“Hey, Kane,” I say, bringing the phone to my ear. My eyes snag on a door to a back courtyard. “Now’s not—”
“Listen, Selene, I have a lot to say, and I don’t have much time to say it.” The man who speaks doesn’t sound like the lycanthrope I remember. His voice is far too low and gravelly. He hardly sounds human at all.
I pause. “Kane, is that you?” I ask softly.
“Full moon. I’m fighting a shift.”
My mouth forms an O. To be honest, I didn’t know it was possible for lycans to hold off a shift during the full moon for any amount of time.
I head for that door outside, wanting some fresh air and a little privacy to handle wherever this call is going.
“My pack knows it was you who saved Cara,” he rushes to say. “I confirmed your scent myself.”
The shifter girl I saved—that’s what he’s talking about.
“Okay…” I’m not sure where he’s going with this.
I slip out the door to a massive courtyard enclosed on three sides by the glass walls of the conservatory. There’s a stone patio, but it gives way to a garden full of overgrown plants. The foliage has mostly overtaken the marble statues and fountains scattered throughout the space, and it’s all but engulfed the few lampposts out here.
“I don’t know how much about pack dynamics you know, but after what you did, you’re now considered a friend of the pack.”
The silence that follows that admission is heavy, like what he’s saying is a big deal.
“Being a friend of the pack means we extend our protection to you for as long as you hold the title,” he adds.
Protection. He’s offering me protection. Not just any protection either, but the protection of an entire pack. My breath leaves me all at once. That is a damn big deal—and a formidable offer.
I glance at the few other revelers out here, who are sipping drinks or slipping into the shadows of the night while his words sink in.
“We meant to arrange a formal meeting and to tell you all this in person, but I’m afraid there’s no longer time for that,” Kane says, his voice still inhumanly low.
I frown as I watch a few witches flying on broomsticks now land and make their way toward the back doors of the conservatory.
“What do you mean there’s no longer time for that?” I say, not following.
Kane seems to pick his words carefully. “One of my pack mates works with the Politia.”
As soon as I hear that, my stomach twists on itself.
Kane pauses too, as though he doesn’t want to say his next words.
He finally sighs, the sound coming out garbled, as though his throat can’t fully make the noise. “The Politia is going to arrest you.”
CHAPTER 42
“What?” I nearly drop the phone.
Across the courtyard, a few guests glance over at me as they head inside, clearly startled by my outburst.
I must’ve heard Kane incorrectly. There’s no way—
“Tonight,” the shifter adds. “They have a warrant out for your arrest. Apparently, they found a shoe of yours with blood from that witch who recently went missing.”
“Kasey,” I whisper.
As for my shoes, I am missing the pair I left behind the night of the spell circle. Did the Politia find one of them? If so, why would it be in the woods, and how in the hell did it get Kasey’s blood on it? I was barefoot by the time the fighting out there occurred.
There must be some mistake.
I’m about to say so when Kane continues. “The Politia thinks you committed the murders.”
I can’t seem to draw in enough air. It’s one thing to be a suspect in a murder case, but they’re planning on arresting me? Tonight?
“Goddess…” I whisper, feeling the world tilt as more guests head back inside the conservatory. “I’m innocent, Kane.” I need to say it, even though I can’t remember everything.
“If any of us shifters thought you committed these killings,” Kane says, “then friend or not, we would turn you in.”
I exhale a shaky breath. Packs are notoriously loyal but even more notoriously protective of the innocent—particularly their own.
“We believe someone’s framing you.”
It feels as though someone kicked me in the stomach.
Framed. I’m being…framed.
I’ve been so caught up in proving my innocence that I didn’t stop to wonder why my name kept popping up in the first place. I just assumed it was some combo of being in the wrong place at the wrong time and being unable to prove my alibi.
I hadn’t considered the possibility that someone was deliberately leveraging my memory loss against me.
I should’ve though.
I press a hand to my brow. “Shit.”
Shit, shit, shit.
Kane’s tone sharpens. “My alpha wanted me to pass along this message: Cooperate with the authorities. We’ll send in one of our lawyers to help sort this out once the Sacred Seven are over.” Once the lycanthropes can fully control their shifts again.
I put a hand to my head. My mind is screaming, and I can’t seem to draw in enough air.
“Kane,” I say softly, “I…thank you.” What he’s saying may not prevent me from getting arrested, but knowing I have an entire pack’s backing makes the whole ordeal seem a lot less hopeless.
The lycanthrope’s voice grows deeper. “Cara told us what happened as well as she could remember. It’s not much, but it’s still enough for us to know how much you risked, saving her. From what it sounds like, they were going to force Cara into—” His next words get mangled. Kane stops, clears his throat, and continues. “A bond against her will.” Another several seconds of silence pass, and I can only imagine he’s fighting his need to shift. “We would like to hear the story of that night in your own words, once we sort out the situation with the Politia.”
“I can do that,” I say quietly.
Hearing Kane speak like this—like the leader he must be getting groomed to be—is throwing me. I had a crush on him for years, but I never knew him. And now I’m discovering that maybe he isn’t just some gorgeous shifter; even as young as he is, he may be a commanding member.
He hesitates, then adds, “Also, Selene, this is unofficial, but I’d like to see you again.” His voice roughens once more, nearly to the point of indecipherability. “I’ve wanted to since I said goodbye to you that night.”
He and I left things off in a strange place—somewhere between a fling, a crush, and a near-death experience. At least, I think that’s where we left off.
“I—”
Little witch, are you ready to play…?
I press a hand to my heart at the sound of Memnon’s voice inside me. I can barely focus on my earlier need for revenge in light of what I’ve now learned.
“I just wanted you to know where I stand on that,” Kane says before I can give him a proper response. He clears his throat. “Anyway, try not to answer any questions until one of our lawyers can speak with you.”
“Okay,” I say, my voice a little lost.