Page 26 of Wolf's Claimed Mate
I hesitated. “I’m going to meet Jackson.”
“No,” she said. “Sasha,no.”
“Lia, he’s not dangerous,” I told her flippantly. “I need information from him, is all. He’s been skulking around, as I’ve just mentioned. I need to know if he’s back in the pack.”
I didn’t mention the contract; I’d kept that to myself.
“Take Conall,” she said. “He’ll prot—”
“Protect me?” I cut her off sharply. “No, Lia. I’m going alone. It’s easier if he thinks I’m not affiliated with you all. I just—need to talk to him.”
She gave me a softened look. “Will you be okay?”
I’d gotten her through her rejection but had never quite let her into the details of my heartbreak. I’d been a mess, she’d known that, but she hadn’t known quite how messy I’d been, attempting to detach my co-dependency issues. I’d wholly turned to Kato’s pack, throwing myself on their willing arms, attending every dinner out of town, every gala and party they went to. I was their prize leopard shifter. A lot more of a prize than I’d ever realized.
“I’ll be okay,” I said.
“If he confirms he’s involved with them, I want you out of there immediately, in case he isn’t alone,” Thalia warned. “I don’t think any of Kato’s pack will spare you.”
Except they would.
I wondered if their goal written in the contract was still in progress or if this new woman they’d met with was their new focal point.
“I know them, Lia,” I told her. Softly, I added, “They were my home once.”
Chapter 12 - Conall
After Sasha left the meeting, we finalized every bit of detail we’d gotten.
Printed social media posts and headlines littered the pinboard. Like Fenrys, Kato had always valued looking good in public, being part of a community, being a benefactor, getting people on his side until he reeled them into his darker criminal games. No doubt he’d passed that onto his pack.
I looked at the picture of Jackson, cocking my head. There was something ingenuine about his eyes, the way he looked like a starved dog who might bite for food or roll over and ask properly, never knowing which it would be. After mulling over it, I didn’t tell Fenrys about Sasha being spooked in the office. I should have—I’d crowed about my loyalty to Fenrys the entire time we spent together, but I couldn’t bring myself to share it. It could have personal, nothing to do with us. Her reaction had definitely been personal. No, whatever she’d found was hers to keep for now. She still hadn’t told me any details.
We wrapped up the meeting. I was thinking of heading out to wait Sasha’s shift out to propose another stakeout but Thalia pulled me aside first.
“If I were you, I’d clear my day to go to Jack’s diner instead,” she told me quietly. “Sasha’s headed there to meet with Jackson.”
My stomach dropped. No. No way. The man was proving himself to be dangerous. Why would she be sostupid? And she’d lied!
“She’d never ask you for help, nor me, for that matter,” Thalia continued. “She says she knows the pack, and Jackson, but I’m worried for her safety. She’s… Headstrong, and keepsrefusing any help, even just backup. Please go with her. Argue with her if you need to in order to stay but just don’t let her be alone with him.”
Even if Thalia hadn’t asked me I’d have gone.
I nodded dutifully. I would never direct order from my Luna either way. I left the house and raced to Jack’s diner.
***
It was ten minutes until ten-thirty. True to Thalia’s tip-off, Sasha was sitting in the booth we’d sat in days ago. Anger rose up in me at being lied to, but I tampered it down as I pushed my way into the diner. Sasha’s back was to me but I saw her flinch, clearly anticipating someone else.
A couple filed in behind me. The bell above the door rang again, Sasha flinched a second time. The diner was busy; clearly, she wasn’t relaxing at all while waiting.
I approached her booth. “Well, well, thisisa funny-looking bookstore shift.”
Eyes flicked to us. In a small town, everyone was everywhere in everyone’s business. Rumors of the wolf and the leopard dating spread like wildfire. At my glares, they quickly looked away. Sasha stiffened before she slowly turned to look at me.
“Conall.”
“Sasha.”
