Page 15 of The Sacred Wolf

“This isn’t over.” He pointed at Tony “But this could be about my mother, so I have to take it.”

He turned away, and I stepped up beside Max, sensing he might still need a barrier between himself and the self-important male-model-wannabe smirking at us. The older male flashed a tight but grateful smile and wrapped one arm around my shoulders. He glanced down at my collection of movie fonts and shook his head with amusement. “Where do you do your shopping, Elyse?”

“What?!” Sebastian’s voice rose behind us, and so did my hackles. “Yes, I’ll be right there, Kenzo. Of course, yes.” He hung up, muttering under his breath, and shot a death glare at Tony. “Well, good luck controlling your humans now,” he said. “Because there’s been another attack. This time in broad daylight.”

The room erupted with questions, and Julius bounded to his feet. “Where?”

“Washington Square Park. Right by NYU.” Sebastian’s jaw clenched. “Students.”

Julius sat back down, though this time with more of a plop than a demure perch.

“How many dead?” Yeh murmured, his gaze growing distant.

“More than a few.” Sebastian covered his mouth. “Mostly freshmen.”

My stomach twisted as I pictured mangled bodies in shredded college T-shirts and bloodstained Converse sneakers lying next to backpacks stuffed to the brim for finals they would never take. A soft wail left Gigi’s lips and Blaze, usually the consummate image of propriety, used the word that made him laugh when I uttered it.

“Maybe it’s time we all worked together on this instead of bickering,” Sebastian added. “Dad, I have to go. You stay here to work this out.” He turned to me. “Elyse, you’re coming with me.”

“What? Why?” The words were out of my mouth before I gave them a thought. Why was resistance my default setting with him these days?

“Because I said so,” he growled.

Oh. That’s why.

My resistance deepened. The only one who’d ever been able to order me around like that was Kiana, and those days were now officially over. My wolf stirred again, rippling beneath my skin like an itch. Perhaps she didn’t find his wolf quite as interesting now.

“Can’t I do some good here, helping Blaze represent the Bronx?” I took a step toward my one-time beau, which turned out to be a mistake because Sebastian’s nostrils flared with blatant jealousy. Not a good look. Not like the furry ear thing.

“You don’t represent the Br—” Gigi said.

“Oh, give it a rest, Beta.” I snapped. Just who did she think she was?

“Elyse.” Sebastian grasped my arm. “Now.”

“Sebastian,” Max scolded gently, but I didn’t need his help.

I slapped Sebastian’s arm with my claw tips out, leaving four neat rips in his Armani suit. Gigi sucked air through her teeth like she’d been personally wounded. Sebastian released me, and I stalked past him toward the door. “Let’s go.”

There was nothing I wanted to do less than go see a pile of dead human pups, but I couldn’t pass up this chance to be alone with Sebastian and sort some of our own shit out. His dress shoes clacked loudly as he hurried to catch up with me, and I gauged his speed precisely to let the first set of doors slam in his face. But when I reached the massive doors that led outside, I paused and crossed my arms. All those muscles had to be good for something.

He dutifully complied, and together we stepped into the blinding afternoon light. Alone for the first time since our disastrous movie date. We looked at each other. The rips in his sleeve fluttered in the breeze.

“Did I hurt you?” I asked.

He rubbed his arm. “No.”

“If you’re lying, I’m sorry.” I rested my hand on top of his. “But I will tell you when I want your hands on me again. Not a finger in the meantime. No excuses.”

“I’m sorry too.” He lowered his head and a swath of hair fell across his forehead, potentially speeding up the timeline of what I’d just implied. “I’m just so—What if he hurts her? Or worse, what if he uses her to hurt someone else? It would kill her if she realized that after we got her away from him… if we get her away from him.”

“We will.” I gripped his hand. “Even if we have to search every inch of every borough ourselves. Even Staten Island.”

He laughed roughly and drew both hands to his face, pretending to be rubbing the tension from his forehead, but I caught the way his pinkies swiped the corners of his eyes. When he was finished, he reached into his inner jacket pocket and withdrew a pair of wire-frame spectacles and slid them up his noble nose. “Alright. Let’s go.”

“Wait.” I unclipped my shades from my shirt collar and did the same. “Okay.”

His lip twitched, and he reached back into his jack and withdrew a rumpled newsboy cap. He plopped it onto his head, and then snugged it down front and back, pushing his waves into feathery curls over his ears. My breath caught in my lungs.

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