Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Travis
After shooting some Secret Shadows promo up in Vancouver yesterday, I’d been hit with a huge bombshell in my attorney’s office.
Not only had she found a loophole in the will, allowing me to be named Alpha at the White Wolf Moon with or without being mated, but she said there was a high-probability one of the contestants was a mole, put in place by a rival clan to undermine my family’s stake on the island.
“There are several wolf shifters,” I’d told her, thinking of Sarah and Alice. “But they’re from mainland packs, with no claim to the island.”
My attorney shook her head thoughtfully as only a psychic could. “To be honest, it could be any of them. A vampire, for instance, could just as easily be swayed by money as anyone else.”
Money.
The Crutchfields had to be behind it. Their pack ran a seedy casino in Wickedville and had always wanted to expand their territory. A schism in the Darkaway Island pack could do just that.
When I’d shared this news with Jada and told her we could cancel the contest, that it wasn’t necessary anymore, she insisted we continue. She’d had some real interest from the networks and didn’t want to stop now. I figured she’d refuse, but it was worth a try.
I didn’t know who the mole was, but I was hellbent on finding out. If the Crutchfields wanted to play games, then game on.
Now, as I banked the aircraft around the south side of the island, Mia sat in the passenger seat and yammered on about a Secret Shadows plot line. I turned down the volume of my headphones.
If only Daphne were with me on this one-on-one. Her excitement would be real. Not some fake bullshit. But I couldn’t risk letting her fly; piercing the island’s veil of charm might cause irreparable harm to her memories of the island. And of me.
“Hey,” Mia shouted, waving her hands to get my attention, and I surreptitiously turned the volume of my headphones back up.
“That looks like a volcano,” she said, pointing inland to Mystic Mountain.
“That’s because it is,” I said woodenly. “It’s dormant. Hasn’t erupted in centuries.” I should try to be more conversational, but I just didn’t have it in me.
“Well, it better not erupt while I’m here.
” Mia huffed. “Volcanoes and earthquakes terrify me. That’s why I live in Texas.
Although I’ll have to get over my earthquake fear because I’m planning to move to California when this is over.
You live there, don’t you? I mean, when you’re not filming Secret Shadows in Vancouver. ”
I grunted a yes and wondered which tabloid she’d been reading.
It was true that I owned a condo in LA and split my time between there and Vancouver.
Darkaway Island should have been where I stayed while the show was on hiatus—it was just a short plane ride away—but it hadn’t felt like home in a long time.
Damn. I needed to shake this foul mood.
Maybe Mia would like to see Mermaid Cove. I banked the plane and soon we were flying over the white cliffs and emerald green water of the cove. I expected to get some sort of reaction from her, but all she seemed to care about was taking selfies and asking about my co-stars.
I rubbed my temples and let out a low sigh. If Daphne had come instead, I’d have landed in the cove and we would’ve eaten the fancy lunch my sister packed for us down there on the water. But I just didn’t have it in me with Mia.
According to Jada, the rest of the contestants were having a free day.
What was Daphne doing with her spare time today? What had she done yesterday while I was up in Vancouver? Had she explored the shops and everything Darkaway had to offer? Was she having fun on the boardwalk...without me?
I decided to wrap things up early with Mia then go find Daphne.
Was she was sitting on the beach right now, wearing a tiny bikini? One that would be easy for me to slip a finger under. I’d pull the cabana curtains closed and—
I shifted in the pilot’s seat, not wanting Mia to notice my sudden erection and think it had anything to do with her.