Broken Curse

13

“Don’t you dare apologize for it.”

She did like to be involved in the drama.

We pulled into the Holiday Inn parking lot, and within minutes, we were walking into our room where everyone else was.

Ada and Honor had taken one of the queen-sized beds, with Sunny, Gabby, and Ivory sitting on the other. Ivory sat on the edge, leaning against Remus’s chest while he rubbed her shoulders. Logan sat in the small desk chair. The desk was right next to the television, and they had it turned so everyone could see.

The thin carpet, with its large alternating squares of neutral colors, was the same as in any cheap hotel room. A white comforter was on each bed, with a wooden headboard, and a box platform beneath it. Between the beds was a small wooden end table that held two lamps and a phone.

“Are they heading back home?” Remus asked, removing his hands from Ivory’s shoulders.

“Slight change of plans.” I joined Ada and Honor on the bed and noticed the makeup and brushes laying on the comforter. “They’re going thirty minutes east in case something happens and we need backup.”

“Three witches can be adequate backup?” Logan rolled the chair around to face me.

“Yeah, especially if the pack isn’t expecting them.” They could hold their own. “They didn’t get hurt in the last attack.”

“I guess that’s something.” Gabby shrugged. “It’s getting late. We should begin tracking them.”

“Let’s cover up Emma’s mark too.” Honor turned her head and pointed to her unblemished skin. “We figured we needed to use some concealer to hide the mark in case our hair moved out of the way.”

“Smart woman.” I turned and moved my hair to the side so she could work on me.

“Emma and I need to go by different names.” Aidan scratched his nose. “The alpha knows my dad and brother.”

“What should we call you?” Beth’s shoulders shook with laughter. “Romeo and Juliet?”

“How about James and Angel?” Aidan suggested. “Dad called me my middle name, James, from time to time, and Angel is one of her nicknames. That way it’s not a lie.”

“Yeah, fine.” Logan flipped through his phone, disinterested.

Honor dropped her brushes and smiled. “Done.”

“Good, we shouldn’t be late.” I’d wanted to rest for a few minutes before leaving, but we had no clue where to find them, and I was hoping we’d find the girl on our way.

Why are they in our room? Aidan frowned, his gaze catching mine.

Remember, it’s Beth’s room too, and they’re hanging out. We should be happy. The more time they spent with one another, the more they’d be invested in the cause. We all needed to be friends.

I guess you’re right, but they could’ve done it in their room. Aidan intertwined his fingers with mine. Beth is a handful on her own, let alone the entire group.

They were waiting on us. Maybe all of this would work out after all. Even Gabby and Logan weren’t being as combative. “You guys ready?”

Sunny jumped to her feet and grinned. “Yeah, let’s do this.”

I wished I shared her enthusiasm, but I couldn’t help but feel we were walking into a trap. They had something up their sleeves, and it wouldn’t take us long to figure out what.

W

e piled into the two vehicles with Beth driving the other Suburban. The single ladies had taken that vehicle while the fated couples rode with Aidan and me.

Any idea which direction we should go? Aidan pulled onto the road from the parking lot.

Not really. I didn’t feel the tug yet, but we had a bigger fish to fry. Let’s head to the woods. I pointed to the part of town we hadn’t ventured into yet.

Ivory rolled down the passenger window in the middle row. “Let’s see if we can pick up any scents as we drive by.”

Great idea. Remus, Aidan, and I followed her lead.

Gabby glared at the windows. “We can’t roll the windows down back here.”

“It’s not a big deal. There’s enough wind blowing through the car that we’ll be able to pick something up too.” Logan wrapped an arm around Gabby and pulled her close.

They weren’t being ornery … yet. We drove through the quaint, beautiful town. The leaves were changing colors, and people milled about in the streets, their bulky jackets keeping out the chill. Older but well-maintained brick buildings made up most of the town.

“Do we know what to expect?” Remus kept his attention glued on the people we were passing.

“Not really.” I doubted they’d do something when we first got there. My gut told me this was an expedition meeting. “We should be okay, but we need to be on guard. Since we were with witches, they’ll be watching everything we do.”

Ivory bit her lip. “It would be really helpful if we had a pack link so we could communicate amongst each other.”

“But to do that, we’d have to choose an alpha.” I agreed with her but choosing an alpha could be tricky. I didn’t want us to be at each other’s throats.

“That’s no problem for me.” Ivory placed a hand on my shoulder. “I already view you as our leader.”

Her words felt heavy on my shoulders. I didn’t want them to think I was pressuring them to choose me. “Thank you, but if we decide to go that route, we’ll need to all be in agreement with who the alpha is.”

“Ivory is right, though. It should be you.” Remus was on the same page as his mate.

Gabby fell back against the chair and frowned. “Just because she found us doesn’t mean she should be the one.”

And this proved my point.

“You think you should be the alpha?” Ivory turned, glaring at the wolf shifter. “You’re angry and, dare I say, combative just for the fun of it.”

Ivory’s reaction shocked me. Her demeanor reminded me so much of Amethyst—warm, kind, and loving.

Logan blinked. “What happened to the meek girl back at the hotel?”

Something pulled at me unexpectedly and took my breath away. “I feel her.”

“Which way do I go?” Aidan clutched the steering wheel.

“Stay on course.” This was the strongest tug out of all of them.

“It’s almost hard to breathe.” Gabby rasped and slumped against Logan.

That described it perfectly. The tug filled me so much that it felt like my lungs didn’t have room to expand.

I sagged against the car door, attempting to stay upright, and grasped the door handle to ground myself.