Chapter 166-1
Kiana
Troy never returned to the room. After feeling like an idiot waiting around for him, I headed out late
morning to the dining hall. Because of the hour, it was mostly empty, but I got some oatmeal, an apple, and some juice. Sitting at the table, I prayed that no one would join me and ask why I was eating without my mate. We hadn’t shared a single meal since he’d returned.
Luckily, everyone was obsessed about the baby, so no one even noticed that Troy wasn’t there. The few people in the hall flocked to me and asked me a million questions that I wasn’t ready to answer. Fake it until you make it, right? Troy and I totally had been talking names, and we were absolutely looking at a baby shower registry. Obviously, we know that we need to do that early since it takes time to get baby items into the territory, especially since we were about to face the
long winter.
And yeah, me being pregnant was totally a sign that Claudine wasn’t a real threat. Babies were the obvious signs of happily ever after.
By the time I left the pack, I felt a little sick, and it had nothing to do with morning sickness. Everyone was so nice to me, which I was still trying to get used to, but also, everyone was so excited for the baby, except for the father of the child.
Irene’s cottage was empty, which perplexed me. Lunessa and Evalina had spent most of their waking moments with Irene, so where else would they be? On a whim, I sat down by her cottage, tried to identify Irene’s magic soaking in the ground beneath it and identify it elsewhere in the pack. Surprise, surprise, all I could do was see the colors of the small magic traps she’d placed near her home. They didn’t do anything except let her know someone was outside her cottage.
Thankfully, that worked out in my favor. While I was still meditating, my phone rang. “Are you looking for me?” Irene asked. “I’m in the library with Lunessa and Amelia.”
“Perfect. I was actually looking for Lunessa. Wait, the library? I thought you’d raided all the appropriate books and were hoarding them in your cottage.”
“We’re trying a different track,” she said vaguely. “Evalina isn’t with us, so it was the perfect time to
research it.”
“Why…”
“We’re on a bit of a time crunch. I’ll text you when we’re done!”
I snarled as she hung up. Jokes on her. I wasn’t even looking for her. And now I was curious. I found the three of them huddled over a single book on the table and muttering to themselves.
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7-2
This isn’t suspicious at all,” I said when they didn’t lift their heads when I walked in “And also
concerning. What if I was Evalina? Or someone else you didn’t want to learn whatever you’re cooking up now. Like, me apparently. As the lynch pin to Claudine’s evil plan, I’m offended I feel like I should be key to whatever plan you’re cooking.”
Their heads snapped up with panic in their eyes. “Okay, I said slowly. “Now I’m wondering if the three of you have jumped ship and are working for Claudine, although huddling together suspiciously is not a good start.”
“I said I’d hang out with you later,” Irene said as she stood. This isn’t sinister. It’s just boring. Complete yawn fest.”
“Uh-huh. If you hadn’t hung up on me, you’d know that I wasn’t looking for you. I was looking for
Lunessa.”
The Maiden popped her head up and plastered a smile on her face. “Irene is right. I’m bored to tears. Let’s go for a walk.”
“Yes to the walk.” Strutting over to the table, I deliberately leaned over to the book. “But right after you tell me what the hell is happening here.”
The print was so small it took a second for me to realize what I was reading. “Wolf magic? Why would you hide this from me? I’m half wolf. Or a third wolf? No, it definitely feels like I’m half wolf.”
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