Page 70 of Wicked Witch of the Wolf

“No certain-death situations, nothing I’d have to compromise my morality for,” I said.

“Deal. You can’t refuse on any other grounds.”

“Deal,” I said. “What’s more, if your information takes me directly to my friends, you’ll have my loyalty. That’s no small thing.”

She took a sip of coffee. Set the mug down. Tapped her fingernails against the tabletop. “This goes no further than this room.”

Hope unfurled in me like a sunlit rose. “Understood. Maya, we need your word, too,” I called out. She wasn’t on the mantel anymore, and I couldn’t see her anywhere.

Maya popped into the room like she’d been hovering around the corner, waiting to do just that. “You have it. Bronwyn is my friend. I’ll do anything to help her.”

She’d shifted back to human and was dressed in some of the clothes from the suitcase I’d snatched from Desmond’s closet. Her choppy hair was pulled into a ponytail, and though she still looked a few meals short of healthy, at least she seemed more at peace with herself.

The alpha stood, seeming mesmerized by Maya’s sudden appearance. “It’s true. You are an omega.” Her eyes lit up. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Maya gave her a wary but sincere smile. “Likewise.”

She took the chair across the table from Fennel and accepted a mug of coffee. “Alpha, if you can help us find our people, you will have my eternal gratitude.”

Alpha Lydia leaned back in her chair. “Gratitude is nice, and I appreciate it, but I deal in information. I request a favor.”

I frowned. “I already told you?—”

“That was from you, Betty. I’m talking to the omega.”

Maya wrapped shaking hands around her mug. “Okay. Yes. Anything.”

“Not anything, Maya,” I said. “You’re vulnerable right now. Don’t agree to something you don’t understand.”

My diplomatic way of saying, “You just got out of an abusive situation, don’t be so quick to dive headfirst into another.”

The alpha sat up in her chair and placed both hands palms down on the table. “Let me be straightforward. The favor I want from you, Maya, is a twenty-four-hour run with the pack. No obligation beyond that. You don’t have to join us, you don’t have to help anyone—just be with us for an entire day. That’s it.”

“Why?” Maya asked.

“Because you’re an omega.” Alpha Lydia said. “You’re special. Hasn’t anyone told you what you can do?”

“Well, I know my presence can help a pack feel more peaceful.”

“You can do far more than that. An omega makes a pack feel strong and connected. If a member is troubled, you can bring them peace. If a pack is fractured, your presence can help repair it. An omega is the second most powerful rat—only the alpha leader has a higher standing.”

Maya blinked several times in rapid succession. “No one ever—I mean, I wasn’t told—I never knew that.”

“A smart leader values an omega above all else.” One corner of her mouth tugged up. “And I’m one hell of a smart leader.”

“Damn it, stop making me like you,” I said, “we’re trying to do business here.”

She laughed. “No can do. I’m irresistible.”

“I agree to your deal, Alpha Vincent. I’ll go on a run with the pack and spend an entire day with you all,” Maya said. “However, before I can do that, I need to find my friend. Will you please help Betty and me?”

“Once again, my sharing of this information stays in this room.” Lydia took a slip of paper from her back pocket and slid it across thetable. “The witches are being held here. As far as we can tell, there’s no ward on the place but use caution all the same. One of the witches is hurt but still alive. They saw her brought in this morning. The other, my contacts weren’t sure about. They couldn’t get close enough.”

I took the paper. “You knew the story before I told you?”

“I’m a rat.” She shrugged. “Information is my superpower. You did give me some additional insight, if it makes you feel better.”

“What about Ronan Pallás? Do you know anything about him?” I asked.

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