Page 38 of Bride

I’m escorted out. I must really be at my most busybody, because I’m tempted to ask if I can stay. Figure out what this strange war within the Weres could be about. Instead I meekly follow Mick up the stairs.

“I hope I didn’t get you in trouble,” I tell him, “but I saw Max take Ana, and I know you guys don’t believe me, but he’d attacked me, so—”

“No one doubted you,” he says kindly.

I look at him. “Lowe sure did.”

“Lowe knew Max had attacked you first. He is very good at smelling lies.”

“Oh. As in... literally smelling?”

Mick nods but doesn’t elaborate. “He knew Max was up to something, knew it had to do with Ana, and wanted to get as much information as he could out of him. It’s a tightrope to walk, for Lowe. He won’t go about interrogating every person he doesn’t like, or he’ll be the same as Roscoe was toward the end. But the Loyals have been hurting their own, and they must be stopped.”

“He sure seemed ready to let the others torture Max.”

“That was a show, meant to scare Max. And it would have worked, we could all smell it. But you did make it easier with your...” He smiles and gestures at my eyes. “Just promise you won’t do it to me, okay? You werescaryin there.”

“I wouldnever. You’re my most beloved jailer.” I smile, close-lipped and fangless. “Besides, I’m the one who should be scared.”

“Why?”

I point to the scar on his neck. The row of teeth marking his collarbone. “You’re the one rolling in here with that, like your favorite pastime is getting into fights.” I cock my head. “Is that how you turned into a Were?”

His eyebrow quirks. “We’re a legitimate species, not an infectious disease.”

“Just making sure that if someone bites me I won’t turn into you.”

“If you bit someone, would it turn them into a Vampyre?”

I think about it for a moment. “Touché.”

He laughs softly and shakes his head, suddenly wistful. “This is my mate’s bite.”

Mate. The word, again.

“Do they have one, too? Your mate.”

“Yes, of course.”

“Have I met them?”

He looks away. “She’s not with us anymore.”

“Oh.” I swallow, unsure what to say.I hope it wasn’t one of my people who did it. “I’m sorry. It sounds like mates are a big deal.”

He nods. “Mating bonds are the core of every pack. But I don’t think it’s wise for me to discuss Were customs with you.” He gives me a look that manages to be chiding and soft all at once. “Especially if you’re chatting with your brother in a language no one else speaks.”

Oh,shit. “It’s not... I just missed home. Wanted to hear something familiar.”

“Did you?” We come to a halt in front of my door. Mick opens it, and gestures for me to step inside. “How curious. You don’t strike me as the type who ever had a home.”

I let his words churn around me for several minutes after he leaves, wondering whether he’s right. When they grind to a stop, I know he isn’t: I did have a home, and her name was Serena.

I change my top into one less smeared with Max’s DNA and silently slip out of my room. With everyone distracted by the commotion, breaking into Lowe’s office is almost suspiciously easy. There are plenty of ways to hack into a computer, few of which are at my disposal. Fortunately, I have enough experience with brute-force techniques to be optimistic.

The sun is setting, but I don’t turn on the lights. Lowe’s desk is given away by Ana’s grinning picture. I tiptoe there, kneel in front of the keyboard, and start messing around.

This is not my bread and butter, but it’s relatively simple and not too time-consuming. It’s clear that the Weres don’t expect intrusions from within, and the machine is mostly unprotected. It only takes me a few minutes to force my way into their database, and a handful more to set up three parallel searches:Serena Paris, the date she disappeared, andThe Herald, in case my suspicions are right, and Lowe was part of some story she meant to cover. It’s just a start, but I hope that if she was mentioned on any communication device that’s automatically backed up on—

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