Alek

Verity gave me the cold shoulder all the way to Vegas. Following the catastrophe with Norvin, in which he insinuated I might still murder her, I was used to being shunned. But now she had a new reason to pretend I didn't exist: I'd insisted the show must go on.

The show, in this case, was her tour. This change of heart was a role reversal of sorts; normally Verity was the one pushing to as though she wasn't some sort of supernatural phenomenon towering over a mountain of Aurum Venari secrets and I was the one trying to impart the severity of her situation.

Things had turned upside-down fast.

For one, Norvin and Chip had escaped—a fact I reminded her of, to my immediate regret.

"I don't need you to reiterate my failings," she'd told me.

"You didn't fail," I replied, and meant it too. Verity remained unconvinced, however, both of her lack of culpability for what happened and for believing I truly held nothing against her. Honestly, I did hold nothing against her, whereas she could have written my faults on slips of paper, placed them in a large glass bowl, and picked a new one to read out loud daily for the next year. That would have been better than the reality: a short, heated argument, followed by my obliteration from her mind.

Still, my reason for resuming the tour was sound. Aurum Venari were out to get us—Verity in particular. If we left town and traveled from show to show, Verity would be both away from LA and constantly surrounded by people. She was safer this way. I'd convinced myself of that and managed to convince her father as well, much to her chagrin. In fact, she was beside herself.

"My dad just found out I've got serious wolf powers and now you want me to abandon him with that knowledge. It's cruel!"

"It's not cruel," Martin, the father in question, had replied. He'd been standing three feet away cleaning up the remnants of raw eggs as we argued in the middle of his living room. "Besides, you won't be abandoning me. I'm joining you on your tour."

"Ugh," she said, throwing herself down on the couch.

"Isn't this what you wanted more than anything?" I asked her. "To go back out on the road?"

"It was," she replied. "But now I just want to stay alive long enough to find Flora's mom, get all the answers we've been searching for, and then take down a powerful secret society that holds the secret to werewolfism. Is that too much to ask?"

"Possibly."

"Well, it will be absolutely if we leave town. How can I focus on performing my numerous hit singles when Aurum Venari will be using the time to regroup and figure out how to kill me?"

"Look," I inched my way over to the couch, ready to sit next to her, only to be met with her foot pressed against my thigh warning me off.

I backed away again. "It may seem counterintuitive, Verity, but it's us more than Norvin that needs to regroup. We can do that more safely if we're on tour. In the meantime, Janene, your fans, the social media world—no one has to know what's happening. Your... status can remain a secret."

She shifted to a more upright position. "Is my status what's really so important?"

"Of course, it is."

"Alek is right," Martin chimed in.

I gave him a look of relief. Verity puckered her lips and mumbled something incomprehensible.

"I'm sorry, honey," he continued, "but it's true. You have what—four shows to get through."

"Five."

"Five shows and then a break. So, we take that time, you do your shows, and we'll figure out our next move."

"And what about Flora and her mom? She's not just going to tag along with me and forget her mother might be in danger."

I'd thought about that already but thinking about it and having a good solution in mind were two different things. Flora had left soon after Norvin and Chip, calling for a ride and telling us all she needed some time to think.

"We aren't forgetting about her mom. Norvin did say she was safe."

Verity scoffed. "Are his words supposed to be taken as truth to me? How did anything he ever say to you pan out?"

My cheeks heated, not because of what she'd said but because she was right. "Not well. But the odds are, her mother probably is fine."

"Probably isn't going to cut it for Flora."

"The logical conclusion," Martin said, "would be to file a missing person's report and let the police handle it."

"It's more complicated than that," Verity said. "They'll want to talk to me about... everything."

Martin nodded. "Maybe so, Verity. But a woman is still missing. And it's besides the point. Before she left here, Flora told me she was going to the police. She's probably already there by now."

"She what?" My palms started to tingle.

Verity groaned. "I can't blame her, but...that's not the best news."

"Neither is finding out your daughter is a ... what are we calling you?"

"A psychic werewolf," she replied.

"For lack of a better term," I said.

"There's nothing wrong with my term. I can identify however I feel is best for me, so step the hell off, Alek."

Martin raised his eyebrows and deposited the mess from his dropped groceries into the trash can he'd brought in from the kitchen. "I'll just leave you two to it," he said, making a hasty exit.

And get to it, we did, although not in the fun, sexy way I'd have hoped for. Verity was upset for many justifiable reasons, but all I could think of is, be mad at me in Las Vegas and Phoenix if you want, just as long as you're safe.

So began our days of silence. It wasn't until we'd checked into a swanky hotel suite with panoramic views of the Vegas Strip that this silence broke.

After sweeping the rooms for hidden Aurum Venari assassins or worse, Chip, I gave her the all-clear to enter the suite and get settled in.

"I'll be just on the other side of that door," I said, pointing to the smaller of the two bedrooms in the suite.

"Is that supposed to make me feel safe?" she asked.

Her tone didn't hide her anger, but I perked up anyways. They may be bitter words, but at least she'd said something to me.

"I hope so. I want to be close by... in case."

"In case what? In case you decide to kill me in my sleep?"

"Verity!" Damn, she knew how to drive a knife into the heart. "I would never hurt you."

She shrugged. "So, you say. How do I know you're not playing the long con with me?"

"The one in which I get close enough to murder you? I don't know if you remember this or not, but we've already slept together. The opportunity was there. It has been on several occasions. Have I killed you?"

"Maybe you were waiting for Norvin to give you the go-ahead." She pushed me towards the bedroom door. "Or maybe you were hoping to get in a few more escapades with a psychic werewolf before doing the deed."

I would love any more escapades that she was willing to give me, werewolf or not, but her insinuation that I was some sort of supernatural tail chaser made me bristle. "You know me better than that."

"Do I?" She placed a hand on my chest the way she had back on our Buckshot Barney treasure hunt.

My heart pounded wildly under her touch.

"I used to think so," she said quietly. "Go to your room now and stay there unless I call for you. I need time to detox from all of this or tonight's show is going to be shit."

She opened the door to my room and pushed me through.

"If you want to talk through anything else, we can—"

"No more talking. It only leads to fighting. Besides..." she inched the door closed. "I've already figured out some things for myself and I don't need your help, or my father's or anyone else's. I know what I have to do."

"What? Verity wait!"

The door closed in my face. Whatever Verity felt she had to do, I was the last person she was going to tell it to.

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Author's Note: The obvious question seems to be: What does Verity "have to do?" What exactly is she planning and how much is Alek going to hate it?

I can't wait for you to find out!