Lib Novel Page 82
Patrick agrees with me, but his tone is dark. “The others are pissed. They want her blood. It’s not easy keeping them away from her right now. Last night, Jared was ready to kill her on the spot.”
“Don’t tell me—”
“Nobody touched her,” Patrick reassures me. “I kept them in line.”
“Good.” I feel my tense shoulders relax. “If anything happens to Karina’s favorite pet, she will use that as an excuse to annihilate our pack. That’s the only reason why Julia has not already met with an accidental death.”
But selling me out while I am on a supposed mission for the Queen of the North Alliance is something I doubt even Karina would forgive, unless the whole thing is on her orders. In any case, I fully intend to make a stink about this when I get back. So far, Julia has been allowed to harass me and my pack, and every other pack has turned a blind eye. But meddling in Alliance affairs is something Karina’s pack elders will frown upon.
“When is the next cage fight?” I ask, eager to stop talking about Julia.
Patrick looks uncertain. “It’s supposed to be tonight. But I don’t think you should go.”
I try to get to my feet and falter, my abdomen screaming in pain. I fall back onto the bed with a groan. “I think you’re right. But I want you guys to be there in my stead. See if you can talk to that female fighter. Stick to the plan if she doesn’t cooperate: chase her through the forest and force her to shift forms. We need to confirm her identity. If she is the Silver Wolf, we might have to resort to kidnapping her.”
“I thought you were against the kidnapping idea.” Patrick gives me an amused look. “Something about wanting to buy her trust?”
“We’re running out of time,” I say grimly. “The existence of at least one black wolf has already been noticed by this town’s pack security. When they don’t find my corpse, they’re going to start looking at all the newcomers in town. We can’t afford to waste any more time playing nice.”
Patrick’s expression grows serious. “You’re right. Leave the Wily Vixen to me and the boys. We’ll deal with her.”
He’s about to turn around and leave the room when I remember something. “This morning, something strange happened.”
“Strange?” Patrick eyes me.
“Sophia was sleeping by the bed. I felt a bizarre energy from her. I don’t know how to describe it, but it felt like magic. It gave off that same tingly sensation that spells do. She stopped breathing…” I recall the sick fear I experienced in that moment as I watched her lips turn blue, every attempt to touch her making my hands prickle from the power radiating off her. “When I managed to wake her up, she mentioned dreaming about a silver wolf in a cell. I didn’t get the opportunity to ask her more about it.”
Patrick stiffens at my words. “That cannot be a coincidence.”
I meet his gaze. “I don’t think so, either. She knows something. She must.”
“Have you tried asking her?”
“I told you, we never got around to discussing it. Other things came up.”
“You’re going to have to ask her. If she knows anything, we have to find out what. It could be that Sophia knows the identity of the Silver Wolf.”
I tap my fingers against the soft bed sheet. “I agree with you.” I see an odd flicker in Patrick’s eyes, and I can sense that he wants to say something. “What is it?”
“Do you think there’s even a chance, a fragment of a possibility, that Sophia is the Silver Wolf?”
I stare at him. “Are you drunk?”
“We’ve never seen her shift bef—”
“She can’t shift,” I say tightly. “She has a latent wolf.”
I can see that this is news to Patrick because he looks shocked. “Are you absolutely sure?”
My silence is all the answer he needs.
He lets out a disappointed sigh. “And here I thought she would make a good Alpha Female.”
“She would,” I say abruptly. “Having a latent wolf doesn’t affect her qualifications as a potential Alpha Female. She would be an asset to the pack. She’s protective to a fault. She’s quick-witted and intelligent. She may not have the same strength as us, but you saw her fight that kid, Freddy, in the restaurant. She’s tough. She’s also kind—kinder than you would imagine. After all, she hasn’t thrown me out of her apartment despite the danger my presence has put her in.”
“Well, that’s because of your bond—”
“I rejected Sophia, Patrick. And Julia introduced herself to her as my fiancée.” My voice is quiet, dull almost, and I hear his sharp intake of breath.