I like her.

  “Do you know where my mother is?” I ask.

  Frankie hesitates. “Here, have one more.”

  She pours me a third drink and hands it over.

  I shake my head. “I’m good.”

  She sighs and sets the drink aside on the desk. “Your mother went to see Kari.”

  “What? Why?”

  “She went to negotiate your involvement in all this.”

  My involvement. Not Levi’s.

  My heart sinks at the same time worry takes over.

  Kari has already proven she’s just as likely to kill my mother as she is to agree.

  “Does Jadick know?” I ask.

  “Yes.”

  “And he just let her go?”

  “He’s not happy about it, believe me. If he didn’t want you to like him so much, I think he would have locked her up instead.”

  I study her. “You know he proposed.”

  “I thought he might. Tripp and I have been listening to his meetings for a while now, and they’re almost exclusively about you now.”

  I blow out a breath, enjoying the way the alcohol has begun to numb the pain. That third drink is sounding better and better.

  “Does my mother know?”

  Her brow arches. “Why do you think she went to see Kari?”

  I stare into my empty cup.

  “You’re surprised,” she says.

  Finally, I drag my gaze back to hers and shrug. “My mother’s not one to throw herself in front of a speeding bullet.”

  “Not even for her own daughter?”

  I snort. I can’t help it. The alcohol is eating at the filter I usually keep locked in place between my brain and my mouth. “Especially then.”

  “You underestimate how much she cares about you.”

  “She cares, but she doesn’t understand. She’ll risk herself to negotiate for me, but she won’t even attempt to help Levi.”

  “She’s a mother. Her priorities are different than yours.”

  “Do you have any children?”

  “I did,” she says, a shadow crossing her features. “Once.”

  Something about the finality of her tone tells me not to press her further. But it makes my heart hurt all the same.

  “Do you think she’ll succeed?” I ask instead.

  “Do you? Kari is your friend.”

  “Was my friend. And no. I don’t. Neither does Jadick, or he wouldn’t have let her go.”

  She nods. “You’re perceptive.”

  “He doesn’t want to win,” I say. “Why?”

  “He does,” she says, “But he’s waiting for something.”

  “What?” I ask.

  She hesitates and then says, “Have you ever heard of a hexerei named Rina?”

  “No. Should I have?”

  “Maybe not, but Jadick has sent men searching for her. I think she’s part of his plan.”

  “The name’s not familiar to me. Why would he need a hex? You think he plans to use magic against Kari?”

  “It’s possible, but the hexes haven’t dealt with us in decades. I don’t see why they’d start now.”

  “You mean since the curse.”

  She nods grimly.

  “No one talks much about the curse,” I say. “Only that we have to reject our mates in order to be strong. I’m not sure what it has to do with the witches, though.”

  “A century ago, a hexerei cursed the pack underneath a black moon. She decreed that fated mates would be our weakness. Then our alpha rejected his fated mate to become stronger, and the hexerei have been pissed at the loophole we found ever since.”

  Hmm.

  And now Jadick suddenly wanted to find a witch.

  “What did my mother say about it?”

  “We didn’t share it with her.” She watches my expression and adds, “It’s not that I don’t trust her, but I know where her priorities lie. And I know how a mother thinks. She’ll use anything I give her to fight for you.”

  “I don’t blame you for not sharing. What do you think Jadick wants with this Rina woman?”

  She sighs. “I wish I knew.”

  I pick up the glass and gulp down the third drink after all.

  Frankie studies me for a long beat.

  “Will you accept his offer?” she asks.

  There’s no judgment in her gaze when she asks. But there’s a challenge. Like she wants to know how hard I’ll fight. I wonder if accepting Jadick means I’m fighting harder or not at all.

  “Jadick is a solution that only brings more problems,” I say. “If I accept him, I’ll be rejecting Levi, and even after everything Levi did… it’s a betrayal I’m not ready to commit. If there’s another way, I owe it to him to find it.”

  “I figured you’d say that. Jadick will try to stop you,” she says.

  “He already has.” I glance at the stab wound. “One of the Jades decided to avenge Levi.”

  “You think Jadick put him up to it?”

  “I don’t know. At first, I thought it was Grey, but his denial was almost convincing.”

  “Grey?” she echoes.

  At her expression, I cock my head. “You don’t think it was him.”

  “I’m not saying he isn’t capable,” she says.

  “But?”

  “Grey isn’t the type to delegate that sort of thing.”

  “I get that impression. But that only leaves Jadick, and I’m not sure he’d try to kill me if he meant to propose after.”

  “Love hurts,” she says, and I attempt a laugh, but it’s too sad and too bitter.

  “You’re telling me.” I bite my lip. “Hey, will you do me a favor? Don’t tell Tripp. About the proposal.”

  “It will break his heart.”

  “I know. I want to spare him a bit longer.”

  She nods, and we sit in silence with our own thoughts for a moment.

  “He won’t break,” she says quietly, and I look up at her sharply.

  She means Levi.

  “I know,” I say, the knowledge heartbreaking. It means his torture will be that much worse. “But I will.”

  “Yes, unfortunately, I think that’s what both Clemons are counting on.”

  CHAPTER 7

  Frankie’s words stay with me long after I’ve left her and returned to my room. I’ve been so busy nearly dying that I hadn’t seen it before. I wasn’t sent away from Blackstone simply because I was useless to Kari’s plan. She never meant to show me mercy. She also never intended to kill me with that bullet. She meant to use me. And so far, it’s working.

  I hate her.

  Once, I loved her like a sister, but now, I can think only of wrapping my hands around her throat and squeezing until there’s no breath left in her body.

  Kari Clemons is dead to me.

  And if I have anything to say about it, she’ll be dead to the rest of the world soon enough.

  Alone in my room, I peel my bloody pants off and inspect the stab wound on my thigh. It’s mostly a surface wound. Minimal blood loss. No major arteries hit. Mostly, it’s the venom I have to worry about. I use the First Aid kit left over from when they first stitched me up and bandage the area. Unfortunately, there’s nothing I can do about the dried blood coating my thigh. I could ask Jadick for a place to shower, but my pride dismisses that idea outright. I’m not asking him for shit.

  Besides, the granola bar Tripp brought me earlier is long gone, and I can’t remember the last time I ate a real meal. If I’m going to heal from any of this, I need food.

  Grey scowls when I step back into the hall. I ignore the other three assholes guarding the boarded-up exit. Refusing to look at them does little to calm my ire, but it’s something.

  “Take me to the dining hall,” I tell Grey.

  To my surprise, he doesn’t argue.

  We walk in silence, and the closer I get to the crowded atrium at the end of the hall, the harder my heart pounds. I scan for possible threats, surprised to find the attack in the parking lot has left me on edge. I’m not one to cower or hide, but these people outnumber me. Thanks to my wounds, I’m a sitting duck in their midst.

  Still, hiding in my room will get me nowhere. Or worse, it could get me killed.

  When we reach the center of the atrium, I stop and consider my options. The mall’s food court has been reopened with Jades running a couple of the eateries that line one side of the space. High above us, natural light streams in through the angled glass ceiling. People mill about, chatting, horsing around, eating at the tables scattered throughout.

  It almost looks like an actual mall experience.

  Then Grey pokes me in the back, and I remember just how far removed from the real world I am.

  “What do you want to eat?” he asks.

  “I can order it myself,” I tell him.

  “You sure you want to interact? You don’t exactly have a lot of friends here.”

  “No shit. I’m not letting someone dose my food again. I’ll order for myself, or you can take me back to my room and tell Jadick you let me starve.”

  He rolls his eyes. “Come on then,” he says, shoving me impatiently toward the pizzeria.

  At the register, a girl with spiky blonde hair takes my order.

  “Cheese pizza,” I tell her, my stomach rumbling at the scent of the fresh dough wafting out from the kitchen.

  “How many slices?” she asks, gesturing to the New York-style slices of plain cheese waiting under the heat lamp.

  I glance over at the four pieces left and then back to the girl. “All of them.”

  She smiles to herself and plates them then hands them over. “Anything else?”

  “Not yet,” I tell her, and she laughs. “What about you?” she asks Grey.

  “Sausage and pineapple.”

  “I think I have some in the back,” she tells him. “Hang on.”

  She walks away, and I stare at him in disgust. “Seriously?”

  “What?” he demands.

  “Nothing.” I take my pizza and then realize I have no idea where to sit.

  There are no empty tables, and I realize too late that means we’ll have to double up. Scanning, I check the faces of those already seated. I don’t see the man who attacked me last night, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t here. Or that some of these people wouldn’t do the same to me if given the chance. My muscles tighten, ready for a fight.

  Grey is unaffected, however. Pizza in hand—pineapple. So gross—he nods at me to follow him. We end up in the very center of the crowd where half a dozen uniformed security guards have claimed the largest table.

  Largest and loudest.

  “Grey,” one of the male guards calls out. His voice booms over the noise of the room. “Where you been, asshole? Come sit.”

  The guy has a full auburn mustache with no beard. It’s a look that’s always creeped me out. Or maybe it’s just him. He looks like a walking billboard for how not to pull off the look.

  “Wheeler.” Grey takes a seat beside his friend without sparing me a glance.

  Mustache notices me, and his smile slips. “Didn’t realize you were still on duty,” he tells Grey, glancing quickly away again.

  The others around him give me sour looks.

  I ignore them and round the table, taking an empty seat between two security guards. They immediately get up and leave. But their insult is lost on me because all that matters in this moment are the four slices of New York pie stacked on my plate.

  I take a bite, and a small moan escapes as the hot cheese melts against my tongue.

  When I look up, the guy seated across from me is staring with raised brows.

  In fact, they all are.

  “Good pizza,” I say, heat rising to my cheeks.

  I am not easily embarrassed, but an entire ops team watching me foodgasm—especially when every one of them probably wants to kill me—is a bit awkward.

  “You’re not wrong.” Wheeler’s lips twitch. “Well, except for Grey’s pizza. That shit is disgusting and morally offensive.”

  Everyone laughs.

  I focus on my pizza. Shoving another bite in my mouth seems easier than trying to figure out why that guy was just nice to me. By my third bite, the rest of the table has returned to their own conversations. I let their voices wash over me, content to sit among them even if I’m not actually one of them.

  Again, I think of the Jade who attacked me last night. And while I still have my guard up against another attempt, my rage has faded to guilt. These people see me as their villain. What did I expect?

  “Mac, right?”

  I look up and find the guy across from me, the one with the judgy eyebrows, staring back.

  “Or do you prefer Mackenzie?” he asks when I don’t answer.

  “It’s Mac,” I tell him.

  “If you want more pizza, I can talk to Lauren.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “The pizza. We’re rationing because of the perimeter being closed, but I’m sure I could put in a good word.”

  I look down at my plate and realize I’ve already inhaled three of the four slices. My appetite is sated, and my wolf already feels stronger. I feel like an asshole at the realization I’ve taken more than my share. But then his words sink in.

  “Why is the perimeter closed?” I ask.

  He looks at me like I’m slow. “The mines have been set. Kari’s scouts will pass within range soon. We—”

  The female beside him smacks his shoulder. “Bruce,” she hisses. “Don’t be an idiot.”

  He falls silent and ducks his head.

  I study her. She glares at me.

  A few others have stopped talking again to listen in.

  “You’re going to take out her scouts,” I say, glancing at their faces. “It will be war.”

  “She already declared war when she took Levi.”

  My hands tighten into fists, so I tuck them under the table. “If you kill her men, she’ll know we’re here.”

  “She knows now,” one of them snaps. “Why else would she send scouts?”

  I shake my head. “She’s fishing. Probably sent trackers with skills that could have found us even if we’d teleported here.”

  I know. My first dose of venom came from just such a tracker.

  “She has Levi,” Wheeler says as if I need to be reminded.

  “Levi would never talk,” I snap back, my voice rising.

  “He shouldn’t be there to begin with,” the girl chimes in. Vicious. Ugly.

  The tables near us fall silent too.

  Everyone’s watching, waiting.

  I swallow hard. “Look, I know you blame me for what happened, but I’m not your enemy,” I say quietly.

  “You’re the reason Levi was taken,” the girl says.

  I nod, which seems to surprise them. “You’re right. He went to Blackstone because of me. Because he wanted to fight for me.”

  “And you wanted to fight for Kari.” The girl’s voice twists when she says Kari’s name. She’s disgusted.

  I grimace, but I won’t deny the truth either. “Obviously, I got played there,” I tell her. “But aren’t we all fighting for someone? Aren’t you a Jade because you refused to reject someone important to you? A mate? A family member?”

  She exchanges a look with the guy beside her. I realize they must be fated mates. My senses are just too damn dull to read their bond.

  No one speaks.

  They also don’t try to kill me, so I keep going.

  I have no idea why.

  There’s no agenda, no benefit to convincing them not to hate me. Hell, I deserve their hate. I am the reason Levi was taken. But I keep going anyway.

  “Levi went with me to Blackstone because he didn’t want to be a Black Moon wolf anymore. He didn’t want to survive at the cost of someone else dying. I don’t either.

  “You’re not a Jade,” someone says.

  A few murmurs go around, but not everyone joins in.

  Some of them look more curious than angry now.

  “Believe me, none of you hate me more than I hate myself for what happened to him. But, for the record, I didn’t leave him. I was dragged away while being shot with venom-laced bullets. Otherwise, I would have taken his place in a heartbeat. I still would. But Kari knows that. And that’s why she sent me back here. Not for mercy, for torture. The kind that comes from knowing I’d kill to get him back and so would you.”

  A few of their expressions shift as they realize what I mean.

  “She wants us focused on kicking your ass instead of kicking hers,” Mustache says.

  He’s smart—even if he does look like a douchebag.

  “If you think killing Kari’s scouts will somehow avenge him, you’re wrong,” I tell them. “She doesn’t care about me—her supposed best friend—so what makes you think she cares about her scouts?”

  The girl across from me is the one to speak first. “I mean, we have to do something.”

  The others offer nods of agreement.

  One by one, their gazes shift to me, and I’m startled to realize they’re waiting for me to tell them what that something is. More than a few are still aiming hostile glares my way, but the rest? They want to hear what I think.

  I try to come up with the answer.

  “We’re doing plenty.”

  Jadick’s voice cuts through the thick silence, and the moment melts away.

  His hand lands on my shoulder, and it’s all I can do not to jerk away.

  “Grey, I see you’ve made sure Mac is welcomed,” Jadick says from behind me. “Thank you.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Mac, might I have a word?”

  It’s not a request. I wonder if the others can hear the steel lining his voice or if it’s just me. Refusing would be a waste of time, considering the number of guards at this table, so I get up and follow him away from the crowds. He doesn’t return me to my room or to his offices and instead leads the way down another hall entirely. His way of showing me I’m no longer expected to stay locked away from the others. Probably trying to win me over by giving me my freedom.

  He still thinks I can be bought.

  Instead of pointing out his mistake, I focus on the hall—on what I need to know of the Jades. What I can use against him later.