Page 90 of The Girl in the Forest

Hadn’t I told her so?

Screamed it outside the cave while the witches trapped her inside? Or a queen had trapped her, if we were right.

But I would not risk her for my needs.

My chest lifted with the force of restraint. “Right now, Noa can hear the queen in her head. It’s the only connection we have, and taking Noa’s sigil could change that. If we close the circle, my energy would become her energy, and our enemy might sense it, turn this fight toward Noa and not me.”

“She’s already a target.”

“I won’t increase the risk.”

Fallon looked away. She accepted the need I had for secrets, but the enemy waiting was like none other. And if the time came when Noa had to choose between saving herself and saving me, I didn’t want her bound by a sigil. By a cycle of revenge, and a pledge to protect me above all others.

Noa sparkled in the light of the overhead chandeliers. Delight was in her laugh, a confidence she’d never revealed before, and I questioned how much was a skillful deception for Anson’s sake. How much was real.

We needed an alliance between Carmag and Sentinel Falls if we were facing a queen. But we risked everything tonight. If Anson discovered the betrayal, we’d destroy our friendship and any chance of cooperation.

Fallon understood. She moved closer to Anson’s side, and the warm glances the wolf gave her added to my suspicions. Anson was more than interested in my second in command. He viewed her as an alpha, equal to him in strength and influence.

She was a beautiful woman, a formidable opponent. Her thoughts were quick, her insights brilliant. Anson realized the asset she could be to him. I respected Fallon, thought of her as a sister, coming into her power. That Mace seemed immune only pointed out his stubbornness. And the risk he took if he refused to face his emotions until it was too late. Fallon wanted what Anson could offer—a family, a mate. Happiness, or as much as she might find with a man who was her second choice. If she accepted something less than perfect.

She’d been waiting a long time, and perhaps… perhaps her agreement to this deception meant she was not so much deceiving Anson as she was tired of waiting for Mace.

Dinner passed in a blur. Then Noa was offering her regrets. Her morning would start early and she wouldn’t see Anson before he left. Mace was taking Elijah Stone to his favorite bar in Sentinel Falls, where they’d discuss tactics over beer and a dart game. Fallon was smiling as Anson slid her wrap around her shoulders. She was escorting him back to Azul through the passageway in the old watchtower. I imagined them strolling, lingering, watching the moon rising. I left the images there, since the rest wasn’t my business.

When the house was quiet, I went to find Noa. She was in our bedroom, braiding her hair. She wore jeans, shirt, and vest, all black. A knitted hat waited on the bed; she would pull it on once she was outside, covering her hair since the full moon would rise before dawn and brighten the night.

“Bedisa…”

I dragged my hands down her arms, felt the cold in her fingertips.

She turned and folded her arms around me. Pressed her cheek to my chest. “Wait for me,” she said out loud, her lips moving against my shirt. Against my heart. “I’ll only be a moment. And then, I’ll be back.”

My fingers were steady as I smoothed her hair. Kissed her forehead.

“I’ll be on the deck,” I promised.

She was a wraith in the night, there and gone. I wondered if she’d always be in that place beyond my reach, a wild thing fate wanted me to guard and not have. But I refused to be like the kings of old who destroyed what they’d once loved.

I settled in, leaving an empty chair beside me. Two untouched glasses filled with cognac sat on a table, near my hand; we would drink them when she returned. Tipping my head, I counted the stars overhead. Imagined them as points on a map, there and back. Through our bond, I could follow her progress, although once she entered Carmag, she’d be beyond my reach. I remained silent. Minutes turned into an hour, during which I tapped at the back of Levi’s pack bond to check in. He said all was well; the girls were fine, and it was colder than a well-digger’s ass. Which made me smile.

Earlier, Mace reassured me he’d put his best men on the security team. They’d make quick, silent work of any problems that arose. I wouldn’t distract them by prying through the pack bond, or worse—using a cell phone to demand updates. I’d treat Noa with the same respect. Trust her ability. Her training. But it wasn’t easy for me, sitting on the sidelines. Being… useless.

Rising, I paced across the thick glass, staring down at the darkest shadows. They’d be using passages, crossing into the Carmag now, avoiding the wards. The weather could bring a cloaking mist, adding to their safety, and the path was one seldom used. The house was nearly derelict and easily overlooked by Carmag patrols. Far enough away from Westvale—Anson’s seat of power—that, even if they triggered a ward, an investigating patrol wouldn’t reach it for an hour or two.

The vampires, it seemed, knew Carmag better than Anson realized. We’d be doing him a favor once he learned why we were there—and why we hadn’t told him first. Having the vampires moving about so freely beneath his nose should be worrying enough for him to increase security. Not only against vampires. Anson would soon learn about a vengeful queen, and the threat she posed to all the packs.

Sutter hadn’t been safe because it was in the Alpen’s territory; the queen had attacked out of pure hatred. Vengeance, because both Noa and I had been there. And once Anson understood about vampires hunting failles, even the fake girls, he would wonder, as I did, about why vampires wanted hybrids. Was it any wolf? Or only failles? I couldn’t recall vampires wanting to mess around with turning anyone other than humans. I’d need to ask Julien…

But Julien had gone silent. I’d tried to reach him through our intermediary, a banker in Seattle, where Julien kept his accounts. The banker reported back that his messages rolled to a voicemail, which wasn’t entirely unusual, but enough to add to my concern.

Gods—I hated the waiting. Not knowing. I needed to trust Mace’s training and Noa’s instincts. Levi had proved himself during the attack on Azul. I could count on him. Laura was smart and determined, but not reckless. She’d counter Noa’s impulse to rush in, keep everything steady and within the timeframe.

They’d be approaching the house by now. Levi would go in first, watch the door. Noa would follow. Laura would be one step behind. I ran the training image through my mind, imagined Noa going down the steep stairs into the dark. Syphoning energy to create a tiny ball of light. The girl would be crouched in a corner. Holding up a hand against the glare. Noa would be whispering, calm. Laura would be offering—

Then, from inside the watchtower house—my house—a door slammed open. I was through the French doors just as the Alpha of Carmag stormed into the living room, his shirt loose, pulled from his black suit pants. A cell phone was in his hand. Held to his ear.

He was barking orders, his tone cold and clipped.

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