“Are there veggies in your breakfast?” Christopher said. “That’s just wrong.”
“You’re awfully cheery for this hour,” Teresa said.
“I got up earlier and went on patrol with Adrian and Dastien, so I’m much more awake than usual. This is my second breakfast,” Christopher said proudly as he shook his long blond bangs out of his eyes.
Teresa snorted. “What are you? A hobbit?”
I couldn’t help but laugh at that. I covered my mouth with my hand. If anything, being with the wolves was interesting, and the constant banter kept me from thinking about Luciana…
Great. Now I’m thinking about her again.
I dropped my fork with a clank and took a long drink of my coffee. When I set it down, everyone at the table was looking at me. “What?”
Teresa cleared her throat. “You know, if there’s anything I can do to help—”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.” Raphael muttered something but I didn’t need to hear it to know what he was saying. “I’m going to try a few spells to break our oaths. I was reading a book before bed last night, and it mentioned a combination of ingredients I haven’t tried yet. That could make the difference we need.” I took a bite of my omelet, but it suddenly had no flavor.
“Do you think you can break it?” Teresa asked.
“I think so.” I cleared my throat, trying to sound confident and probably failing. “I’ve only tried a few spells, so there’s bound to be one that works eventually.”
“I wish I could help,” she said.
Teresa’s skin might be glowing, like every other wolf’s, but her eyes didn’t hold their usual lightness. “Are you doing okay?”
She shrugged. “Sure.”
Dastien reached over and grasped her hand as Teresa stared hard at the table. I’d always thought she was invincible, and she made it seem like everything that had happened to her was no big deal. But it was a huge deal. And it had only been a few days. I’d be stupid to think that she wasn’t still dealing with the repercussions.
“Don’t worry,” I said. “If this next spell doesn’t work, I might take a trip to see Tia Rosita later.”
“That’s actually a really good idea,” she said. “She’d definitely help. And it’d be good to see Axel.”
Meredith clapped her hands. “I’m liking this. I haven’t been off campus in forever. Let’s ditch class today.”
Adrian laughed. “You haven’t been to class in weeks. What’s the point in starting now?”
Teresa shrugged. “I don’t know. College?”
Christopher laughed into his cup of coffee. I guessed the wolves weren’t big on advanced degrees? I would’ve killed for the chance to go to college, but Luciana wouldn’t let me off the compound. I’d tried to convince her to give me Internet access for an online program, but that hadn’t flown either. After this I was going to have to figure something out. I had zero life skills and no home. The wolves wouldn’t let us stay here indefinitely.
“Well,” Teresa started as she pushed away from the table. “We’re going to need to take at least two cars. I’ll drive and who else?”
“I’ll drive,” Donovan said as he walked up to the table. “You won’t be leaving here without me.”
Meredith sighed. “I won’t die if I’m out of your sight.”
“Maybe, but I’d rather not have you in any more danger. All right?” Donovan was shorter than the average wolf, but for some reason that didn’t matter. He had so much power, it came off of him in waves, even in his human form. He commanded a presence that had nothing to do with the way he looked physically, and everything to do with what he was—one of the Seven. One of the most powerful werewolves alive.
Watching how these men treated their mates made me want a guy of my own.
But I needed a life first. My own life. Not one tied to Luciana. Or the coven. Or even my brother.
Most importantly, I needed to break ties with Luciana so that we could all get some sleep. “Give me a couple hours to try and figure this out. If I haven’t found a solution by then, we’ll leave for Tia Rosa’s.”
Teresa nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”
I stood up, leaving behind my barely eaten omelet. My stomach was in knots and I couldn’t stand to eat one more bite. Even though it was involuntary, in a way I was still helping Luciana. No one really knew how bad it was except my brother. If I didn’t find some way to break the oath soon, the wolves would find out what was really going on and they’d have a whole new reason to hate me.
