“I know,” she said, eyes narrowing.

“You don’t have to work with Haldis.”

“I know.” Her teeth were clenched. “It’s done, okay? You’re stuck with me.”

“You know that’s not what I meant,” Monroe began, but she shook her head.

“Drop it.”

She brushed the fringe of dark hair from her eyes, turning a genuine smile on Connor. “Are you happy to see me? You’ve been at the outpost for what—three months now?”

“Try six,” he said. “And you’ve clearly forgotten all about me. I saw the way you were hitting on our Scion when we walked in. Quite the little coquette, aren’t we?”

“I wasn’t flirting,” she said, but I thought I caught a blush chase across her cheeks when she glanced sidelong at Shay. “You know perfectly well where I was and why I had to be here,” she said. “I didn’t abandon you.”

I dug my nails into my palms when Shay looked at me guiltily. Who was this girl?

“A man knows when he’s been jilted.” Connor put a fist over his heart.

“Is that what you’re calling yourself these days?” she asked with a wry smile. “A man? I was thinking stooge . . . or maybe poser.”

“Nope,” Connor said. “I think we’ll stick with man. Would you like to see the proof?”

“I’d be grateful if you said no, Ariadne.” Monroe grimaced, but I could see him hiding a smile behind the irritated expression he’d put on.

The secret smile faded when she snapped, “I know better than to ask whether you missed me.”

“Well, I’m elated to see you,” Connor said quickly as Monroe grimaced, crossing the space between them. He bent down and kissed her on the cheek. “Tess and Isaac are always out. Ethan’s too grumpy to be any fun. And not half as nice to look at as you.”

I looked at the new girl again. She was pretty . . . too pretty. Had she been flirting with Shay while I was unconscious?

“He’s kidding,” she said, throwing a glance at Shay while turning her back on Connor.

“No, I’m not,” Connor said. “No offense, Ethan.”

“I’m devastated,” Ethan said flatly.

Ariadne faced me with a smirk. “And this is the wolf girl? Shay talks about you all the time.”

I smiled at her. Even if she had been flirting with him, Shay’s thoughts had still been focused on me. Good. That was how I wanted it.

“This is Ariadne,” Shay said. “She’s been showing me the ropes around here.”

“Call me Adne,” she said.

“My name is Calla,” I replied, straightening to take advantage of the inch I had on her. Even if Shay wasn’tinterested, I still wanted to make sure this girl knew how things stood between us.

Her own eyes glimmered with mirth. “So I’ve heard. A Guardian named Calla . . . like the flower. That’s a nice touch.”

I couldn’t stop the groan that welled up from my throat. “Uh-huh. Like the flower.” This was exactly the impression I didn’t want to make.

“That’s just fantastic,” she murmured, a smile ghosted across her mouth. “Well, it’s great to meet you, Lily. At least if you really are on our side.”

THREE

LILY.

I could hear Ren laughing.

Will you ever stop calling me that?

Never.

My knees threatened to buckle while I stared at her. “Why did you call me that?”

The instinct to shift was overwhelming. The room felt like it was closing in on me.

Run, Calla. Run to your pack. You don’t belong here.

Shay must have sensed my anxiety because he grasped both my arms, forcing me to look at him.

“Calla? Hey, take a breath. She didn’t mean any harm.” I realized he thought it was anger at Ariadne that had made me want to change. But that wasn’t the problem.

“Yeah, he’s right. Sorry if it annoyed you.” She shrugged, the gleam in her eyes brightening, as if she had wanted me to attack her. “It just came to mind. It fits and it’s hilarious.”

I could barely hear her because of the roaring in my ears. It was like being sucked back into a dream. No, not a dream, a nightmare. Feelings that I’d been able to bury while I’d been alone surfaced, flooding my chest.

Her amused expression faded. “Something wrong?”

I shook my head, tongue-tied and wishing the floor would open up and swallow me. I could hear Ren whispering the nickname in my ear. Couldn’t Shay and I have a reunion for more than five minutes without being reminded of the one person who could drive us apart?

Shay answered her, his own teeth clenched. “It’s just that someone else used to call her that.”

Someone else. Now I wasn’t just hearing Ren’s teasing whisper. I could see his face and remember the way he’d pulled me against him the night I’d run from Vail. From the ceremony where I should have become his mate. He’d kissed me, pleaded with me to stay. Where was he now? He’d lied to help us escape. I didn’t want to think about the price he’d paid for that lie.

Vail. Home. My heart hammered against my rib cage, making it difficult to breathe. Why am I here? I dug my nails into my palms, struggling not to turn on the Searchers and fly at them as the wolf snarled within me, desperate to fight, desperate to be with my pack.

Adne’s eyes moved from Shay’s twitching jaw to my face, assessing.