Page 13

Billie

SO THIS IS not what I envisioned girl talk to be. Just gotta put it out there, because if this was what girl talk entails, I’d be talking to boys only. I’d much rather punch each other a couple of times, call it good with a fist bump, then share some beers and maybe a pack of frozen peas.

I’d also like to say I’m not a dimwit. In fact, I consider myself to be rather quick-witted, but my skill in thinking fast has been honed into very specific specialties: one-liners and heckling. I could pull those out of a lint filter. But when it comes to snide comments spoken through veneered smiles and unspoken digs with the wave of a hand, I’m not so well versed. However, I’m a quick learner, and thankfully I’ve got two experts locked in a room with me.

Luna Ophelia and I sat in chairs on the open side of the room, not behind the desk, leaving those open for “the ones in charge.” I sat in the back corner, while she positioned herself closer to the front of the desk, facing the door with her back against the outer wall. I took a casual posture, one leg swinging back and forth over the other leg tucked under me, while Ophelia reclined with legs crossed, hands neatly folded on her lap, and a look of boredom on her face. When Veronica was escorted in, Sutherland took it upon himself to explain to her the situation, further portraying the image of Ophelia and me having very little power and influence over the proceedings.

Veronica, in a long-sleeved, knee-length dark-purple dress that dips low in front and flows outward from her waist, spun on her nude heels, and assessed us with what I would call a smug-as-fuck grin. Her makeup is either tattooed on or she was allowed to freshen up before being brought in. She twirled back around and fluttered her lashes at Sutherland, saying in a haughty yet breathy voice, “Well, I guess I’ll wait for those who are important enough to see me.” Fanning out the bottom of her dress, she floated down into the chair directly in front of the desk, lifting the hem of her skirt way higher than needed before crossing her legs, leaving all that flesh exposed.

It must have only been five or ten minutes, but it felt like hours, before anyone spoke. With their words at least. From my position in the back corner, I watched a boatload of communication happening. The checking of one’s manicured nails. The spinning of a gold and diamond tennis bracelet. The twisting of a wedding band and large diamond engagement ring. The placing of hands over a barely noticeable baby bump—we’ve yet to find out who the father is. The adjustment of what looks like an antique silver brooch of a wolf’s head howling out. The derisive scoff. The tilting of a head and arch of a brow. The glow of blue eyes, and the brighter glow of copper eyes.

What has my contribution been? Well, let me tell ya. My unconscious, this is some good people watching contribution , broke the silence, with the ripping of foil so I could eat some fruit snacks while totally enthralled in the show. Forgetting that it was, in fact, not a show.

Jax’s mother spins her head around, glancing over her shoulder at me. Her hair is in a low bun, seemingly starched into place. Ever so slowly, she arches a sculpted dark-blonde brow, and her pink lips curve up on one side while a look of hunger and expectant triumph shines in her blue eyes. “My, my,” she practically sings. “I forgot that you were even here, hiding in the corner as you are.”

Not really sure what to say or how to play this game since I’m still learning, I maintain a blank face and hold her gaze while popping a strawberry fruit snack into my mouth to keep it occupied.

“Nothing to say?” she questions, sitting up taller and half twisting around to better face me, her arm draped over the back of the chair.

I manage to refrain from looking to Ophelia for guidance and instead keep my gaze on Veronica. Swallowing down the fruit snack, I ask, “What would you expect me to say?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” she preens. “How about how easy it was for your mate to be drawn away from you? How he followed Amber into the woods without a second thought. How he couldn’t even tell she wasn’t you.” She rubs her lips together like she’s debating saying something. I let my mouth drop into a frown and show a little hurt, when what I’m really feeling is angry—angry that my mate’s mother can, not just casually talk, but almost brag about her own son being sexually assaulted. She continues with a chin lift, “That your own mate doesn’t know your scent well enough to recognize the difference between natural and manufactured.” Is she saying they manufactured my scent? That’s interesting.

My brows furrow, and I probe, “Why would I talk to you about any of that? Amber was the one who assaulted him.”

“If you believed that, then why am I and Councilman Hogan here?” she counters with scorn in her voice.

Hoping that I’m playing this right, I slide my gaze to Ophelia and reply, “We didn’t have a say in who was brought in.”

Veronica smiles wide enough to show teeth, and she turns her attention back to Ophelia. “Ha,” she coos with a light laugh, splaying a hand over her chest. “Ha, it’s just too funny. You had no power when your mate ”—she says the last word with the bitterness of a shot of vinegar— “was alpha. Now your son has taken on the role, and you still have no say.” She recrosses her legs and fans out the bottom of her dress. “My, my, Ophelia, what a useless luna you turned out to be.”

I’m glad Veronica is no longer looking at me because I can’t control my jaw dropping to the floor in shock over what she just said. Xander’s mother, however, seems far better at dealing with these types of comments from Jax’s mother. “Oh, Roni,” Ophelia tsks with a saccharine smile curling her lips. “All William ever used you for was a hole, always willing to share you. And we all know you were more than willing to be shared. Do you truly think anything is going to be different with Hogan? I mean, what happens to you when he leaves?” Yup, these two have a history of verbal battles, and Ophelia just slayed.

“I’ll have you know he’s taking me with him.” Veronica snaps back, the little control she had clearly slipping. She inhales a deep breath and then breezily adds, “He’s even assured to have me listed with him under diplomatic immunity.”

“Taking you back?” Ophelia questions with half-raised brows. “And what do you think happens then? You arrive at the Midwest Pack, and he what?” She shakes her head and mockingly smiles. “He leaves Calista, his mate, his luna, for you? I don’t think so.”

“Oh, Ophelia, don’t you see,” Veronica chides. “All you lunas think that position means oh so much. In reality, you’re just a figurehead and nothing more. When the alpha seeks out real companionship from someone just as driven and”—she licks her lips— “passionate as himself, he shares with her. He includes her, not just in his bed but in his decisions, in his dreams and goals.” She waves a hand around. “Clearly this is a prime example, both of you just waiting for the alpha and his betas to come in. They’ve left you in the wings so they can attend business they’ve deemed above you.”

“Right.” Ophelia snickers. “Right, don’t act like you were let in on what William was working on, what he was doing with the labs, the various ventures with the humans and other pack alphas.”

Veronica’s face drops before she can correct it, and she immediately sits up taller.

I eat an orange fruit snack, and Ophelia takes the opening. “Oh, honey,” she teases, “did you think I didn’t know? Did you honestly think I didn’t know what William was working on? That he didn’t share those plans with me? You have no idea what happened between him and me in the privacy of our own home. I know how little he confided in you, and I’d wager Hogan’s shared far less.” She inspects her nails and offhandedly adds, “In fact, he probably helped Amber out with everything.”

“That is not true,” Veronica hisses. “William let me know about the testing, about the injections how they work, and what Decoction needed from us to continue to make progress.”

“Sure, sure.” Ophelia waves a dismissive backhand. “That’s not really surprising. Many of us know all about the injections. Many of us, including you and me, were the first to be tested on. Nothing new there. But what could you have possibly done for Hogan?” she muses, looking up at the ceiling. “Did you merely introduce him to Amber?” She places a hand over her chest. “Oh, I bet he was all too eager to meet Amber. She may be unstable, but she is beautiful.”

“His interest in Amber came from my insights,” Veronica argues, pointing a finger at her chest. “She came to me distraught. Distraught but not forlorn. Upset but determined to be with whom she knew she was destined to be with. A she-wolf with a vision and the grit to do what it takes to make that vision a reality.” Her voice hitches just a bit at the end, and I watch her dab a knuckle under her eyes while murmuring, “A girl that reminded me of myself at her age. But...”

Veronica lifts a finger, and all those threatening tears dry up under the flash of a dazzling smile. “She has resources I never had. She had me and Hogan. We were able to give her the injections, and clever as she is, she was able to steal a sample scent to increase the effectiveness of the delivery.” She rolls her eyes and huffs. “Though Amber was confident that once Jax was alone with her, he wouldn’t be able to deny their attraction, I knew he’d need more than the bonding injection.” She cuts a snide smile at me. “I knew he’d need something to keep his belief in the Divine from having him resist what we all know he truly wants: the she-wolf he was with for years without the need of a mystical force to bring them together.”

It takes all I have to not react to that last statement. For her to question our attraction or our love, wondering if we’d be as in love if we were just humans... I swallow it down with a big gulp of reality. We’re not humans, we’re shifters. Having kept my thoughts off my face and giving her nothing, she goes on. “Hogan had data that William shared among the pack leaders—promising results from preliminary experiments using additional drugs in conjunction with the bonding injection. But we needed access.” She looks at her nails, then lifts her eyes to Xander’s mother and triumphantly smirks. “You see, I’d spent quality time with the CEO of Decoction at several of the functions last year. As usual, you were too sick to attend, and I went in your stead. We got along swimmingly. So when I called, he was eager to meet up, and the three of us did. We conversed.” She leans forward and taps her chest “And I was there for it all. A seat at the table. I can only imagine what table I’ll be sitting at next with my hand on a councilman’s arm.”

“Sure,” Ophelia scoffs with a roll of her eyes. “You did all of that? Please, I’m sure Hogan was the connection, not you.”

“Just because you have no power doesn’t mean other females don’t. Hogan may have known the CEO,” Veronica asserts, “met him a couple of times here and there. He may have a wolf originally from the Midwest Pack working at the lab—but I was the one to call. I was the one that made the impression. I was the one he agreed to meet.”

“And what did you have to promise for that meeting, Roni?” Ophelia questions, her words dripping with sarcasm.

“Oh, of course Bordeaux was interested in me,” Veronica keens. “Hogan let him know I was with him. That it was him he’d have to ask. That I’m not a woman who is simply up for the taking.” Oh. My. God. Is she for fucking real? Does she understand what she’s saying? Nope, she doesn’t—she just keeps on going. “We’d come to an agreement on helping each other out, helping move the wolf packs forward. The results of the injections were to be shared, and we agreed to help them procure what they need for their future studies.” The fucking bitch.

“And what is it they need?” Ophelia asks.

That’s the question. That’s the lightning bolt of understanding that strikes Veronica on top of her head and zaps her out of her blabber-mouthing. She whirls her head around to stare at me with bulging eyes. I just stare at her blankly like I’ve got no idea what she’s been saying and am waiting for her to continue. She regains her composure by once again recrossing her legs and fanning out her dress. “I’ve said too much to those who are so ill-informed and unimportant. I’ll wait for those in charge to continue this further.”

At that moment, I feel a flash of hot anger sear through the bond, and I instantly sit up taller in my seat. Moments later, the door to the room flings open, and two men roar in like they’re made of fire, burning with rage, with several men behind them trying to prevent it from spreading.