23. Kirsten

Lory massaged my cuticles, prepping my nails for the polish. I'd come here to try and relax as well as get ready for the pack meeting that night. There's been so much on my mind that I'd basically stayed locked up in the cabin since my fight with Jace.

He'd been true to his word and given me plenty of space. He hadn't been by to see me in several days. The only contact we'd had was through texts. I'd already agreed that he could announce we were fated mates and that he would be courting me. We'd agreed via text that tonight would be the night.

"What color?" Lory asked.

My head snapped up, and I blinked away my thoughts. "Uh… I'll leave it up to you."

"Okay… hmm, how about something goth?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow. "Black?"

I snorted. "Sure. Why not."

"Cool." She grabbed the polish and looked at me while she shook the bottle, an apprehensive look on her face. "Do you know what tonight's meeting is about by chance? Everyone is trying to figure it out."

Of course they were. Jace had called on every member of the pack to be there. Rumors were probably running rampant.

"Meeting?" I asked dumbly.

"Yeah. Jace called a full pack meeting for tonight. It's kinda weird. He never does that, and we've had three in the last few weeks. One was the annual meeting, the other was about you, of course. No one knows what this is about, though."

I swallowed hard. I didn't want to lie, but I also didn't want to let the news spread too soon. Jace had been adamant that he be the one to tell the pack about our relationship and connection.

"I do," I admitted. When Lory's eyes widened, I hurriedly added, "But Jace told me not to say anything to anyone."

She visibly deflated. "Ugh, I figured. It's not bad, is it? Can you at least tell me that?"

How to answer that question? It may have all been relative. The Sandra lady would probably be horrified, while someone who seemed a little more open and progressive like Lory would shrug it off.

"I don't think so," I said, hoping to keep any emotion from my voice. "It'll be, uh, surprising, but everything's okay."

Lory's forehead wrinkled. "Huh. Cryptic. I guess I'll find out in a few hours."

She started painting my nails, and my mind drifted again to the fight Jace and I had. Over the last couple of days, I'd begun to get the sense that maybe I had overreacted. How could I get mad at someone else's culture? After it all went down, I'd scoured the internet and found that, much to my chagrin, the whole alpha challenge thing was pretty common knowledge for anyone who paid attention to shifter history. I obviously hadn't. Local municipalities had even made special rules for the challenges. As it was cultural and an inherent part of shifter pack hierarchy laws, it wasn't even considered murder as long as all rules and ceremonies were abided by. Very strange.

My fear for Jace was only one part of what had set me off. The other was that I still had this mental block. A terror that everything that was happening would leave me somehow broken-hearted and alone. His last words before leaving that night still haunted me. Was I pushing him away just to stay safe behind my walls? Not only did I have to worry about Jace getting killed in this challenge, but I had to navigate my own past.

Just as Lory finished my nails and put my feet in a tub to soak, an electric chime announced more clients. I smiled when Shayna stepped in, but the smile died on my lips when Stephanie entered behind her. I was still pretty positive she had been with Eren that day in St. Louis, though I couldn't fully confirm it. She'd worn a hat and huge sunglasses and had kept her distance from me, but I couldn't shake the feeling. The way she'd moved, the color of her hair, her mannerisms… it was all too familiar. It could have been someone else, yes, but I'd pretty much made up my mind.

Lory stood. "You hang out here, Kirsten. I need to go get one of my ladies from the back to come help out. I'll be right back."

When Jace's sister saw me, she grinned in delight. Lory left, and the two women sat beside me.

"Hey, Kirsten. How's it going? Are you ready for tonight?"

"Yeah, are you excited?" Stephanie added, but I thought there was a hint of bitterness in her voice.

Shayna, being Jace's sister, and Stephanie, as a council member, were some of the few who knew exactly what would be discussed at the meeting.

"I don't know that ‘excited' is the word I would use," I said. "Nervous is a more apt description."

"Don't worry," Shayna said, leaning forward to pat my knee. "Everyone in the pack loves Jace. They've all been hoping he'd find someone to make him happy. They'll all be thrilled that he's found someone, regardless of whether or not you're a witch."

Lory returned with another of her technicians, and Shayna lowered her voice. "I bet you guys will have powerful kids. Super strong, with both shifter and witch blood."

"Kids?" I gulped. I hadn't even thought about that much the last few days. We'd joked about it once, but that had been it. Of course that would have to happen if we went through with all this.

Shayna must have seen the look on my face—a combination of surprise, realization, and fear. She laughed it off. "That's something to worry about later. Way later."

"It's a privilege to birth the next heir of the pack," Stephanie said, ice coating every word. "I'd think you'd be more excited. Grateful."

"Steph?" Shayna hissed. "What the hell?"

I didn't like the tone Stephanie used with me. It had a jealous tinge to it. This woman probably had a thing for Jace. Was that why she'd been helping Eren? Allegedly, I mentally added.

She ignored Shayna's warning and kept glaring at me. Yeah, that was what was going on here. I'd taken what she wanted, and she was mad. Angry enough to go to the other side? Betray her own pack? It was a possibility.

"Well," I said, recovering, "I'm sure lots of women would love that privilege, but it's too bad none of them will"—I looked into Stephanie's eyes—"ever get that chance."

We stared each other down, tension rippling in the air between us.

Lory came back over and stopped in her tracks. "Are, uh, are we good?" she asked tentatively.

"I don't know," I said. "Are we?'

Stephanie remained silent. It was Shayna who broke the tension.

"So, Steph, it looks like Lory is a little busy right now. Let's, uh, let's come back later."

"Good idea," Stephanie said, pushing out of her chair and storming out the door.

"I don't know what that was about," Shayna said to me with a pained expression. "I'm sorry." She turned to Lory. "We'll come back in an hour or so."

When Shayna left, following Stephanie, Lory turned to me. "What was that all about?" she asked.

All I could do was shrug. Clearly, Stephanie and I wouldn't be friends anytime soon.

After finishing at Lory's, I headed across the street to the dry cleaners to pick up the dress I'd dropped off the day before. It was only by a happy accident that I'd packed it. It was far too nice for a summer in the woods, but it was perfect for the meeting. Jace had told me to dress nice, and since I wasn't supposed to be going outside Crestwood, it was all I had to wear. It was an eye-catching little number, and after the interaction I'd had with Stephanie, I was less self-conscious about it. Honestly, I hoped she'd feel even more jealous when she saw me on Jace's arm in that dress.

It might have been petty, but I didn't care. The way she'd stared daggers at me in the salon had removed any doubt I had about her. Jace and the others could say they didn't think she'd betray the pack, but I wasn't sold. I never asked Jace to choose me over her. The cards were dealt the way they had been, and there was nothing to be done about it. Soon, I'd give Jace the potion, and all doubt would be removed.

Before I'd even returned to the cabin, my phone rang. My stomach lurched. Eren. I was not in the mood to deal with him, but it was best to find out what he wanted. I answered while turning into my driveway.

"Yes?" I said, impatience heavy in my voice. Hopefully, he could hear it.

"Good afternoon." Eren's slow drawl was probably an attempt at being flirtatious, but it only came out sounding gross and creepy.

"What do you want, Eren?"

"I called to thank you again for the tea. My friend is very appreciative."

God, were we still doing this whole "friend" charade? I wanted to tell him not to thank me, that it was Tinsley who did it all, but stopped myself. I didn't want Eren anywhere near my new friend, and I owed Tinsley more than to put her on this douchebag's radar. She had no alpha wolf to protect her like I had.

"You're welcome," I sneered.

"Well? Are you going to ask me whether it worked?" Eren prodded.

Ew, no, I did not want to ask that. My skin crawled at the thought of what he'd be doing with some poor woman once the potion kicked in.

"I'm sure it went fine," I said.

"My friend says they can already feel it working. Lots more energy, things are… harder than ever—"

"Oh, God, are we done? I have stuff I need to do."

I was ready to end the call, but Eren chimed in again. "You know you don't have to settle for Jace, right? You're a witch. You have your choice of alphas. Any of them would fall all over themselves to mate with you. Every alpha on earth would love to have you birth their heir. So much power."

That was no secret. Eren loved power. He was attracted to my magic, nothing else. I could have looked like a squashed toad, and he'd probably still be trying to get into my pants. He wanted a witch to control and command, just like some alphas had in the past.

He wanted to use me. So many men were the same way.

"I'm very aware of my choices, Eren. I'm choosing Jace."

"Hmm. We'll see how that works out for you, I guess." Before I could say anything else, the line went dead.

"Ugh, asshole!" I grumbled.

If I hadn't had the meeting to get ready for, I probably would have stewed over Eren's call the rest of the day. By the time Waylan arrived to give me a ride, I'd put it all to the back of my mind.

"Hey there, good lookin'," Waylan said as I climbed into the passenger seat. "How are we?"

I grinned at him. He was a really nice guy. Flirty, but in a silly, unserious way. Basically the polar opposite of Eren.

"I'm good. A little nervous, but otherwise, I'm all right."

"No need to be nervous. You'll do fine. Hell, all the ladies in town will be ooh-ing and ah-ing over you, hanging on Jace's arm in that get-up."

The dress clung to me, not in an overtly sexy way, but it was not something you'd feel comfortable wearing to church. More like a dress you'd wear on a date to impress a guy.

"Thanks," I said, smoothing the hem of the dress.

Waylan gave me an easy grin, "Just let Jace do all the talking. It'll be great."

I studied Waylan. "Have I told you about my friend Harley?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Don't think so. Not to sound like a dirty dog, but is she cute?"

My laugh helped ease some of the tension that had crept into my shoulders, neck, and my mind itself. Stress about the meeting weighed on me like nothing else could have.

"She's my best friend, so I'm a little biased, but I think she's gorgeous. Hang on, let me show you a photo." I swiped through my phone until I found a good one, turning it to show him.

Waylan glanced away from the road to look at the photo. His eyebrows shot up, and maybe I was crazy, but it almost looked like there was a flash of recognition.

"Uh, yeah, she's… whew, she's pretty darn cute, all right." He looked back at the road, then cleared his throat, "She, uh, is she planning to visit you any time soon?"

Another laugh, this one almost bringing tears to my eyes. It wasn't really that funny, but the stress of everything had built up so much inside me, almost anything would have set me off.

"She's planning on it," I said, wiping my eyes. "Sometime soon, I think."

He nodded, a faint smile on his lips. The smile faded suddenly. "Kirsten, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Are you and Jace good? I know he hasn't been out to see you in a couple days."

"It's fine," I said, waving the comment off. "It was the whole thing about him challenging Eren. I didn't realize how serious it was. That's mostly it."

"That's kinda what I thought. It's just…" He sighed, a frustrated sound. "He's been pretty down ever since. Not himself. I've never seen him like that. What I'm getting at is, he's the best man I've ever known. He's the best alpha I've ever heard of, better even than his father, and from all the stories about that man, that's really saying something. All I want is for him to be happy. You, too—I didn't mean I didn't want you happy, too. Shit, this is coming out all wrong." He rubbed his face with his free hand.

I wanted to hear what he was saying though. I needed to hear it. "Go on, it's okay."

"What I mean is, please don't break his heart. I don't think he could handle that. If you aren't completely sure about being his partner for life, then you should set him free. This meeting is just him saying he wants to start the courting process; it's not binding. I'm not trying to run you off, so don't get that idea. I just care about my friend. That's all."

"I get that," I said. "Thank you for being honest. It means a lot."

His smile returned, but much more subdued. "Okay, cool. Just had to get that off my chest."

As we drove to the town hall, I thought about all that Waylan had said, all Jace had said, and what I felt inside. The biggest question I had was whether Jace was truly drawn to me or if he thought he was only doing what the curse wanted.

The potion was still nestled in the tissue paper in my purse back in the cabin. I hadn't had a chance to give it to him yet. It had to happen soon, though. Then I'd know for certain where Jace's head truly was. Once he was free, he could make an unbiased decision about me.