Page 53 of (Sur)real
“Don’t,” she said. “You cannot pursue what you feel. Not now.”
I tilted my head and studied her. It wasn’t quite the rejection I’d anticipated and still left me uncertain about her loyalties.
“The Lady knows you’re testing me because you don’t trust me. That none of you do. But, she says you need to trust your heart. It knows more than your head.”
I snorted. The Lady sounded a lot like Winifred.
“Can you blame me for needing to test you?”
“No. And, I know you’re not done yet. That’s fine. Just don’t try to test me like that. It’s too dangerous for all of us. I need to be very careful with all my emotions. Blake is always paying attention.”
Because she’d Claimed him. Because they were now linked. Jealousy burst forward, igniting the pain again. I grunted and bent forward slightly, involuntarily leaning my forehead against her shoulder. Her fingers touched the hair at the back of my head, a light feathering touch that disappeared too quickly.
“She says to stop fighting it. Our only priority can be the protection of our world.”
The Lady was right. I breathed deeply and straightened away from Olivia. She held the ice to her cheek, still facing me with her sightless eyes.
“Your connection to Blake is a risk to that priority. You need to break it.”
Preferably on my neck so I could keep an eye on her. Oddly, the anticipated pain didn’t return.
“I can’t. As much as Blake pays attention to me, I pay attention to him. He’s still on the east coast. When he’s ready to make his move, I’ll know. I’ll feel it.”
“He already has men following, according to Winifred. Why would he need to come here?”
“The Urbat are different from the werewolves. You have Elders and pack leaders. We only ever have one.”
I frowned at her slip. We. She considered herself one of them?
“What do you mean?” I asked, not acknowledging her slip.
“I mean, if Blake is not here when the power shifts, he risks losing his position in the Urbat. He is the leader. The only leader. He doesn’t just want power for the Urbat. He wants it for himself.”
She seemed so sure of that. I reached out and held the fingers of her free hand, slowly leading her toward the bed.
“We know very little about the Urbat. Tell me more.”
OLIVIA…
The feel of his hand on mine made my pulse jump again. He needed to stop touching me and standing so close. It was getting harder and harder to control what I felt each time.
Blake’s impatience stabbed at me. I tugged my hand free of Jim’s, took Gabby’s phone, which Winifred had let me keep, from my back pocket, and dialed Blake’s number.
“What are you doing?” he barked at me.
“I could feel your impatience, so I called to give you an update.”
“No. What are you doing right now?”
“I’m in my hotel room.”
“Alone?”
“They have me staying with an Elder. He’s kind. He went to get ice to help with the bruising from Frank,” I said, carefully choosing my words and purposely trying to distract him from asking too many questions about the present. He would sense any lie.
“Frank touched you?” Blake growled.
“He grew agitated as we drove to the Compound. When we arrived, he hit me because I refused to go against your wishes and call you.”
