I eased out of Aric’s hold, guilt adding bite to my tone. “No one failed me,” I insisted.

Aric followed me into our bathroom. I brushed my teeth and slipped into a short blue sundress before he spoke again. “I know you want to believe that we didn’t let you down—”

“Because you didn’t!” I hissed. My abruptness surprised us both. I took Aric’s hands in mine when he raised his brows. “I’m sorry…I’m not sure where that came from.”

“It’s all right.”

“No, it’s not,” I said, meaning it. Aric and I weren’t in the habit of snapping at each other. And for me to do it so easily was odd and completely uncalled for.

My fingers threaded through his while my mind tried to work through my thoughts. “Aric, enough people feel bad about what happened to me. They shouldn’t, especially now that Anara is dead. Let’s try to move on, okay? Hang on to what’s still good, all right?”

Aric shook his head. “It’s not as easy as you might think, sweetness. You’re Pack as far as my Warriors are concerned. We watch out for our own, and hurt when they do.” His thumbs passed over the back of my hands. “I’ll speak to them about giving us space, but it’s hard when my emotions amplify theirs.”

I nodded. Aric, the wolves, my sisters, everyone was trying. And while they meant well, I couldn’t shake the sense that they continued to walk on eggshells around me. I was a tough girl, damnit, except the last couple of months hadn’t allowed that side of me the opportunity to shine through. I needed to prove to them and myself that I was still me, ready to squeeze lemon juice back into evil’s eyes.

Or, well, something like that anyway.

When Aric finished dressing, we walked downstairs to breakfast. “So you didn’t see or feel anything?” Koda asked, following my rather unhelpful and pathetic recap.

I munched on my seventh piece of bacon. “No. It was more like something was simply there.”

“On top of Aric,” Gemini repeated.

Emme sat next to him. Taran was at the sink washing a pan. She was going to scrub the Teflon right off that skillet with how hard she was working the sponge. I glanced at her before answering. “There wasn’t any space between us, his body was against mine.” I felt the rush of heat claim my cheeks. It wasn’t as if the world didn’t know we were having sex, but my comment still triggered my shyness. “But it was like something was there, trying to force its way through us.”

Gemini’s dark almond eyes cut to Aric. “What did you feel?” he asked.

“Nothing,” he answered. “Just Celia’s fear.”

Gemini rubbed his goatee. “No entity of any sort, no spirits?”

“No,” Aric said. “But I believe her.”

Gemini nodded when he returned his focus to me. “Rest assured, we do as well, Celia.”

Nice to know that my sanity was no longer in question. I’d had enough of “Celia’s crazy” as the go-to excuse.

Shayna played with the edge of her long ponytail from where she perched on Koda’s lap. “So no ghosts, no spirits, no entities, no goblins—goblins aren’t real, right?” she asked Koda. At his nod she continued. “So then what? And is there any like, mojo detector thingy we could bring into the house? Something that can pick up anything magical we’re missing just to make sure?”

The wolves exchanged glances. Shayna frowned. “What?” she asked.

Gemini leaned forward and pressed his forearms against the table. He let out a breath, but it was Aric who spoke. “It may not be a good idea at this time.”

“Agreed,” Koda said, his deep voice low.

Silence simmered like boiling water. Every preternatural I’d ever met always teetered on the edge of aggression. Danny, a human turned wolf and a passive male in general, was one of the exceptions. Gemini, who embodied Zen, was a close second, despite the viciousness I’d seen him unleash in battle. But the Zen within him was lost then. He lifted his chin. “I don’t see another alternative. And regardless of my…situation, as your Beta I am to advise without prejudice. You need to bring her in.”

Emme turned and angled her chin his way. “Who?” she asked.

Shayna released her hair, her eyes widening as she glanced at Taran. Taran had stopped scrubbing and a spark of blue flame crackled above her head.

Oh shit.

I knew who it was even before Gemini answered. “Genevieve,” he said. “Tahoe’s head witch.”

—
“Fucking Genevieve!” Taran yelled for the fourth time.

She stomped around the kitchen in stiletto heels capable of skewering shrimp. In her defense, she managed to bite her tongue until the wolves left. If you knew Taran, that was one hell of an accomplishment.

“The wolves only mean to keep Celia safe,” Emme added.

Emme’s tone was gentle. Taran’s response? Yeah. Not so much.

“By using the same goddamn coven that tried to kill us when we first got here?” she screamed. “Screw that!”

“Well, technically most of the coven is new, seeing how the majority were impregnated by demons then eaten by their babies.” Shayna held up her hands when Taran scowled at her. “I’m just saying, dude, it’s a whole new batch of wand-wavers.”

Demon impregnation and consumption by said offspring. Yup, yet another conversation that was fairly common around here.

The Tribe—super-nasties made up of demon lords and disgruntled vamps and weres—was responsible for the demon infestation. Thankfully, they were beaten down by those of us in the Alliance. “Alliance” was more of a polite term than anything real. In general, head witches, master vamps, and were Leaders didn’t play nice. Too many supernatural muscles flexing in one room did not polite conversation make.

The weres and witches, though, had the whole obligation-to-the-world thing bonding them, usually leaving the vamps as the odd ones out. Not that the vamps cared. They had power, supermodel beauty, mattresses stuffed with hundred dollar bills, and sex with ridiculously good-looking humans to make them feel better.

As head witch, Genevieve had frequent interactions with Aric as a were Leader. But during the war against the Tribe, Aric had Gemini deal with Genevieve more and more, something that hadn’t fared well with Taran.