Page 11 of Lone Wolf

“Of course they do. But sometimes people don’t know what options are open to them. Maybe you could show Sarah another way of living, give her an option.”

“Maybe,” I say, but I’m still cautious. Not long ago I was all gung-ho about making Ariadne my new special friend. But beingtoldto do it just makes me not want to.

“Hadria will be back soon,” Aurora says. “I should go shower before she gets back. Have a good night, Sunny.”

“G’night,” I say uncertainly, as she moves away.

The walk I choose to take me back to the dorms runs along the perimeter of the estate, next to the fences where the security lights cast harsh pools of brightness against deep shadows. The temperature drops as I move further from the main house, a chill settling into the night air that makes me wish I’d brought a jacket. I rub my arms, missing the warmth of the day.

I’m just back to the dorms when I see her. Ariadne is coming around the corner at the end of her nine-minute mile.

“Are you stalking me?” she demands, pulling up immediately when she sees me. Despite having just run, she’s barely out of breath. Her body tenses and I notice how she automatically positions herself for a potential attack.

“If I am, I’m not doing a very good job,” I point out. “You saw me right away.”

She stares at me, her chest rising and falling hypnotically. My eyes can’t help dipping down over her body, to the tight nipples under her exercise crop top. Her arms are muscled and strong, and I think again about her holding me down on the mat this afternoon, the weight of her, the control in every inch of her body.

“Any time you want a rematch,” I tell her, my voice dropping to a register that’s unmistakably flirtatious, “I’m up for it.”

Something flickers in her eyes, gone too quickly for me to register what it was. “Why would I want a rematch? I already beat you once.”

She pushes by me into the dorms without another word, shoulder-checking me lightly as she goes, and my irritation rises at the dismissal.

But that’s what Sarah does. That’s her defense mechanism, and I’m not gonna let her get away with it. Fire melts ice, given enough time.

“Because next time, I’ll pinyouto the mat,” I call after her, heading into the entrance hall. But she’s already gone up thestairs, her footsteps fading. For a minute I don’t think she’s heard me.

“You can try,” comes the answer at last, floating down from above.

I grin. Maybe Aurora was right. Maybe I should make Ariadne my new project. No, not a project. Amission. My first real mission with the Syndicate.

Operation Ice Melt has officially begun.

CHAPTER 5

Ariadne

I’m alonein the training room and practicing my forms when Scarlett walks in and heads straight to me. I stop and wipe down my wet brow, hands on my hips as I wait for her to reach me. My breathing is steady, controlled. Always controlled, especially when I’m in the presence of Scarlett Fletcher. Old habits from Grandmother’s house—never show weakness.

Scarlett used to be someone I hated. Not as much as I hated Lyssa, but Grandmother encouraged us to see each other as opponents. We were made to fight each other, again and again, until blood was drawn, until bones were broken. The strongest survived. The weakest didn’t.

I don’t hate her these days, or at least not with the same force. But given that I murdered her brother, I’m pretty sure Scarlett hates me. After all, she beat me to within an inch of my life once in Grandmother’s house. I respected her for that. If anything, that was the day I stopped hating her quite as much as I had. There’s a purity in honest violence.

She doesn’t look like she plans to attack me right now, but I’m still on guard as she approaches. Scarlett doesn’t speak tome unless she has to, and that’s fine by me. We’ve established our boundaries, like wolves from rival packs forced to share territory.

“Sarah,” she says. “How are you?”

“I prefer Ariadne,” I say before I can stop myself. But ever since I said it to that little pest Sunny Santiago, it feltright. I’m notpoor Sarah. Never was.

Scarlett’s hazel eyes turn even more guarded than usual. “I thought your therapist said it would be better to try to reclaim your old name?”

“AndIthought therapy was supposed to be private. I guess we both have some adjustments to make to our expectations.”

She flushes slightly. “Of course your sessions are private,” she says. “But when Dr. Khatri spoke to us about how we could support you, that was one of the comments that she made. Anyway—I’m not here to argue about your name.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Am I finally getting a job?” I can’t keep the eagerness from my voice, though I try. Weeks of training with recruits who will never reach my level has been mind-numbing. I need purpose, challenge, something to prove my worth to the Syndicate.

“Of a kind. The woman Lyssa and I brought back from Las Vegas—she says her name is Katy.” She watches me closely. “Did you know her at Grandmother’s house?”

---