. I won’t,” he promised.

Taran continued to cry in his arms. I was going to return to my room when her retort halted my steps. “He broke her heart,” she whimpered.

Gemini looked up at me then. “I know.”

I could have picked up the house and thrown it at them, sick of their relentless pity.

I’d started to growl when Liam bounded down the stairs. “Hey, Ceel,” he said, oblivious of the fact that I was about to gnaw on Gemini’s eyeballs. “We just ordered food from Lakeside Pizza. Come with me to pick it up.”

I didn’t want to go with Liam, but begrudgingly agreed so not to upset Emme or crush Liam’s feelings. My loneliness made it difficult to be around my sisters and their wolves. I found excuses to leave the house when they were around. My actions upset my family and had strained our relationship. They probably thought I was incapable of being happy for them, but they were wrong. The wolves were just a constant reminder of what I’d had and lost.

Liam drove with the windows down, allowing the unusually warm October breeze to hit our faces. We were waiting for our pizzas when the door opened, and I was struck by a scent that threatened to stop my heart.

Aric froze the moment he saw me. Only at the insistence of the gorgeous blond were clutching his arm did he slowly move toward us. It was the first time I’d seen Aric since he’d left me and, my God, it hurt to see him with her.

She was tall, almost as tall as Aric. Cascading waves of shimmering blond hair swept down to her elbows, while her short red dress showed off her ridiculously sensual curves. As for me, I still wore my sports bra and shorts from my earlier run and hadn’t showered.

The were bitch pretended I wasn’t there. “Hi, Liam,” she said.

Liam stiffened and answered with a nod. Aric continued to stare at me, just as he had from the moment he walked in. “Hello, Celia,” he said.

At the sound of my name, the blonde tightened her grip on Aric’s arm and finally acknowledged me. Oh yeah, I had her attention then. The scowl she initially greeted me with was quickly replaced by a condescending little grin. “I’m Barbara.” She paused to lick her lips. “Aric’s fiancée.”

Aric closed his eyes and let out a pained breath. But you know what? It couldn’t have possibly compared to the pain I felt. The crumbled remains of my heart sank to my stomach. “Of course you are,” I said through gritted teeth.

I stalked out the door and into the parking lot, stopping only to dent the mailbox in with my fist. Fiancée. Aric had a fiancée after only a few weeks. We’d been a couple for more than five months!

Rage and grief sent a tidal wave of tremors up my body. My encounter with Aric and his fiancée had torn the scab off my emotional wounds. I had tried not to picture him with anyone else. But now I knew, knew what she looked like, knew what she smelled like, knew that she now shared his bed.

I turned when I heard Liam. He fumbled with his car keys while juggling eight pizzas in his left arm. “I’m sorry, Celia. I’m so, so sorry. I had no idea they’d be here.”

Liam apologized the entire way home. I was too busy fuming to talk. As soon as we arrived at the house, I stormed up the stairs.

“What happened, Lee?” I heard Emme ask. “Why is Celia so upset?”

“We ran into Aric and Barbara,” Liam muttered.

“Who the hell is Barbara?” Taran asked.

“Aric’s fiancée!” I screamed at the top of my lungs.

• • •

“Dude! He has a fiancée?”

“That son of a bitch.”

“Oh, gosh, Liam. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Yeah, Koda. You must have known. We could have told Celia gently. It didn’t have to be like this, dude!”

“Stupid, insensitive bastard.”

“What were you boys thinking?”

“Angel, Aric asked us not to say anything,” Liam said.

“So you just listened to him?” Shayna argued. “This is Celia we’re talking about, not some stranger. Didn’t you think she had a right to know?”

Apparently not.

I fell back onto the bed, draped an arm over my eyes, and firmly reminded myself that I was done crying. Downstairs, Taran had momentarily stopped swearing. I could almost picture her glaring at the lot of them when she spoke again. “Well, it’s pretty damn obvious where your loyalties lie, right, boys?”

“Taran, please calm down,” Gemini said. “Aric didn’t want to hurt Celia more. He’s been waiting for the right time to tell her.”

“There is no right time!” Taran was officially screaming. “Shit, after what he did to her, he’s a goddamn coward for not telling her to her face!”

“Do you think this has been any easier on Aric?” Koda growled. “If you only knew how he felt.”

“I don’t give a damn how he feels,” Taran shot back. “He walked away from her, not the other way around.”

“She’s right, puppy,” Shayna said, a little more calmly. “Not to mention he’s got that fiancée of his to make him feel better. Who does Celia have?”

“She has us,” Emme said gently.

Emme was wrong. My connection to my sisters was waning, in part because I no longer felt needed. They had their wolves to keep them safe and to be strong for them. But I did have someone else, someone with a presence too commanding to ignore.

I rolled toward the nightstand and reached for my cell phone. Misha had begun calling a few days after Aric left. When I first spoke to him, it was during my angry phase. I yelled at him for tasting my blood. Instead of becoming defensive, Misha merely stated that my gruff voice sounded sexy. His retort had stunned me like usual. And while I knew I should keep my distance, my loneliness had made it impossible.

Out of all my sisters, Shayna was the most disappointed by my reconnection with Misha. Koda had her convinced that vampires, especially Misha, shouldn’t be trusted. Misha’s true intentions remained to be seen. Yet I looked forward to our talks and our interludes at the local ice cream shop. It was the only time my mind wasn’t flooded with thoughts of Aric. It also helped my fragile self-esteem to know someone wanted me, even if Misha didn’t precisely need me.

I hit the speed dial, ignoring the escalating argument downstairs. “Have dinner with me tonight.”

Misha paused before answering, “I take it you have learned of the mongrel’s engagement?”

Why am I the last to know? I ran my fingers irritably through my hair. “Does it matter?”

“No. Expect me at seven.” Misha disconnected.

I went downstairs and snagged an entire pizza for myself. No one attempted to speak to me. They watched, and waited, for my much-anticipated meltdown. I took a huge bite and swallowed.

“If you’d like, I can probably smash some dishes or boil a bunny in a pot.”

That was their clue to look elsewhere.

I finished my snack and went upstairs. After I showered, I called my sisters to my room.

They entered slowly when they saw me wrapped in a towel with my arms crossed. “I’m going out with Misha tonight. Will you help me get ready?”

Taran’s face lit up. “You’re damn right I will.” Her heels pounded down the stairs on her way to raid her closet.

Shayna let out a disappointed sigh. “Is this really what you want?”

“No, but I can’t have what I want, can I?”

Shayna averted her gaze. Perhaps the hurt and anger in my eyes were too much for her. Emme placed her hand on my shoulder. “We’ll support you,” she said quietly. “Here, I’ll help you straighten your hair.”

She led me to the bed and plugged in the flatiron. With gentle sweeps of a brush she dried my hair to silky perfection. Taran returned with an extremely sexy and revealing outfit for me. She slipped me into a silky black dress that plunged low in the front and back, making it impossible to wear a bra.