“You deceived me,” he whispers.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Jinx Whitethorn
Shit, shit, shit! “I did no such thing,” I declare confidently. I expect Aaron’s grip to tighten on me, but it doesn’t.
“I can feel a wolf inside here, but it is not a wolf of the Bane. It is not a shifter at all.” Wice’s arm swings wide as he chucks the necklace. It lands a yard away and slides the rest of the way to my feet. “This is not the cursed pendant of Adriel Whitethorn!”
I raise my gaze to his. “I never said it was.”
His chest heaves as his breathing quickens. I imagine if he still had his wolf’s soul inside him, he would have already shifted and ripped me to shreds. But he doesn’t know. He doesn’t know I don’t have the real pendant. The coven does, and if Marian, Sara, and my mother did as we had planned, they gave it to Jacob.
Since we arrived at the coven, and whenever we had the chance to be alone, Sara and I worked on recreating a replica of the carved wolf. It had taken a lot of convincing for Chip to let us take the pendant off the pack territory, to begin with. Luckily, he agreed to keep it quiet.
But our carving skills were poor. Until Marian arrived, we hadn’t been successful in making the pendant look identical to the other. With her magic and knowledge in the art of spirits, she had been the one to come up with the idea of putting the white wolf inside the fake pendant in the first place.
It had to look real. It had to appear as the true cursed pendant.
I had cried when I trapped the white wolf. I had plucked her spirit out of the wind. My mother reassured me we’d free her once this was over. She promised we’d help her soul find a final rest.
As I stare at Wice unblinkingly, murmurs surround me. Angry murmurs that encourage the mob closer until the majority of them are in my peripheral vision. What’s left of the Bane’s spirits are broken, ripped in almost the same way Damien’s was the day my aunt attacked him. My aunt had done that. I know it. The question is, why? Was it to defend herself? Or was she trying to weaken them?
I peek under my fallen hair and glance around, sweeping the crowd discretely for my aunt. I still don’t see her, and without my aunt or cousin here, I can’t move forward with my plan. If I can’t move forward with my plan, then the game I’m playing is more dangerous than I had anticipated.
Fear worms its way back into my heart as I contemplate an alternative plan.
I swallow hard. Stay the course. Stay the course, Jinx.
“You made a grave mistake,” Wice growls as he stands from his chair. “When you thought you could deceive me in the first place.”
I move to hold up a hand, but they’re still being held behind my back by Aaron. “I didn’t deceive you. I cannot help what you assumed.”
“You tricked me, and I do not appreciate tricks.” Wice nods to the pixie woman, and she swings, connecting her knuckles to my bruised cheek. The hit is hard, and my ears ring. Aaron’s hands release me, and I drop to the floor like a sack of flour.
“Make our guest uncomfortable, Aaron,” Wice spits. “Escort her to her room.”
I’m gently eased from the floor. Through speckled vision, I’m lead back through the sea of sneering shifters.
“And Ms. Whitethorn?” Aaron halts, and I stiffen, waiting for the order to kill me. “I know your secret. I know you’re mated to the Riva Alpha. If I get a whiff of his approach – if I get a whiff of his scent or any of his shifters’ scents – I will destroy them. Do not attempt to beg for aid. I will get what I want, one way or another.”
When he stops speaking, Aaron continues to lead me away. I hear him mutter to someone though. Mutter about hunting Jacob down and getting the real pendant. Relief fills me. Relief, because at least something is going right.
Jacob Trent
“Is it wise to leave Greta in charge of the coven?” Tabetha asks Marian. Sara, Marian, and Tabetha are squished in the back seat of the SUV. They’re jostled and thrown into each other as I whip around curves, not bothering to avoid potholes. I’ve ignored half of their conversation.
The rearview mirror is tinged green with my wolf’s eyes’ reflection while he fights to gain control. His mate is gone. Our mate was taken. And we knew nothing of this foolish plan until after she left with Wice.
Betrayal settles deep. It nestles next to the fear that’s making my stomach turn over and over again.
This is what she’s been hiding. This is what she hasn’t been telling me.
In the passenger seat, Cinder cringes with each growl I make. His hands are braced on the handle above him as I take the last turn abruptly.
“Yes,” Marian hisses impatiently. “She may not agree with most o’ what I say, but her heart is where it should be. She will protect the coven, Tabetha.”
As soon as the Bane left, Marian, Tabetha, and Sara had told everyone their plan. They’ve been concocting it for days. Out of everything I thought she was keeping from me, this never crossed my mind. It’s a plan I hadn’t been consulted on, nor asked my opinion about. A plan that, deep down, I know is the best option.
She’s gone, and . . . “She didn’t tell me.”
“She was trying to protect you,” Cinder murmurs. The tires squeal down the street to the busy bar. It’s All Hallows’ Eve, and Be Deviled’s annual party is in full swing. Cars fill the parking lot, and more are lined up along the street.
I grip the steering wheel and search for an empty space to pull into. “Don’t you think I know that? It doesn’t help. I’m her mate. It should be me protecting her. It should be me she came to with this idea.”
“Even I know you would have refused to let her do it.”
“Damn right, I would have. She’s playing a game with an opponent who has spent his life conquering. She won’t win.”
“She’ll be okay, Jacob,” Sara promises. Her voice is meek, unsure, and does nothing to soothe. Tears gather above her cheeks, shed for her lost mother.
As soon as the Bane had left, Jamie had died. She had breathed her last breath amidst the tangible shock in the living room. It’s a scenario I’m used to – one I’ve seen countless times, and the cries of the daughter over the mother’s corpse wasn’t any different. I had blocked that feeling – refused to let it settle in my heart because Jinx could easily join her on the Death Realm if this situation gets the slightest bit out of control.
“You don’t know that,” I growl in the rearview mirror. She flinches and looks away. “None of you know that. This isn’t your world. The shifter world isn’t your world. If she can’t give them what they want . . .” I glance at the real pendant draped over my thigh, and say quieter, “If she can’t give them what they want, they’ll kill her.”
“Not if they want their wolf spirits back,” Marian reassures.
I don’t bother responding. Instead, I find an empty parking spot and whip into it. I don’t think any of them understand the ruthlessness of twisted alphas, especially if their pack is in danger. They’ll do anything to achieve their goal, and if their goal can’t be achieved, they’ll cut their losses.