Page 28 of Cruel Alpha Beast
“Of course, Lacey, anything,” Danielle says. “I’ll be right there—Oh, Monroe. Hey, sorry if we woke you up. I’m going to meet Lacey—You’re coming with? Great. Let’s go.”
Not even caring that I’m still in my old T-shirt and ratty pajama shorts, I slide into my sandals at the front door and carefully open it, then close it behind me until I’m alone on the porch.
The streetlights are on, guiding my path even though I know these streets like the back of my hand. Dawn is still hours away, and so the cold air and darkness enshroud me on my way to the path. When I reach our meeting spot, I can hear twigs breaking and feet trodding on the earth. Clad in pajamas, too, Monroe is rubbing the sleep out of her eyes as she follows her twin sister, who’s hardly more awake than she is.
“I’m sorry, you guys, but I had to see you,” I tell them, reaching forward to hug them both.
“It’s fine, Lacey,” Danielle assures me, a bulb of warm light hovering from her palm.
“Yeah, of course,” Monroe adds. “You would do the same for us. I know it.”
“So, what’s this about?”
I launch into a summary of my wicked dream, still feeling the woman’s flames licking my skin. Monroe’s eyes only widen as I speak, and Danielle keeps clenching her jaw tightly.
“I don’t know,” I conclude, shrugging my shoulders. “What do you guys think this could mean?”
Danielle and Monroe exchange glances.
“It could be a genuine warning,” Danielle suggests. “But if you kept feeling like something was off, then maybe that was your intuition telling you it was malevolent.”
“I still can’t believe she knew my name,” I murmur to myself.
Monroe looks at her twin again. “Should I tell her?”
Danielle meets her gaze and cocks her head to the side. “Might as well.”
“What is it?” I ask.
“Well, we’ve been doing lots of research since you and your husband came by,” Monroe starts.
I wince at the word “husband.” It still doesn’t feel right to call Sawyer that. I mean, heismy husband, but currently, it’s in name only.
“And we haven’t found a whole lot of information. But Danielle did some scrying, and we actually found this huge, gnarled willow tree right here in the woods,” she finishes.
“Oh, really?” I say breathlessly.
“Yeah, it’s not too far from here. Maybe half a mile,” Danielle adds, jerking a thumb to her right.
“There was a really bad energy to it, though. I didn’t want to stay there any longer than I had to,” Monroe says. “But yeah, we think it’s the willow tree from the legend.”
Before I can respond, I hear a rustling in the distance. All three of our heads turn toward the sound, and soon, a figure comes walking into sight. There’s a red bulb glowing in her hand, illuminating her thin nightgown and the strawberry blonde hair piled up on top of her head.
Violet.
“What are you all doing out here?” she asks in a groggy voice.
“I should ask you the same thing,” I shoot back. I still haven’t forgotten how she spoke to me the day prior.
“Well, I was asleep until I heard these two walking by my bedroom window,” Violet explains, glaring at both Danielle and Monroe. “Why are you sneaking around, meeting with thetraitor?”
For a moment, I’m confused. “Who’s a traitor?”
Violet turns her glare to me, wrinkling her nose as if she can smell something foul close by.
“Wait a second,” I mutter. “I’mthe traitor?”
“You’re the one who married thedog,” she scoffs.
