Page 48 of Predator

Now?

Get the hell out of here.

“I don’t care about your coven,” I tell her honestly. “I just want to protect the pack.”

It’s true. It doesn’t matter that I’m part witch, part shifter, or that a touch from her triggered my magic just now. Marie is the one who seems to think I have to choose being a witch if I want to end this curse, once and for all. Even if I wasn’t able to shift into a wolf, or if I could conjure up magic as easily as she seems to think I should be able to, it doesn’t matter.

From the moment I felt that tug between Lucas and me, pulling me toward the Alpha… I will always side with the wolves of Winter Creek.

Marie scoffs, momentarily losing her gentile and haughty nature. Then, with a wave of her hand, she gestures at the low table beneath the window, disappearing the topmost covering.

What I thought was a lump of fabric turns out to be a large golden werewolf sprawled out on her side. Unmoving, maybe even not breathing, I recognize her instantly.

No wonder the others couldn’t find Jade. How could they when she was tucked away inside of the coven house.

“This is where you throw your loyalty?” snaps Marie. “To them?”

“What did you do to Jade? Is she—” Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit… I swallow my rising panic and spit out: “Dead?”

“Elle n’est pas morte.” She says that impatiently before adding, “But she’s lucky not to be. One of my witches found her on our territory. Spying, as I understand. Trying to find our weaknesses so she could bring them back to your Alpha. Silly girl. She called it loyalty. As if a shifter knows the meaning of the word.”

Tell me how you really feel, Grandmere.

But she’s wrong. For all her faults, Jade is loyal—and she still looks like she’s dead.

She isn’t dead, echoes the part of me that is still Jolie. That’s what Marie said in French. That Jade isn’t dead.

I’ve grown used to silencing it; if not that, then ignoring it. It was rough at first. After two weeks trapped as a wolf, it was bad enough that I needed to remember being human. Having memories of two distinct lives was driving me freaking nuts until I made the conscious decision to move on.

That’s what I do. What Fallon does. I put it behind me, looking toward the future instead. I have Lucas. Every day I spend with him, every night I sleep by his side… the more I instinctively know that there isn’t anywhere else I’d rather be. Then there’s my friendships with the pack. I can see Eleanor becoming one of my best friends, while Kirk is a great wolf to chat with over a cup of coffee.

And Tristan… things are still awkward, sure, but something tells me it’s for a whole other reason. He has his own demons he’s battling, and when he needs someone to talk to, he knows I’m here. If anything, wearing Lucas’s bite on my neck just makes it easier for him to recognize me as his Alpha’s mate instead of a single woman who might be interested.

I like that about the wolves. Things are either black or white. No shades of grey for the shifters. You’re either an enemy or you’re pack. Someone to fight or someone to protect.

I’m either Fallon or Jolie.

I’m Fallon. I appreciate Jolie’s ability to translate French if only so my heart can kickstart again and go back to beating… but just because Marie said Jade isn’t dead, I’d be a fool to take her at her word.

After all, she’s already proven she can lie straight to my face, only to chide me for not being witch enough to tell…

I throw Marie a doubtful look, then cross the room so that I’m standing in front of the table. Jade’s eyes are closed. I never thought I’d miss seeing those too-green peepers until I’m staring down at the eerily still wolf and her eyes are closed.

Beneath her sleek fur, I’m not so sure she’s even breathing. I shove my hand in front of her snout, relieved when I feel a whisper of air against my fingers. Other than being still, she looks okay, though I do notice she has an inch-wide, shimmering metallic collar in place around her neck.

What the?—

“Jade? Wake up. Jade!”

“She can’t hear you. She’s resting.” Marie pats her chignon though it’s as perfect as ever when I glance over at her again. “A little spell to keep her quiet, and a silver collar to remind her what she is.”

I clench my fists. “Yeah? And what’s that?”

“A dog.”

At the insult, my hands glow even brighter as the points of my claws dig into my palms. Peering over at Marie, I see that she’s smiling softly now. Whether it’s because she’s using my emotions to manipulate me to force me into using magic or she just enjoys putting down the wolves, I’m not sure.

But I do say, “Let her go. Give me Jeannie, too, and you won’t have to worry about any dogs in the coven house.”

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