“Okay—but wait. Why did you come?”

  “To see how you were doing.”

  “That’s it? No bad news about Mack? Or the assassin?”

  His brow furrowed. “I am not the harbinger of all things unpleasant, Piper.”

  His dark expression suggested otherwise, but I wasn’t about to point that out to him.

  “Well then, thanks for stopping by.” He smiled—as much as Drake seemed capable of smiling—then turned to leave. He strolled back down the driveway, retracing his steps. “Hey Drake?”

  He paused to look over his shoulder.

  “Yes?”

  “Do you have somewhere to go? I mean, you’re not really living where Kat and I found you that day, are you?”

  The corner of his mouth curled the slightest bit.

  “The less you know about that, the better, Piper. But I do appreciate your concern.”

  He continued to walk toward the edge of the property, disappearing the second he reached it.

  “You’re welcome,” I muttered to myself as I stared at the place where he’d just been standing.

  “Have you devolved into talking to yourself now?” Kat asked, sneaking up behind me.

  “Not yet,” I deadpanned. “Drake was here to check in. He just left.”

  “Awww… isn’t that sweet. The creepy bastard does have a heart buried somewhere under all those tattered clothes.”

  “So it seems.”

  “Well good. One less thing to worry about for the moment.”

  “I feel like that won’t put a big dent in the list.”

  “Nope, but I’m trying this whole positivity thing that’s all the rage these days. It’s annoying as fuck, but I think I’m just not quite used to it yet.”

  I looked over my shoulder at her and burst out laughing. “I’m going to need you to stop that immediately. You being positive is a sure sign that the apocalypse is on its way.”

  She flinched, feigning offense. “That seems a bit harsh, Piper, but if having me be caustic and abrasive helps you have a sense of normalcy, I’m game.”

  I let out a sigh of relief. “Excellent! Now, I’m supposed to get some rest. Drake’s orders. You wanna join me?”

  “What are we doing?”

  “Just hanging out outside.”

  Her expression went slack. “That is literally the worst plan ever, Piper. I feel like I’ve taught you nothing.”

  She started back toward the mansion without another word.

  “Does that mean you’re bailing already?”

  “No!” she shouted over her shoulder. “It means I’m going inside to get some booze so I can upgrade your shitty plan.”

  I laughed as she disappeared into the house, knowing that she’d return with a veritable bar in her hands. The downside (or upside, depending on how you looked at it) of living with a bartender. And she did not disappoint.

  Minutes later, she returned with two armfuls of liquor. She jerked her head toward the back yard as she made her way there, and I soon followed. Apparently ‘rest’ meant ‘party’ to Kat, but I was fine with it. We all needed a break from the craziness around us—especially after Knox had to lay three wolves to rest.

  With the sun still in the sky, I helped Kat set up a memorial party for the fallen members of the pack.

  Chapter Fifteen

  During our third trip to the kitchen for supplies, Merc appeared. Kat shot me a dubious look before strolling past him out of the kitchen. Grizz, however, didn’t budge. Merc stared at him, and for a moment I wondered if they were having a telepathic conversation. Then the man-bear growled at him before advancing, and I knew that, whatever had happened, it hadn’t been good.

  “Grizz!” I shouted, jumping in front of him. “It’s fine. I need to talk to him anyway. Go help Kat… I’ll be fine.” He looked at me like I’d taken leave of my senses. “I don’t care what Drake says. Go!”

  With a loud exhale, he headed for the exit, making a point to bump his shoulder into Merc’s as he walked by. This time, my mate growled.

  “Are you looking for me?” I asked, busying myself with provisions for the party.

  “Yes. I need to ask you about last night. My dream…”

  “I didn’t shut you out intentionally, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

  “What did you see?”

  I swallowed hard, not wanting to divulge that I’d been essentially sleep-spying on him while he unraveled.

  “I saw you in your room. Could you feel me there? You were looking right at me, but you didn’t see me.”

  His lips pressed to a thin line. “I cannot reach you like I once could,” he said flatly, his dark eyes narrowed.

  I felt my chest burn, and I clasped my hands together to keep them from rubbing and drawing attention to it.

  “I haven’t been sleeping well enough to let you in, I imagine.”

  He stared at me. “Perhaps…”

  “Is that what you wanted to talk about?” I asked, squirming a bit under the weight of his gaze.

  “No. I wanted to tell you that I was wrong to force you to abandon Kat. Can you forgive me?”

  I let out the breath I was holding. “Of course I can, but only if you promise to never do anything like that again.”

  His shoulders relaxed a touch as he took a step closer.

  “Drake has been by a lot lately,” he said, his tone cautious. “Is it to do with Mack? The warlocks? Or is it something else altogether?”

  “He’s my mentor—and my uncle, apparently. He admitted that the other day. I don’t know what it is with supernaturals and family secrets, but it’s super annoying.”

  “Your uncle?” he asked. “I was unaware that Reinhardt had a brother.”

  “And I was unaware that the vampire king had sired three sons.”

  He flinched ever so slightly at my jab.

  “I did not want to lie to you, Piper.”

  “I know. But you did. And you’re constantly condemning Knox for his secrets even while keeping your own.”

  “Knox’s secrets are plentiful…”

  “And yours could be too, for all I know. That’s my point. Everyone wants me to take them at their word, even after they’re forced to unveil the truth. You guys seriously need to drop some of your shit.” I rubbed at my chest, the tension in it growing alongside my frustration. Merc, seeing my discomfort, closed the distance between us in a hurry and pulled my hand away, putting his in its place.

  “I will try harder where the wolf is concerned.”

  “I would believe you if you’d actually used his name and not referred to him as ‘the wolf’. Kinda kills the sincerity a bit.”

  He frowned. “I will try harder with Knox. For you, I can do this.”

  I forced a smile. “Thank you. Now, I’ve been wanting to talk to you about this for a while, but time doesn’t seem to work in our favor at the moment.”

  “That is an understatement.”

  “What about our other problem… you know… the one with your father?”

  I felt his hand go rigid against my chest before he pulled it away.

  “He is contained for the time being.”

  “Right, but I mean, that’s not a long-term solution.”

  “It will be for as long as we can keep suspicion at bay.”

  “But how long do you really think that’ll be? Rumors fly in our world and you know it. Someone is bound to suspect me, if not both of us. If the enforcers do, then it’s only a matter of time before there’s a coup. They’ll kill you, Merc, if they think they have to.”

  “I have taken measures so that this will not happen.”

  I sighed in frustration.

  “And if they fail? What then? I know you’re trying to save our bond, but it won’t matter much if you’re dead.”

  “It won’t matter if you get yourself killed trying to help save the wolves either.”

  The depths of his dark eyes seemed endless when I looked into them, desperate to find answers to a problem that didn’t have any. Somewhere inside me, I knew there were only two ways out of the predicament I’d created. Either we killed the king and broke our bond in the process, or we waited for it all to blow up in our faces. I hated the idea of the former, but the latter would have consequences for sure. The unacceptable kind.

  “Where is he, Merc?” I asked, reaching out for his hand. He let me take it.

  “It’s best that you not know the exact details.”

  “But how do you contain a being that can ghost? He can do it, right? Or was Knox just bluffing about that?”

  “To answer the latter, he was not bluffing,” he said, staring down at me. “To answer the former, you use a room created with the sole purpose of imprisoning your offspring should the need arise.”

  I felt the blood drain from my face.

  “Oh, Merc…”

  “I have not been held inside of it for some time, Piper. No need to upset yourself over it.”

  But it was too late; I already had. Whether I did it for him or myself, I wasn’t sure, but I wrapped my arms around his waist and buried my face in his chest, squeezing hard. I felt a low rumble in his chest when I did.

  “Your father is a monster.”

  “Not unlike the fey king. The two of them have much in common. This is why I am so disturbed by you hunting the fey king’s killer. I know who spawned him. Nothing good can come of this.”

  “He spawned Knox and the others—sort of.”

  “He did, but that was back when he still held a sliver of sanity. That broke when Knox escaped. He has been as he is now ever since.” My heart sunk further with the knowledge that Knox had been the one to unhinge the fey king. The assassin’s mission seemed so much clearer in light of it. “I was detained there to avoid the wrath of the queen. She could have come for me on Earth. In Faerie, she would never dare to trespass on her husband’s land. It was the best place to hold me where my father could still have access if need be.”

  “And he needed you to identify me?”

  He nodded. “Such a twisted web he’s woven.”

  I exhaled hard, propping my elbows on my knees. I rested my head in my hands and stared at the male staring back at me. In silence, we just looked at each other, acknowledging without words just how fucked our situation was.

  “Do you think he knows who this assassin is?”

  Merc nodded. “I believe he does.”

  “But he won’t tell us, will he?” He shook his head. “Is that where you’ve been disappearing to when you leave the mansion? Trying to get the answer from him?”

  “As of late, yes. But as you can imagine, he’s trying to leverage the knowledge to gain his release, which I cannot grant.”

  “Shit…”

  “For now, we can hope that whatever information Mack has, your uncle and the others will be able to drag it from him.”

  “And if not?”

  “Then I need to convince my father that I will kill him if he doesn’t tell me what I want to know—and be willing to follow through with his execution if he does not.”

  The sadness I felt at that possibility was plain in the tear that rolled down my cheek. I cupped Merc’s face in my hands and leaned forward to kiss him. It was soft and gentle, and my lips lingered against his for a moment before I pulled away.

  The desperation of the situation made my chest burn.

  “It will be okay,” he said, wiping the rogue tear away. “I will do anything for you, Piper.”

  If only I’d known then just how true and ominous those words were.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The funeral for Benji and the others was short and simple, but powerful nonetheless. The sound of a pack’s mourning cry was haunting and beautiful, and something that shook the fiber of my being. When it was over, they all made their way back to the house, where Kat’s bar was set up and a bonfire was ready to go. Kat and Foust had ripped dead trees out of the ground around the property and dragged them to where the rest of us stood. Grizz had joined in at some point, breaking trunks over his knee like he was snapping kindling. It was effective, to say the least, and before I knew it, there was a pile of wood over eight feet high.

  “You want to do the honors?” Kat asked, looking over at the strategically stacked wood.

  “Sure,” I replied.

  I focused my energy, calling forth the blue flames that had served me well. My Fire Bender ability took longer than I expected to come, my fatigue still affecting me, but after a minute, flame shot from my hand, lighting the fire. It burned an eerie, moonlit shade, made more ethereal by the setting sun. I watched it dance and flicker, mesmerized by the calming effect of the movement. Perhaps that was exactly what I needed.

  “How’s my favorite little arsonist doing?” Jagger asked, draping an arm around my shoulders. I looked up at him, dragging my gaze away from the fire, and smiled.

  “Good. How’s my favorite ginger doing?”

  “Better.” His smile faltered for only a fraction of a second, but I saw it nonetheless. Jagger was still struggling with everything that had happened since we’d returned to NYC. He felt like a failure. And he refused to talk about what the queen had done to him in Faerie.

  I knew what it was like to want to keep my skeletons in the closet.

  I leaned into his embrace and rested my head against his chest. Jagger needed love in the worst way possible, and I could give him that. Forgiveness too, but I’d already given him that. We all had. Apparently he couldn’t give it to himself.

  “I love you, Jags. You know that, right?”

  “I do.”

  “Good. Now the question is, do you love me enough to go get whatever it is Kat is making over there for me?”

  “Can’t stop ogling the fire long enough to get it yourself?”

  I shook my head. “Drake’s orders.”

  Jagger scoffed. “Only for you, Piper. If you were anyone else, I’d make you go get it yourself.”

  “Is that so?” Knox said. I could hear the hint of amusement in his tone from behind me, and I turned out of Jagger’s hold to see his broad smile as he approached.

  “Yes, fine… I’ll get you one too,” Jagger replied, feigning annoyance.

  He walked over to the makeshift bar Kat had set up on the funeral pyre—the one that her mate had burned upon a couple of weeks earlier. To an outsider it would have seemed callous at best, but I knew why she was doing it. It was her way of taking the bull by the horns and throwing that beast right out of the ring. I knew it hurt her to stand there—to have the memories of his death play over and over in her mind—but that was Kat. That was how she rolled.

  “About last night,” Knox started, his smile fading. “I’m sorry it turned ugly.” He exhaled, reaching his hands up to interlace behind his head. “Merc and I…”

  “Have too much testosterone for your own good?”

  His blue eyes, made bluer by the light of the fire, warmed. “Yeah. Something like that.”

  “At least you’re aware. Knowing is half the battle, or so I’ve heard.”

  “Can you forgive me for my Neanderthal ways?”

  I considered his words, wondering if his apology would last only until the next time he and Merc were in a room together long enough for a fight to start. There was such a divide between the two of them, which fed the growing divide between the wolves and the vampires in general. The tension level in the mansion was through the roof, and I wondered if we wouldn’t implode on our own before the fey king’s assassin came for us again. Maybe that was his grand scheme.

  It was a genius plan.

  “I can forgive both of you for your knuckle-dragging tendencies, but you have to try and find a way to work together. If not for my sake, then for the sake of your pack. Merc as an enemy isn’t what you should want.”

  “He shouldn’t want me as one either.” Any humor his voice had held disappeared with that statement.

  “I don’t think he does, Knox.”

  Knox dropped his arms to his sides and let his head hang back, as if he were asking for the strength to keep his shit together around Merc.

  “You’re right,” he said. “You’re right about it all. I promise you I will do everything within my power to keep it together when Merc is around.”

  I wanted to say something teasing in response, but I held my tongue. I knew how hard it was for Knox to say those words, let alone mean them. I didn’t want to make light of it for fear he might take them back.

  “Thank you,” I said, smiling up at him. Whatever he found in that smile seemed to appease him and his eyes brightened in the failing light of day.

  “Your drinks,” Jagger said as he approached, holding two massive cups full of God only knew what. We took them from him and moved closer to the fire, winding our way through the pack, who were perched on logs and chairs scattered all around the fire. I found a stump and turned it upright to sit on. Knox found one nearby and did the same, placing it next to mine.

  “We used to have these all the time in Alaska,” Knox said, staring at the roaring fire. “We’d have smaller fires scattered through the yard to cook on and one huge one in the middle. We’d just sit around it and chill.”

  “Beers and bros,” Jagger said from his spot off to my right.

  “We’d use those nights as confessionals of sorts, too,” Foust added as he came to sit not far from Knox. “That’s how they started, anyway. The fire was a metaphor—a cleansing of sorts for those who felt they needed it.”

  “When did we start them?” Knox asked Foust, his voice distant, like he was searching his mind for the answer as he spoke.

  “Jesus… I can’t remember. I think it was not long after Benji came. Right, Brunton?”

  The hard-faced werewolf nodded. “He was having a hard time letting go of his past. Knox decided we should have a bonfire—give him a chance to bond with the pack. Then Knox got up and told his story.”

  Foust nodded, taking a sip of his drink.

  “He sure did…”

  “Fuck,” Knox said with a laugh. “I forgot about that.”

  “He did it to show that there would never be secrets among us, and that they would never be tolerated,” Brunton said. “That’s the moment Benji—and some of the others—knew they’d found their new home. Found someone they could trust. Someone to believe in.”