Chapter 181

The knock at the door startled us away from each other. I hadn’t realized just how close we had gotten until I jumped away from him. Rowan closed his eyes and then nodded.

“We won’t fail?” His words were soft, but there was a tiny arc of hope in his voice.

“Not if I can help it. I will take these next years to crack into everything I can.” I thought about what my plan was and worried at my lip.

“What is it?”

“I need a place I can hack for practice.” I looked up and Rowan nodded.

“Use my stuff. I would give you the information to find me, but that is half the battle.” The knock sounded again. “Get that?” The hope that flared in my chest that he wanted to spend time with me was pushed down.

I nodded. “The rest of the girls are here and we have a plan to make.” Rowan nodded.

“You can stay if you like,” I offered without thinking.

“What?” Rowan tilted his head.

“I, I…” I stammered over my words, but I cleared my throat at his chuckle. “I mean, you are a part of this, and if you are free, would you like to stay? I have some of the prepared meals from the caff. I know it isn’t much, but I would like your thoughts on some things I want to talk about.” He watched me from against the wall, and then a small smirk graced his lips.

“I’m just going to shower, change, and then I’ll head back.” I felt a smile break across my lips and I nodded.

“Sounds great. I’ll take the time to break it to the girls that everyone they love is still alive. That way you don’t have to deal with any more tears.” He sagged.

“Thank you.” I could hear the relief in his voice. “I don’t think I could deal with any more.”

The knock sounded again, softer, and a little confused. I released the spell with a crack and Rowan opened the door. I could barely see around him, but the three girls froze.

“Umm. My king,” Wendy flushed bright red. “We are looking for Amy.”

“And you are in the right place.” He opened the door wider and I waved from behind him. “Come on in.” Rowan stood aside as the three women walked in. “I’ll be back later,” he tossed out before walking out. Him, naked in the shower, blasted through my mind so fast I nearly hit my knees. But I shook my head, clearing the thought. He is not mine.

He could be if you wanted. You obviously like him, Nix’s voice was full of laughter.

He is quite adorable, for the human side, Megan barked out a laugh and soon my two wolves were rolling over each other in my mind. My face heated, turning me a pleasant shade of red.

“Where is he going, and why is he coming back?” Hanna rushed over next to me to whisper, and I swore I nearly choked on my spit.

I coughed a few times and covered my cheeks with my hands. “He’s going to shower, and then he is coming back to talk.”

Hanna slid closer. “Why is he coming to talk?”

“We have a lot to cover. Let me grab my things and we can talk about everything.” Everyone nodded and helped me pull my bags in off the carts. I stuffed the food into the fridge for now and turned to bring everything to the bedroom.

We found Toya there wiping her face. “Sorry, Amy.” She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

I waved her back down to the bed and waited for everyone to come into the room. I focused on my magic and slid a sound barrier into place.

“We have a lot to talk about.” Everyone nodded as we dropped my bags. I walked up to Toya. “The first thing I should cover is probably the most important.”

“What are you talking about?” Toya looked at everyone and waved. “Hey guys.”

Everyone said hello, but I was focused on Toya. Her eyes were a little swollen and red. I felt heartbroken knowing that she was in here crying while I was talking to Rowan. I slid onto the end of the bed as everyone took a spot around the room. “What’s going on?” Wendy looked between me and Toya.

“Everyone has heard the bad news. I’m not foolish enough to believe you haven’t.”

“We are sorry for your loss,” Micca started, but I waved her off.

“It was a lie. A lie that my father and the other alphas came up with to force people to make their move.”

Toya furrowed her brow. “What are you talking about?”

I grabbed her hand and squeezed. “They are still alive, Toy. Everyone is still alive.”