Page 48

Kinsey drives through our small downtown and parks in one of our public lots close by everything. She leads me out of the car, and her own phone pings. No doubt it’s Jonah, who’s been checking in with her, too.
She leads me toward a side street and stops in front of a small dress shop. I eye her. “What’s this?”
“I don’t have a dress for the ball, and neither do you.”
I scoff. “Yeah, pretty sure I’ll have to wear this,” I tell her, fingering the hem of my Greystone Academy skirt.
Kinsey turns up her nose. “Let’s hope not. You’re way too hot to be covered in that.”
The smell of vanilla filters through the air as soon as we enter the shop. The woman behind the desk greets us, only giving me a second glance to notice what I’m wearing. Kinsey takes charge. “We need two dresses for the Winter Solstice ball.”
The woman plants her hands together in front of her like she was put on this earth to do just that one thing. “I have a vast collection. Feel free to look around and take some off the rack. I’ll get two dressing rooms ready for you ladies.”
“Thank you.” Kinsey smiles, wrapping her arm in mine and dragging me through the store. It’s not that I don’t love the idea of dressing up, especially after having worn this for the last few days. Ever since I was a young pup, I’ve dreamed of dancing in a beautiful dress at one of the balls, but everything is so tainted by what’s going on right now that I can hardly find any enjoyment in this.
Kinsey spots me moping at the line of gowns and frowns. “Not that this will be your last hoorah, but if it was, wouldn’t you want an opportunity to wear a pretty dress to a ball before you go?” She lowers her voice. “Especially if Nathan’s going to be there.”
I blink at her, a solid plate of ice forming in my stomach.
She eyes me knowingly. “You could’ve told me,” she chastises.
I give her big, worried eyes. “How do you even know?”
She moves closer so there’s no chance that we can be overheard. “I see the way he acts around you. It reminds me of someone else I know,” she says wistfully, and I’m sure she’s picturing Jonah in her head.
“I didn’t want to bring you into that. It’s bad, Kinsey. We could—”
“It’s not like I’m going to say anything. I love you two together.” She flips through gowns on the rack like we’re simply having a conversation about the weather. “From this point forward, trust me with everything. I’m serious about helping. No friend of mine is going Feral. Especially one who helped me through one of the most difficult times of my life.”
I wrap my hand in hers, out of view from everyone else.
She squeezes me back. “Let’s pick out a few, and then we’ll talk strategy. Plus, I want to hear all about him,” she says. “We can talk boys.”
I chuckle and roll my eyes. Kinsey’s so different from the girl who showed up at the academy. I like both versions of her–the fierce one and this one. I only hope I have as much fierceness in me like Ms. Ebon pointed out. If I’m to survive this, I’m going to need it.
Kinsey and I try on dozens of dresses. She decides on a beautiful, shimmering, midnight blue that hugs her curves and ends on a small train. I choose a stunning black one that skirts the floor and laces all the way up the back into a collar around my neck. We both felt that the black suited me better than the purple one I’d also loved. Unfortunately, the purple in my hair and the purple in the gown clashed.
We sip from the glasses of wine that the store owner provided us as she rings up our orders. It was such a happy, carefree hour that it’s hard to step back out into the real world.
With the dresses in fancy garment bags, we make our way back to the car. Kinsey hangs both of them on the rear seat hooks and then starts to drive. When we’re out of town, she says, “Okay, let’s talk. I’ll just cruise, and you get everything out. And I mean everything.”
I don’t even know where to start. As much as I’d love to gush about Nathan the whole time, the reality is, I’m not sure if that’s what’s in my future. “I don’t know what I’m going to do, Kinsey. Lydia seems to have a hard-on for getting me out of the academy. Nathan and I thought I could just get Sean back, but that doesn’t seem to be an option now. So, I can go Feral or I can turn Sean in.”
“Sean should go down,” Kinsey grinds out. “Asshole. But there has to be another option besides Feral.”
“I wish,” I huff, rolling my eyes. “The hairdresser at Greystone mentioned some community of wolves that accepted Ferals, but that sounds like a bunch of fantasy bullshit. Who would do that?”
“Wait. What?”
I shake my head. “It doesn’t matter. Either way, I lose Nathan. We go Feral, we both die. We turn Sean and Gayle in, if by chance we find evidence, who knows what will happen to us. We’ll have to live in secrecy for the rest of our lives.”
“Mia, wait. This other community, that could be your ticket to safety. Yours and Nathan’s. If they accept Ferals, I find it hard to believe that they would care you weren’t really mated.”
“It’s only a rumor, Kinsey. I can’t stake my life on a rumor.”
“Humor me. What did Grace say?”
I blow out a breath. I shouldn’t have told her about it in the first place. I need real, concrete routes to take. She glares at me, and I crumble. “Okay. She says it’s in Twilight Pack. Well, not exactly in Twilight Pack. Near Twilight Pack. That’s the pack where the—”