The lush, soft grass near the Southern packhouse pressed in between every toe on Lumi's paws as she ran at a furious pace. Wind whipped in her face from the frenetic pounding of her paws.

We didn't know where we were going, but she put as much distance between us and the packhouse as possible... between us and Caleb.

I should've seen it.

He's with Alpha Fenris, Beta Baron, Gamma Erik. Loyal snakes.

Even Solomon trusts him. And I... I am an idiot.

The muscles in Lumi's legs and shoulders warmed as her strides lengthened. Despite running at her top speed, she slipped into an even rhythm of movement. Her chest cavity expanded with her deep breaths, surging her forward while I took a mental and physical back seat. Her thoughts were quiet but her emotions jumbled into a mess.

Fine by me.

Now wasn't the time when I wanted them disentangled.

Under any other circumstances, this was an enjoyable day for a run, despite how the hot air was thick with humidity. The sun shone overhead in a clear blue sky, grasses tickled Lumi's underbelly, and birds chirped. Lumi's nose twitched at the smells of the rich soil and wild grasses growing out of it.

Despite her white fur, the overhead sun combined with the humidity raised her body temperature. Her mouth parted and her breath shortened to pants but she showed no signs of slowing down.

Do whatever you want, Lumi.

I'm done adulting for a while. You do it.

She stayed silent, including an excluded 'Not mate' I hoped to elicit from her when pushing my close proximity to Caleb. When she didn't say anything, a false hope flashed through me, until extinguished by Caleb himself.

Hee's a traitor to his family and mine.

Rustling sounds twitched Lumi's left ear and her nose picked up a slight upwind scent. Within a flash, she stopped with grounding paws. With a low growl, she braced herself a split second before a large, reddish-brown male wolf's jaws snapped at her.

A wall of heat and pheromones hit us right when his body slammed into her side. Almost crushed under his weight, momentum shoulder-rolled us over a few times together. Snarls vibrated her chest as she landed on her back in the grass. Like instinct, she pushed her hind feet into his soft underbelly and tossed him off.

He landed shakily, then lowered his head, curled up his lips, and revealed his sharp teeth. Like sharp, brown spikes protruded from neck to tail as his hackles raised. With a snarl, he lunged and reached for Lumi with claws extended and full-force intentions that he buried them into her flesh.

The vibrations of her growl radiated out of her chest cavity and rippled through the rest of her body. Her muscles tensed in anticipation, her heart beating like a drum. At the last moment, she side-stepped his lunge and sank her canines into his shoulder. Delivering a non-fatal bite, she locked her jaws until the warm taste of his blood flowed over her tongue and his howl of pain seared into her ears.

With one shove of his giant paw into the center of her chest, he pushed Lumi off with a snarl. They spaced apart and faced off, as neither backed down. His large paws padded into the grassy ground while he paced back and forth. His eyes tracked Lumi's similar movements like he considered an alternative approach.

"Samuel, no!"

A loud voice barked out and, to my dismay, Caleb stepped in front of Lumi with arms stretching wide. His eyes stared down the wolf, who growled. Based on their stare-off, Caleb must have mindlinked with the wolf, who kept his attention focused on Lumi but paused his movements.

Caleb had taken enough time that he dressed in jeans and a leather coat. I wasn't sure how he didn't sweat to death in this oppressive heat. In fact, he didn't show a drop of sweat anywhere.

I also had no idea how he caught up so quickly. Now that he had, Lumi's annoyance swirled with mine, but waves of other emotions from her crashed over mine. Through Lumi's eyes, the muscles in his neck and shoulders tensed through whatever mindlinked argument he had with the brown wolf.

With her eyes, we saw through him. Caleb's veil of lies was thinner and an invisible pull also drew Lumi to him. Despite his stone-hard appearance, buried emotions wrestled in turmoil, like a blocked presence tried to break through the surface of his consciousness.

Latching onto that hidden presence, Lumi pushed out, not to me but Caleb.

'Mate.'

He either heard her in his mind or sensed her attempted contact, because his head turned. The moment his attention was distracted, the brown wolf dug in his hind feet and lunged again.

In a slow-motion movement, the brown wolf's paw extended and swiped at Caleb's torso. The contact slammed his body sideways, a sound of ripped flesh pricking Lumi's ears. A sickening sound erupted from the back of his throat when he hit the ground. His stomach etched with deep, raw opened slashes that bled into his tattered shirt.

Uh-oh. Lumi, don't -

On instinct, Lumi pounced on the brown wolf with a near-feral tenacity. Her side angle caught him by surprise and her jaws latched around his throat. She bit down hard enough that the threat of a harder bite left him immobilized. His growl vibrated into her teeth, which tempted her enough that she sank them deeper. Her jaws remained locked until he yelped and limbs sagged in submission.

She dropped him to the ground, then stood over Caleb. Paws planted, she lifted her head and fanned her ears. Growling, a storm of authority radiated from her like an aura, which even I felt in her mind.

'Not mate. Submit.'

I wasn't sure if the brown wolf, Samuel, heard her, but he lowered his head, tucked tail, and bounded off. Her pride swelled as her eyes tracked his retreat, ending with a snuff.

Her emotions bonded with mine when her eyes took in Caleb's state. Waves of sympathy and uncertainty hit me. She approached his half-reclined, half-seated position with slow, cautious steps. A whine tickled her vocal chords.

One of his hands clutched over his ripped shirt, soaked crimson with blood, while he braced his body weight on his other elbow. The smell of iron released another whine from Lumi and she lowered down. Shuffling forward, she approached until she laid at his side. Nudging his shoulder back, he groaned and pushed her snout away.

A deep growl vibrated her chest and she pushed him down again, stronger until he relented with a groan.

"You're as much of a stubborn pain as Zara," he croaked out, wincing under his own gut-clenched laughter.

Lumi's ears pulled flat, she lowered her head. The warm taste of iron hit her taste buds as she ran her tongue over his wounds.

"Beyond gross - " he started when another growl shut him up.

I should've let you deal with him, Lumi.

She ignored me too, licking him like a momma cat bathed a kitten, an accurate comparison given their size difference. Lumi's tongue washed away the extra trails of blood and his wounds sealed. Far from healed, they looked much less gruesome than before receiving Lumi's attention.

The surprise in Caleb's wide eyes reflected what I felt, as his fingers trailed over his wounds like he hadn't believed what had happened. Lumi snuffed, laying her head down in his lap. His shoulders tensed under her contact, but she wouldn't have moved her head if he tried.

Warmth spread through both layers of her fur, into her undercoat and skin underneath when his fingers stroked up the sides of her snout, over her forehead, then his palm rested between her ears. She rolled her eyes shut and for the first time, a sense of calm, content happiness relaxed through her.

"He's your mate." Elena's hazel eyes blazed at me. Her smile was so wide, it creased lines into her cheeks and eyes. "Everything you said, you felt, the romantic pictures he kept of you, Lumi's actions, he has to be."

Did she say... romantic? What books is she reading lately?

The two of us sat across from each other at a small, round, two-person dinner table in the Southern territory's farmhouse-style kitchen. Elena looked a lot better. Her plate was half-filled compared to mine, with bland carbs, but she ate between sips of water. Her cheeks were fuller with more coloring, the bounce returned to her brown curls, and she radiated a quiet, inner glow of satisfaction that I saw and felt.

Mommyhood looks good on her.

Even if her judgment on what's romantic is skewed.

My reunion with Elena was delayed because Cole hogged her to himself the first day here. She stopped by my room before dinner and insisted we ate together. I updated her on the lab, Solomon, and Caleb.

Despite her own hasty departure from the Western territory, her and Rose's trip was relaxed and uneventful. Her tidbit of gossip was Errol, Simon's teenage son, wailing about being worried about Tobias and Raina threatening to let him walk if he didn't stop.

They arrived the day before us, where the entire pack was thrilled to meet Cole's mate. Her pregnancy was icing on the welcome party cake. Since then Luna Sierra insisted on her being on constant, pampered rest.

As Elena talked about her future plans, hoping to join the Southern territory since Cole was their future Gamma, twinges of jealousy gnawed at my heart. No part of me wanted Cole and I held no desire to be pregnant, but I was equal parts envious and happy for her finding her home, her family, her peace.

All I've got is... I have no idea. A rogue renegade brother and a possible mate who wants nothing to do with me except for lying and back-stabbing.

I didn't share Caleb's admission that he operated on my father's behalf with Elena. I wasn't sure why I withheld it from anyone but I did. My own theories, muddied from Lumi's adoration of the jerk, were mixed at best.

Maybe I want to see how things play out. He could be the key to bringing my father down.

Or maybe I'm delusional and wish it wasn't true.

"He's not acting like any mate I've -" I started but she held up one hand.

"Maybe he's got something up his butt and didn't expect you to be mates, but I refuse to believe otherwise." She frowned, popping a cracker in her mouth and chewing. "I wonder if he's got like some kind of block up or maybe it's his absent wolf issue?"

The words 'wolf issue' raised a snarl inside me from Lumi. Elena's mouth dropping showed me that growl had slipped out.

"Sorry." I hung my head at the outburst, my voice dropping to a shaky whisper. "It doesn't matter, Elena. He doesn't like me, or even trust me. He hides things, won't tell me the real truth, he hasn't even acknowledged anything between us. Lumi's mate radar is broken, so even if he's my mate..."

Elena's sympathetic expression blurred as my eyes pricked with tears. "...he doesn't want me."

"That..." She placed a warm palm on my forearm. "Is impossible to believe."

I had no answer for her words, blinking until my tears were reabsorbed. While I did, her eyes drifted down to her hand's contact on my arm and she frowned. "Are you okay, Zara? I swear you feel like you're burning up."

"It's so hot here and... oh, gawd." I paused and groaned into my sweaty palms. Since we left the Western territory earlier than planned, I hadn't looked at a calendar but at this point didn't need one.

"Lucky you." Elena pressed her lips together like she suppressed a smile and withdrew her hand. "That explains a random male going after Lumi. In heat, she's like a giant ball of catnip swung in front of unmated male cats. You know, even cuddling with your mate can help -"

"Heat aside, I'm fine on my own," I cut her off with a scowl. My chest lifted, then dropped with a sigh from getting nowhere convincing her Caleb was a lost cause. "What do you know about him though?"

"Only crib notes, which I'm sorry to admit are impersonal," she confessed with a sigh and knitted eyebrows. "Second born twin son of Alpha Sandolf and Luna Sierra. No one's seen his wolf. He's moody, sarcastic, and keeps to himself. He grew up in Theo's shadow because, well, let's be honest, Theo's like the size of a tree."

A really scary, angry tree.

"Have you seen him, Theo?" A sense of dread rose up in the back of my throat. "I mean, is Raina alive? It's been like two days."

"It's... a bit unorthodox, what Cole told me about their meeting." She giggled, propping up her chin in one of her palms. "But I have no doubt that, if anyone could put that big, tough guy in his place, then it's Raina."

"True." My eyes shifted to my plate, which appeared less appetizing, and I set down my fork. A weighted sadness pulled in my chest, so I rested my elbows on the table between us and sighed.

Elena reached across the table and rubbed my forearm. "Cheer up. It'll work out."

"I almost wish he'd reject me then we move on." Leaning over, I buried my head in my forearms. Elena's hand patted the top of my head.

I don't know what's worse, that I don't have a mate or I have one that doesn't want me.

This isn't at all like the werewolf romance books. I'd ask for my money back but they were free.

"Zara," the devil incarnate's voice spoke over me, lifting my head up. His eyes shifted to the open seat next to me. "Can I sit down?"

"Sure, Caleb." Elena deserved a glare for her foot kicking the chair closer to mine, so I sent her one. My traitorous friend ignored me, giving Caleb a bright smile and standing up.

All Caleb deserved from me was a frown, so I gave him one with my direct, "No."

"Zara," Elena chided me with a narrow-eyed look, then shook her head and abandoned me with her plate of carbs secured in her grasp. She walked about two feet away and called back to me, "Raina's back."

I bolted up from my seat at the news, then shoved Caleb aside. "Whatever you want, it can wait."

A flurry of activity spread into the hallways, which seemed a bit frantic response to Theo and Raina's return back. People rushed a few steps further ahead of me and Elena. Doors around the kitchen area were opened and slammed shut.

"Something else happened, I don't know what," Elena's hushed voice explained while we rushed back to the front foyer area.

"Where is he!?" A frantic female voice called out behind us. "Theo?"

Elena and I separated, then Luna Sierra flew in between us as she glided over the hallways' hardwood floors. Under her breath, we caught her, "If he did anything to that poor girl then, I swear..."

"Do you think they..." Elena and I both stopped in our tracks when we saw the new couple near the entrance doors. "Oh my."

A small crowd gathered near the base of the stairs, including Idris and Rose, who stood hand in hand. Theo's tall, wide frame towered over everyone and if I hadn't smelled his puffed out pheromones, then I would've sensed his testosterone-soaked pride from several meters away.

He stood behind Raina and, from a distance, they looked like a couple who had enjoyed a spa day together. Both wore white privacy robes, Theo's brown curls matted in all directions and Raina's dark hair hung down in clumped strings to her lower back.

As Elena and I edged closer, my lips parted with a gasp. Both Theo's eyes sported a shiner and his lip was split open. The side of his neck wore fresh claw mark wounds that traveled down where his robe concealed. His arms, hands, and bare feet were covered in dirt and dirt blood stains.

'He looks like was in a battle," I mindlinked Elena.

'Raina's not much better.' She hid a smile behind her hand.

For her part, Raina wore a black eye, her lips were swollen like a bee sting, and the entire front and side of her neck were covered with purple and yellow bruises. She took one step into Luna Sierra's outstretched arms, but then stiffened when a 'smack!' sound echoed through the pin-drop silence.

In what looked like slow motion, Raina's eyes stretched so wide that her dark irises were surrounded in white. In a blink, her expression morphed, eyes darkening and jaw clenching. She turned to the giant smirk Theo wore on his lips, placed her hands on his shoulders, then drove her knee right up in between his legs.

A collective groan from the males in the vicinity mimicked the one that Theo pushed out.

Ouch.

"Raina, right?" Luna Sierra stepped closer and went right past her half-hunched over son. "Welcome to the family."

Raina turned her dark eyes in our direction and kept them on me while Luna Sierra embraced her. Her voice was cold and emotionless with her only offered update.

"The war has started."

My blood chilled in my veins and a tremble shook my lower lip. Fingers shaking, I clasped them together and locked them.

No... Already?

The flurried activity, which hadn't stopped in the hallways, now made sense.

Red Valley is making their preparations.

"You heard it too?" Idris called out to Raina, who nodded.

Her dark eyes shifted back to Theo, who still groaned with both his hands clutching his family jewels. "You'll be fine. Get up, you big baby."

Theo's eyes shifted two shades darker. Small sparks of yellow dripped into his brown irises as his wolf surfaced. His lips curled up, but instead of a growl, he smirked at Raina then paused.

Her lips parted in a mirroring sneer. In one movement, one of his large hands clamped down on the back of her neck and he tugged her lips flush with his.

A collective gasp enclosed the space around them. Us spectators shared a similar level of shock, then discomfort when their forward form of intimacy increased. Raina returned the kiss with more passion than I knew she had in her entire body. My eyes averted to the floor, although I suppressed an urge to let out a 'Get it, girl!' cheer for her.

I felt Elena's raised eyebrows at me from her mindlink, 'Guess everyone has their own version of flirting. Caleb's rude comments don't look so bad, huh?'

'Not funny.' I refused to look at her, when my eyes were mesmerized by the chemistry between Raina and Theo.

Theo and Raina broke off for air, then his eyes darkened at her. "Be careful, hit me too many times like that and we might not be able to have eight pups."

Hold up. Did he say... eight?

Over three months, I'd never seen Raina's emotional feathers ruffled. In about five minutes, for lack of better words, Theo had... thoroughly plucked hers.

"What!?" Her screeched voice vibrated off the hardwood floors. Her fists squeezed white-knuckle tight while her dark eyes sized up his large build like his words deserved another knee into his... ego.

"I grew up as a..." He paused for a moment, like the realization that he almost made a personal admission in front of a crowd hit him. His large, bulky shoulders lifted up. "I want a large family. You've kicked my ass more times over the past forty-eight hours than anyone I've ever met, you can handle anything."

'So... Big guy's a softie family man inside?' My eyes shifted to Elena, who stifled a giggle behind a few light coughs.

'I've never seen Raina look so uncomfortable,' she replied. 'I can't tear away my gaze from these two. I always thought mates complimented each other but it's like they've been paired with the opposite sex's version of themself.'

When I couldn't have been more shocked, Raina's shoulders shrugged. Her lips parted into a rare, genuine smile directed at Theo.

"No more than six."

At her words, her mate looked at her with a level of warmth and softness that melted my heart.

Two hours after Theo and Raina's announced family plans, Elena, Rose, and I got her alone in my bedroom. Alpha Sandolf and Luna Sierra threw a celebration dinner in Raina's honor, making her the center of attention until we retired for bed.

In particular, the three of us wanted to know what her cryptic message about war had meant. After the last piece of cake was inhaled, Alpha Sandolf whisked her, Beta Eyolf, Idris, Cole, and Theo out of the foyer, which had left me, Rose, and Elena with mere speculations.

"Are you alright?" My eyes traveled over Raina's appearance, which looked worse up close. Her bruises were puffy and she had deep puncture spots where Theo marked her. "It looks like he choked you."

A slight shade of pink spread over her cheeks. "That's not from his hands..."

"Those are... hickeys?" I rubbed my own neck in sympathy.

Her dark eyes flashed with a new emotion, at least for her, rounding and averting. "I guess the guy had a lot of pent up... frustrations while he waited for his mate."

"Aww," Elena cooed. "That's so sweet."

"Yes." Raina nodded, then trailed her finger down her neck and winced. "At the expense of my, umm, neck. He's smug as fuck about it. I have my work cut out with that one."

"So, tell me..." I flopped stomach-down on my bed next to Elena, propped my chin in my palms, and eyed Raina. "When did you switch from badass warrior to denmother?"

"I think it's great." Rose sat down on my other side and pulled her thin lips into a smile. "I want four if I can control it."

"Zara is pretty for a girl," I teased her, earning me an elbow into my side.

"I don't need to justify my life choices, Flower," Raina snapped, sounding like the Raina I knew and loved.

My eyes studied her, like if I blinked then I missed seeing a sliver of this other, softer side of Raina. Her expression hardened and she paced with her arms crossed and fingers dug into her upper arms. "My pack is small, so having a small litter makes sense. But that's why I need to get to them. Mate or not, I'm useless here."

"Idris too." Rose sighed. "I can feel his wolf clawing to get out."

Raina frowned. "My personal life isn't important. Theo and I came back to relay my father's message that your father -" she pointed at me. "- attacked the Northern territory late this morning."

"Have you heard anything else?" My lower lip rolled under. "I haven't heard anything from Solomon, but assumed he was out of range."

With my best mental efforts, I reached out to Solomon until my forehead throbbed. After Raina's announcement, I sent out positive wishes for him to stay safe and I'd see him soon, but he didn't respond.

"Nothing." Her frown deepened and her fingers pressed. "My entire link with the Northern pack, even Lucus, is cut off. I don't know if it's from Theo marking me, but I can only link Idris."

"You don't think..." Elena and I both gasped at the idea that the silence meant the worst, that there was no one else for her to link to.

Her head shook. "I don't know but Theo and I are leaving soon. In five days, he's taking the Southern warriors to hit your father's Central packhouse. We ran all over this fucking territory, collecting whoever's within age across the farms. We told recruits to report here tomorrow for training while anyone who can't fight heads further south."

Pausing in her paced steps, she narrowed her eyes at us. "Which is where you three should be."

"Why can't people can't stay here?"

One look at Elena's face answered my own question, but she spoke up, "If the fighting comes here, I'm no help. The Southern territory is moving their most vulnerable, to a small, abandoned packhouse at the edge of the Southern sea."

"Hold up." My eyebrows raised. "There's a Southern sea?"

"If you'd paid attention to your geography lesson." Her hazel eyes rolled at me. "You'd know the answer is yes."

Maybe I would've... If they weren't so boring.

Elena continued. "Cole told me that the day after the ball, Sandolf is moving everyone from this house who can't fight to that location, to be farthest away from the fighting."

"So... That's where you're going?" My heart thundered in my chest and I pushed myself up to a seated position. Before she answered, my gaze shifted to Raina. "I'm coming to help fight."

"Not you, Flower." Her expression hardened into a scowl and she resumed her pacing. "Your fluffy white wolf will be a beacon in a battle. Plus, we have explicit instructions from Solomon -"

"Screw Solomon!" My spine stiffened and frustration boiled inside me. "This is as much my fault, if not almost entirely, and I'll be damned if I won't do something to stop it!"

Raina paused her foot traffic and faced me. Her eyes rounded and mouth corners turned down. "Flower -"

"I'm serious," I interrupted her. "Nobody here takes me serious but I know how to get to my father? I someone took him out then the Central warriors -"

"I vouched for you Zara but it was deemed too dangerous." She sighed. "After what Lumi did to the Western pathology lab, you're too important to Cassius. He's always going to want you for Solomon's bait."

Her words sunk inside me, pulling up feelings of dejection and guilt. I had no response since she was right, "Cole and Idris need you for something else anyway, Zara."

My eyes lifted and met hers. "Stealth mission?"

Next to me, Elena groaned. "Not exactly. Me and Rose."

"What about you?" I glanced sideways and caught her fingers stroking over her lower abdomen.

"You need to take them to the Eastern territory." Raina plopped on the floor and tucked her ankles under her crossed knees. "You've gone through the back roads and we need you to use them."

"Not south?" My eyebrows raised. "Like, south-south?"

"Cole and Idris both insisted their mates go to the place least likely to engage in any fighting. No offense Rose, but everyone knows that Alpha Stephen will bow down to Cassius before allowing his territory to be attacked. Hell, a quarter of Cassius' warriors are from the East."

"None taken," Rose clipped.

Feeling her tense, I changed the subject, "Where are the rest from, Raina?"

"Another quarter is from the North, although we were hoping they'd flip sides and convert back over." Her dark eyebrows pulled in a deep frown like she added up the numbers. "At least another one-third was taken from the South, almost none from the West. It's surprising how many aren't actually from the Central territory. Faelon and Sandolf are hoping for deserters but we'll see how far Cassius' claws have sunk in."

I fell silent for a moment, sharing my thoughts with Lumi.

They can't all be loyal, my father gives nothing.

If we took him out of position, then all those warriors could go to their real packs.

Since Raina blinked at me for an answer, I winked at Elena. "I'll get baby Zara there safely."

"Zara," Elena groaned quietly, but her lips flinched into a smile.

"What am I, chopped liver?" Rose bumped her shoulder against mine.

"You too, of course." I returned her smile. No one looked impressed with my next suggestion though, "That way I can try to convince them to join in."

"Doubt it. The only thing those crack pots are good at is sitting on the sidelines and serving themselves," Raina scoffed, then shifted her eyes between Rose and Elena. "No offense."

"None taken." Elena's eyes rolled. "I get it, I'm a historian. What am I going to do, hit someone with a book?"

"How thick," Raina started before all of us burst into giggles. Or, Rose, Elena, and I giggled while she scoffed. "Of a book."

"Rose..." I turned my head to her. "You're a healer though, shouldn't you go where the fighting is?"

"She should." Raina's eyes studied Elena's. "But Idris insisted. So did her family, apparently."

"They were..." Rose paused like she searched for the right word. "Very insistent."

"Why?" My eyes dropped to her concave belly. "Are you pregnant too?"

"Trying everything we can so I am," she whispered while a cute pink flush spread over the apples of her round cheeks. Her soft smile faded when she added, "It's too early to tell but Idris is worried..."

Tears rose in her eyes, choking off her words. She didn't need to say them, the rest of us filled in during the silence that followed.

That he'll never see her again.

"We don't know if that'll happen," Elena spoke up. The way her hand rubbed over her lower belly, I think she tried to reassure herself with her own words.

"One condition." Pressing my lips, I held back a smile. "No Zara wigs."

"I think the only one disappointed about that would be Rose." Elena smirked while Raina groaned.

"I thought I made a nice looking blonde." Rose giggled quietly, dragging the pads of her index fingers across her damp eyes.

"Right, then." I jumped off the bed so I could get packed right away. "When are we leaving? Tomorrow? Tonight?"

"Slow down." Raina's hands fanned the air. "Alpha Sandolf wants to keep false appearances up while Theo makes sure the warriors are ready. So... that damn ball is still on in three nights. We all leave the next day."

"Oh..." My heart sank at that reminder.

"My exact sentiments," she echoed, wrenching her face into a scowl.

"So, can I help with the training?" My spirits perked up at that idea.

"Are you sure?" Elena asked hesitantly.

"I think I'll be fine." I shot her a frown. "Besides, training gives me something to do between now and when we leave."

"Not the fighting part... Cole will be there," she offered, folding her hands in her lap. "But so will Caleb."

"Oh... him." I huffed. "I'm sure he won't even notice me. And, if not, then I'll ignore him."

Rose and Elena exchanged a silent look, smiling like neither believed me.

"Keep that near feral wolf of yours under control, and it's a deal." Raina nodded.

"Deal."