Chapter 9
nine
“Morning, darling.”
The bright scent of fresh chives hit my nose, and my stomach growled like I had swallowed a rabid wolf.
“Fayne.” I stretched, the muscle in my left arm protesting, and sat up straighter. “This looks amazing.”
Thinly sliced potatoes had been layered with cheese, eggs, spinach, and chives then baked to a golden brown and cut into tidy squares. She carried four of them on a plain white plate with a fork beside them.
“Eat up.” She placed the dish on a tray that swung over the bed. “You need your strength for today.”
“What’s on the agenda?” I shoveled in the food, barely tasting it, which was a real shame. The texture was incredible. Tender potatoes with spongy egg reminiscent of a crustless quiche topped with crispy cheese. “Can I see Sloane when I’m done?”
“Slow down.” She tapped my wrist. “You’ll choke yourself.” She sat at the foot of the bed. “We’ve got a lead on where the cougar pride is holding the salon staff. We have people in place, monitoring the situation in case Sartori hands down a kill order.”
A piece of egg shot down the wrong pipe, and I coughed bits of potato all over the tray. “Kill order?”
“The employees held value to Sartori while you held value to him. He has no need for them if he has no further need for you.” Fayne didn’t mince words, and I liked that about her.
Most of the time. “We must be prepared for emergency extraction if conditions merit it, especially with Mercer Bates primed to take charge of the Sartori interests.”
Fayne had been witness to Mercer’s plans, so I wasn’t surprised to learn she was acting on the intel fast.
Hard as it was to ask, to tell myself I shouldn’t care, I gave myself no choice. “Carmichael is still alpha?”
“They’ve tightened security since Rían dropped in. We don’t have eyes on the inside, so it’s hard to say.”
Uncomfortable with the debt between us, I reached for her hand. “Thank you, for coming for me.”
“Now that I’ve found you, whether you mate into the family or not, I will always be there for you in whatever capacity you need me to be.
” She set my hand down so I could continue eating.
“And, whether or not Rían is part of the deal, whether or not you join the clan, you’re always welcome among Walshes. ”
“I would like time to get my head on straight before I make any big decisions, but thanks. Again. You’ve shown Sloane and me nothing but kindness, and I won’t forget that.”
The door swung open, revealing a grumpy Rían who wrinkled his nose at Fayne.
“Don’t give me that look.” She placed a hand on her hip. “It was an emergency.”
His brows slammed down, and he folded his arms across his chest.
“What’s going on?” I lost my appetite at their silent standoff. “What’s wrong?”
“I rode on his back naked and have tainted him for life.”
Oh. Oh. I guess this showdown meant they hadn’t spoken since then.
“I have claws. Four of them.” He made a hooking gesture with his hand. “I could have carried you.”
“He took an hour-long shower once you and Sloane were stabilized,” she explained, rolling her eyes. “He acts like I didn’t wipe his ass the first few years of his life. The things I saw. The things I smelled. But sure, I tarnished him with my—”
“No.” Rían waved his arms in the air. “Stop right there, Gran.”
The palpable love between them made my own heart echo with a vast emptiness I wasn’t sure I would ever fill. It was one thing to feel alone. It was another to be alone. No pack. No dad. Not that she had a real choice at the time, but even Sloane was a Walsh.
“Oh.” Fayne’s eyes danced with wicked delight. “I’m Gran now, huh?”
Their banter hurt the tender spot in my chest, this glimpse into the life I could have had, but my eagerness to scoop up the offer reminded me of how the house in Brentwood had been used to trap me.
This was my chance. I could cut ties and just go.
See the world. Be my own person. Have my own life.
Unless I fledged, I ought to be safe enough traveling alone.
But was I so desperate to escape the trap that had ensnared me the first time, that suffocating sense of duty to the Sartoris, that I would gnaw off my foot to free myself rather than become a Walsh?
Noticing how I had shrunk inside myself, Fayne said, “Rían, I need you to do one of two things.”
“Oh?” His attention drifted to me too. “What are my options?”
“Leave and have plausible deniability or stay and get an earful from your nagging cousin.”
“Since I’ll get the latter anyway, I’ll choose the former.” He lifted his brows. “What are we doing?”
“Good question.” I pushed the tray away. “What are we doing?”
“We’re going to infiltrate the Nelson pride and find your friends, Ana.
Then we’re going to rescue them and put the fear of God into the pride so they don’t get any ideas about trying this again.
” Fayne radiated a feral intensity. “As long as you’re not squeamish about magic, I think you and I stand a better chance of getting in, getting out, and getting gone before we’re detected. ”
A twitch tugged the skin under Rían’s right eye, but he didn’t speak out against her plan.
“What kind of magic?” Excitement urged me to lean forward. “I’ve used witch charms, but that’s it.”
Had Burdock used one on Sloane and me? I wished I had thought to ask him.
Painkillers and sedatives burned off fast thanks to shifter metabolism, but whatever his methods, they worked like magic.
Hmm. Which, in a world where dragons existed, it very well might be his gift the way size was Rían’s power.
A hum in her throat, she studied me. “How do you feel about dachshunds?”
Unsure where she was heading with this, I kept my answer vague. “They’re cute?”
“They’re also excellent hunters and diggers.” She rubbed her hands together. “This is going to be fun.”
“Fayne—” Rían began, but she tutted him into silence.
“You’ve seen my Chinese crested form. I can do the same for you, and a dachshund is just the ticket.”
“I thought you had to be able to shift,” I said slowly, trying to remember what she had told me about how her transformative magic worked on her and on Liam.
“Well, yes, you must possess two forms to switch between them. Magic has rules, you know. But you do have one form, and I can work with that.”
“So, a person with one form can have one new form, and a person with two forms can have up to two new forms.” I reflected on the past few days. “That’s how Liam was able to become Bowie and his wolf.”
“That’s why, in your case, you’ll be stuck on four legs until we get back home where I can unravel you.”
Home.
The word shot a pang through me for the house I once thought I would spend my life in.
I wasn’t sure what to do with it now. The tunnel meant it wasn’t livable, not for me.
Even if we pumped the hole full of concrete, it was too late.
The damage had been done. I would never feel safe closing my eyes there again.
“Her arm isn’t fully recovered,” Rían said softly. “Will she be able to handle running on it?”
“Burdock says as long as we carry her in, and limit her activity, she should be fine.” She flicked her eyes to me.
“The only way this works is if you tell us when you’re hurting or need to fall back.
Don’t try to be a hero. This is a stealth mission.
Any information we obtain can be used by the next team if it comes to it, so it’s not a wasted trip either way. ”
“Us?” I almost laughed at Rían’s pained expression. “You’re coming too?”
“I’m not going to hold you back, especially when your friends’ lives are on the line.” He dragged a hand over his mouth. “But, fair warning, it’s getting harder to fight the urge to protect you at all costs.”
“It’s only natural that it would be.” Fayne patted his hand. “That’s how it works.”
“The way you treat me is different from what I’m used to from the pack.” I wished I had kept my mouth shut, but it was too late to cram the words back in. Now I had to finish the thought. “It’s…nice.”
“Good.” His wide shoulders dipped a fraction. “Good.”
For some reason, I couldn’t help but tease, “Does this mean you’re going to pretend to be a dogwalker?”
“You could always become Muffin again,” Fayne teased then turned to me.
“He once pretended to be a corgi for a week to trick his cousin. They were seven and eight or maybe eight and nine at the time, so Liam wasn’t concerned with the gender of his new best friend and decided he was a she and chose the name Strawberry Muffin. ”
Call me crazy, but I was willing to bet even at that age Liam had known exactly what he was doing.
“Wow.” I pretended to study Rían. “If anyone can pull off the name Strawberry Muffin, it’s you.”
From what I was hearing, I owed Burdock an apology. Rían must have been a handful as a kid too. Especially with a cousin only a year younger than him. The mantle of magnus no doubt had a hand in maturing him, the death of his parents too, but he hadn’t let either burden turn him bitter or cruel.
“I retired Strawberry Muffin after Liam tried to marry me off to the neighbor’s basset hound, Barney. He was all tongue. The slobber went everywhere.” His features twisted with disgust. “I would much rather play dogwalker than relive one of the greatest shames of my childhood.”
Oh, yeah. Liam had absolutely known what he was doing. No one would convince me otherwise.
“Then a dogwalker you shall be.” She pursed her lips as she surveyed me. “I keep spares for Myrtle—” she chuckled at the name I had given her dog form, “—but we’ll need to stop by GSG and pick up a harness and leash for you.”
There was one glaring problem neither had addressed yet. “What about Liam?”
“He’s put himself in charge of Sloane, and he’s refusing to leave her side since she’s proven herself to be a fall risk and somewhat of an escape artist.” Fayne had thought of everything. “With Burdock’s help, Liam should be occupied until we return.”