Chapter 5
five
Rían didn’t come home. Neither did Goldie. Sloane and I had their house all to ourselves.
We took showers, washed our clothes, and I cooked dinner while she found us a movie.
Rían texted to let us know that no one tested positive for dragonsbane, but that was all I got from him.
No doubt he got swept up in work, which meant Goldie would stay over with Fayne.
Our night in a nutshell was boring, which spoke to how much my life had changed in the last few weeks.
When I still lived in the house my fake aunt left me, having Sloane as a guest had been a real treat.
Silence had been my only companion for so long, I reveled in sharing space with another person.
Pathetic as it made me, I had strained my ears more than once to hear her breathing where she slumped over my feet at the end of the couch. That was it. Proof I wasn’t alone.
And, okay, I might have also just plain missed Rían.
Duty to clan came first. I knew that. I respected that. I told myself I had been uniquely prepared for that. I had been raised as an alpha’s daughter. I was used to late nights, long weekends, and closed doors. But I was learning the issue was that I hadn’t been invested then.
I had never been given the chance to bond to other members of the pack.
Bad as it sounded, I hadn’t really cared.
I had no stake in the outcome, so it wasn’t necessary for me to be involved in meetings.
I had no power and no influence. No opinion either.
I couldn’t affect positive change. I couldn’t do anything but twiddle my thumbs.
Ugh.
I was spiraling. I had to get out of the house. I couldn’t sit on my hands any longer.
Not when there was one thing I alone could do that might, just might, set things right.
As soon as dawn warmed the oak floors, and Sloane shuffled off to the laundry room to dry the small load of clothes she forgot about washing last night, I whipped out my phone and pulled up my conversation with Rían.
>Where are you?
Probably I should have kicked off my text with good morning rather than what read as a demand. The time away from my phone must have rusted my etiquette. I would have to be smoother to convince him I was in the right headspace for what I had planned.
>>I’m with the enforcers. Reviewing yesterday’s reports. Everything okay?
>I want to try my luck hunting Carmichael. He must be the one behind all this. We contain him, we eliminate the threat.
>>Stay put. I’ll come home, and we’ll talk.
Had anyone else said it, I would assume they meant talk me out of it, but I trusted Rían to listen.
Determined to wash away the bags under my eyes, I took a blistering hot shower. I even blow-dried my hair before dressing for the day. Then all that was left was to plop on the couch and avoid chewing off my thumbnail while I waited on Rían.
“Laundry is done,” Sloane sang out as she plopped onto the cushion beside me. “Folded and everything.”
“Did it make it from the folded pile into the dresser this time?”
“So.” She leaned over my shoulder. “Who are we texting so early?”
From our time living together, I had discovered she would wash, dry, hang, fold, and iron clothes.
But if a piece of clothing was destined for the dresser we shared, it would live its life in a basket at the foot of our bed.
Had she not also been doing my laundry, I might have delved into her drawer phobia, but I had it too good to rock the boat.
“I’m going after Carmichael.” I shivered at how real it sounded after I said it out loud. “I want to be smart about it, so I gave Rían a heads-up. We’re going to strategize.”
“This is about last night.” She anchored her sharp chin on my clavicle. “Aren’t you worried you’ll play right into his hands?”
“I’m more worried I’ll end up living, and dying, like my mother.” I tipped my head against hers. “I can’t sit back and wait for him to make another move against the clan. He’s not taking Rían, or Goldie, from me.”
“I notice you left Liam out.” She heaved a sigh. “Guess that means I’ll have to save him.”
“If it wouldn’t be too much trouble,” I said dryly. “I’m not saying throw yourself in front of a fireball or anything—wolves are flammable, you know—but I would appreciate help watching his back.”
“Yeah, yeah.” She made a rude noise. “Are you sure you can track Carmichael via the bond?”
“I still feel him through it, so I’m thinking yes. With fewer packmates drawing on his energy, the connection is stronger than ever.” I sucked in a breath. “I might need to ask for help to home in on his signal or whatever. I’m not sure how to do it exactly.”
And it would broadcast my movements to him, which I did not want but saw no way around.
“The trick will be following it to him without him realizing what you’re doing. Especially without the distraction of other pack members tugging on him. That will require stealth.” She furrowed her brow. “Maybe we could use the connection to lead him where we want him to go.”
The front door opened, allowing a warm breeze to swirl hair into my eyes.
“Good idea.” I craned my neck to see Rían and four other enforcers enter the room. “Hey.”
“I’m afraid of what the two of you consider a good idea,” Liam said, entering last. “Care to fill us in?”
He sank into a chair across from Sloane while Rían took the place next to me.
The other enforcers, including Rand, remained standing.
“Care to update us?” Sloane beat me to the punch. “No one has been answering our calls or texts.”
That was news to me, but I couldn’t say I was shocked to learn she had been nosing around for intel.
“Did you reach out before now?” Rían leaned forward, catching my eye. “I only saw one message.”
“I didn’t want to bother you,” I mumbled, wishing Sloane hadn’t forced the matter.
To be the one who initiated contact felt needy when he was so busy, and no one liked that in a partner. But I couldn’t always wait for him to act first. That wasn’t fair either.
Ugh.
Who knew learning phone and text etiquette for dating would prove so stressful?
“I don’t have your number,” Sloane volunteered, “but Liam ignored me.”
“Ana, can I talk to you alone?” Rían rose with a groan of exhaustion. “Please?”
Liam stole my spot as soon as I stood, no doubt guaranteeing Sloane didn’t slink off after us.
Goldie wasn’t the only eavesdropper in the house. Though, really, he was just as bad about listening in.
Part of the maguri job, I was sure he would claim, but it appeared to be more a familial trait.
With the front of the house full of enforcers, I aimed for the backyard and waited to hear what Rían had to say.
“I should have updated you earlier and not left you in the dark.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “I went on autopilot and followed the usual procedures. I didn’t think to contact you, and that’s on me.”
“I’m not acting out, if that’s what you think.
” I struck a nerve within myself just mentioning it.
“This was always the plan. Though last night did urge me to expedite it.” I rubbed my forehead.
“I do wish you had let me know if you caught the guy, but it’s a tough spot you’re in.
I’m still a Sartori, and that makes me a security risk.
I get that. I agree with that.” At his crestfallen expression, I tried to lighten the mood by teasing him.
“I didn’t expect you to add me to the enforcer group chat yet, you know? ”
“Those are concerns.” He did me the favor of not denying the link was worrisome. “For the others.”
The caveat popped my eyebrows higher on my forehead, but I shouldn’t have been surprised to hear it.
“To be clear, they’re not worried about where your allegiance lies. Only how far Sartori will go to get what he wants. Including interrogating you. They don’t know you as well as I do yet, or they would understand you don’t break. You’re too strong.”
“I was also given the pack princess treatment, so don’t flatter me too much.”
“No princess I know has ever been left at the mercy of her peers to get beaten within an inch of her life. Repeatedly. Without your dragon, you were little more than human. You survived that. This? This is nothing to someone as brave as you. The others will realize it too.”
Heat burned behind my eyes, a certainty he knew much more about my past than I had confided to him.
But his choice to allow me to tell him my story in my own time mattered more to me than anything Liam or the others might have uncovered because it meant he cared enough to let me make my peace before he was invited into the conversation.
“How much can you tell me?”
“The suspect got past the enforcers, but we’re not sure how he entered or exited Fayne’s yard without someone noticing his scent wasn’t clan. With so many guards, it’s curious he moved through the party without drawing attention to himself.” He hesitated. “When did you first notice him?”
“He bumped into me.”
“You didn’t see him before then?”
“No, but I’m no expert on the clan roster. I was in system overload. I wouldn’t have paid him any attention if our collision hadn’t almost tipped the tray out of my hands.”
“Hmm.” He stared at the grass under his feet. “He made direct contact then.”
“Does that mean he was using some type of concealment charm to blend in?”
“Perhaps.” A pucker gathered across his brow. “Anything else?”
“Sloane arrived after he left, so I was distracted when he invited himself into our conversation later. She might have noticed more, since she was facing his direction, but I can’t say either way.
” I hated that I had missed such a critical detail.
“I thought there was something familiar about him, but she identified the scent before I put my finger on it.”