“True, but you were going to hand me over to some sort of sick, demented asshole.” No matter how he tried to make it sound, he still wasn’t truly protecting me. He just didn’t want me to die, and honestly, that could’ve been because he didn’t want the wrath of the big boss. There was a truthfulness to his words, but I had to be careful. I was desperate to connect with him—after all, he was the only blood family I had left. But I was still wary. I would keep that in mind moving forward.

“Wow. Now that you mention it, you two look similar, but, damn, your personalities are completely opposite. Ugh. I want to ask so many more questions, but I have to get to work,” Sierra said as she leaned over, tying her tennis shoes. “This conversation is not over.”

“Be careful.” I was pretty sure she hadn’t officially been lumped in with us by my enemy, but there had been times when we’d been watched and hadn’t been aware. If she didn’t show up to work, that would raise questions, so we were in one of those impossible situations where there wasn't necessarily a good choice. “If anything seems suspect, link with Killian and let him know.” The fact that we all weren’t linked was getting very inconvenient. There had to be a way to at least have our group interconnected.

Luckily, we didn’t have to keep Sierra and Rosemary hidden like Julius. The guards wouldn’t find it strange to see them coming in and out, as they’d been staying with us for a while.

“Of course.” Sierra stood and hugged me, then went to the front door. “I’m heading over to my house to grab my car, and if you guys need me, don’t hesitate to contact me.”

The four of us watched her walk out. I welcomed the silence, trying to gauge how I felt. I understood both sides of this argument.

Our bedroom door shut, and Griffin strolled into the living room a few seconds later. He scanned the room, taking in the varying stances and body language. “What’s he done now?” Griffin sighed as he turned toward Julius.

To prevent either side from starting, I jumped in. “Julius wants to go back to my pack neighborhood and get a feel for what the place was like before everyone died.”

“What?” Julius gasped as his face went pale. “The entirepackis dead?”

“Like you didn’t know.” Rosemary snapped. “Don’t even try to come off innocent.”

Being a silver wolf was his only saving grace with Rosemary. She clearly didn’t like him, never mind her mother’s strong words about protecting our kind.

“But you said it was only our parents!” He blinked and swallowed, and I saw a suspicious glimmer in his eyes. “I had no idea that the pack was annihilated. They promised—” He cut himself off, as if realizing he’d already said too much.

“Whopromised?” Griffin pushed up the sleeves of his mustard-colored shirt like he was preparing to fight.

“No, you have to be lying.” Julius raised both a palm and his voice. “This has to be a sick game you’re playing.”

Each side accusing the other was unproductive; we could go back and forth like this all day. “No one is lying,” I said. “We’d all know if we were. We’re supernaturals, for God’s sake.” And if we wanted him to trust us, we had to give him a reason. One that wasn’t convenient for us. Besides, I felt a tug to go home, too, now that the topic had been brought up. “I think we should take Julius back to the neighborhood. Besides, I’d like to find where they buried the dead.” I glared at Julius. “But you have to give us something after this. Do you understand?”

My words hung in the air.

“If what you say is true, then I might be more inclined.” Julius nodded, though he still wasn’t committing.

Killian’s shoulders slumped, and Rosemary placed a hand over her stomach as she sat upright.

God, I’m such an asshole.Griffin wrapped an arm around my waist, and regret wafted from him.I hadn’t even thought about that. You haven’t gotten any closure or a chance to say goodbye.

His simple statement was obvious, but I hadn’t been able to nail down the negative emotions coursing through me.

Until him.

“Well, I guess that means we’re heading to your pack house.” Killian pinched the bridge of his nose. “But we need to be careful this time.”

“I’ll fly ahead.” Rosemary stood and headed toward the back door. “Wait to hear from me before you drive into the neighborhood. I’ll meet you at the entrance.”

“Thank you.” I hoped she could feel my sincerity. One day, I’d have to do something to pay her back for all she’d risked and done for us. “We’ll be there shortly.”

“See you soon.” Rosemary exited the house.

“Okay, if we’re going to do this, we have to be smart.” We needed to get out of here with Julius staying hidden. “Griffin’s Navigator is our safest bet. Julius can lie down in the back so none of the guards see him.”

“You do realize some of the guards are going to want to come with us.” Griffin pushed his shoulders back as he rubbed his fingers together. “What do we tell them?”

“That we have something that we need to do alone.” Killian and Griffin were their alphas. It was as simple as that. “As long as you don’t come off unsure, they won’t challenge you.”

“And we can reassure them that we’ll link them if anything goes wrong.” Killian shrugged.

“Fine. Let’s just get this over with.” Griffin bared his teeth at Julius. “One wrong move, and I’m bringing our asses back here.”