Page 175 of The Beta's Blind Date

“It’s Merina,” Taryn says. “She’s a hybrid.”

Maya nods and looks at her mom. “The spell went straight back to her, and she had a grimoire and everything.”

“What?” King Malachi asks. “There is no record of Merina being a hybrid or her mom being a witch.”

“She may have erased the traces, or maybe her family never reported her status,” Dr. Russo says. “Not everyone follows the rules like we did.”

“Why would she control Dominic?” Wesley asks.

“For Taryn,” I say, growling, my hands clenching the arms of my chair to keep my claws from extending or my wolf from forcing me to take off after Merina. “If she could control Dominic, then she could control Taryn, too. She could force him to alpha command Taryn to do whatever she wanted her to do since she isn’t his true mate.”

“But why?” Taryn asks.

I shrug. “Power? Control? Pups? Imagine an alpha lycan who also has healing powers.” Taryn’s hands cover her stomach and she leans into me more, shuddering. I cover her hand with mine and squeeze, my thumb stroking her skin and my lips kissing her shoulder. “Don’t worry. I won’t let Merina take our Sour Patch.”

“But it doesn’t work that way,” King Malachi says. “There must be a balance in everything. An alpha can’t also be a healer, because that is an imbalance of power. It’s why healers have smaller wolves—again, to balance their power. So, Taryn’s children won’t be healers, and most likely not even her grandchildren. The next healer in her family’s bloodline will be the first child born after Taryn passes away. That’s why she didn’t know healing ran in her family. The most recent healer in her bloodline before her was likely a distant cousin or something. We haven’t had time to research that yet.”

I breathe out, my body relaxing, relieved she won’t be after our pup. Or at least, not for that reason. We’re still not in the clear. “That doesn’t explain why she’d want to control Dominic. Or spell her entire pack so they couldn’t find their mates.”

“No. It doesn’t. And the only way we’ll get answers is from her,” Wes says, rubbing his chin. “As long as she doesn’t run.”

“She won’t,” Taryn says, shaking her head. “She has an image to maintain with the Silver Ridge members. And like Renée says, she knows it will implicate her if she runs. If she stays, that looks less suspicious. She doesn’t know we traced the spell. She only knows it’s not on Dominic anymore. We need to corner her and get the truth from her, get her to confess everything.”

“How are we going to do that?” I ask.

Taryn smiles, her eyes glittering. “We’re going to have a tea party.”

Chapter 60

TARYN

Istareatmyselfin the mirror of our walk-in closet, smoothing my hands over the knee-length pencil skirt of my off-white outfit. Butterflies swarm in my stomach, fluttering and tickling my insides, and my hands tremble, but I exhale and close my eyes, putting up my mask for the event today.

A low whistle sounds from behind me, and I peek through my lashes to meet Reid’s stare in the mirror, his blue eyes scanning over my dress and lingering on how it hugs the curves of my ass, thighs, and breasts. Heat and longing rise within me, and I turn to face him as he reaches me. He tugs on the peplum ruffle of my bodice, pulling me flush against him and lowering his lips to mine for a soft kiss.

“You look delectable,” he says.

I laugh against his mouth. “Thanks.”

“But what if you need to fight?” he asks, his hands skimming my hips and thighs. “This skirt hugs you in all the right places, but there is no way you can move properly should things end in a scuffle.”

“I’ll just rip a slit into it,” I say, shrugging.

He chuckles and cups my ass in his huge hands, giving it a squeeze. “That’s my girl.”

“Is everything ready?”

“Everything is prepared, and everyone is ready to play their part.”

“Do you think she suspects anything?”

“Luna Emily says she’s fidgety and flinchy, and on her guard, but she doesn’t think Merina knows it’s all a ploy.”

“Let’s pray to Selene she shows up,” I say with a sigh.

“She’s one of the hosts. She has to show up.”

I swallow and nod, then reach up on my toes to kiss him once more. “I should go,” I say, even though I’m right where I want to be.

---