Chapter 28

STELLA

Once inside the car, Stella rolled down her window. She didn’t know why, but whenever she was around Zach, it felt like she needed more room to breathe.

She quickly went through the zippered bag, making sure nothing flew out. She knew Maddox would’ve been thorough. A few of the werewolves had access to assorted outside accounts, and once Maddox had known this mission was in play—she looked at the dates on the hotel reservations he’d made them—a very nice place, judging by their logo. Three days ago. She grinned, at having been so trusted.

Her pack leader did believe in her, after all.

“So what’s the plan?” Zach asked.

“We’ve got reservations for a hotel in London, tomorrow night.”

“And that’s it?”

“That’ll be the beginning of things, yes. I’m sure our contact will figure out a way to meet us after we check in.” There was a passport for Aster Stone and a wad of British pounds inside the envelope—Maddox knew she had an independent streak—plus a return ticket home, for a few days later. Just one, though. She rifled through the papers again—had Maddox pulled out Zach’s return ticket and torn it up when he’d torn hers?

He must have.

And at the bottom of the bag—she knew what it was, but still held her breath as she pulled it out — an ornate bronze compass. Just like every member of the pack’s council got to have.

“What’s that?” Zach asked, glancing over.

“Nothing,” she said, tucking it into one of her pockets. But she felt another swell of pride. Maddox had given it to her now before Anika took over because he knew if Anika ever tried to elevate her, she’d be accused of nepotism.

But if Stella accomplished this mission and came home safe—a council spot was hers.

And no one would care that she wasn’t entirely a warwolf anymore, or a proper den mother.

She would have a place inside the pack, no, more than that—a calling. Stella zipped the bag back shut and held it to her chest.

“SO,” Zach began, as they rounded the final bend on the familiar road to Damian’s house. “I forget what square we’re in on the owing-favors gameboard, but I need you to take a turn.”

“Why?” she asked. Stella rolled down her window and fixed her lipstick in the sideview mirror, before turning towards him. While Austin had it out for her, the rest of Damian’s people seemed perfectly sane, for people who hung out with a dragon-shifter.

“Because.” He turned to her the second he put the car in park. “So please, stay in the car.”

“What?” she asked, sharper than she meant to. Was he… embarrassed by her? She’d seen the ways he’d looked at other members of her pack, and outright called them hillbillies…

He inhaled deeply before speaking. “The vacation I gave myself this morning was unplanned, to say the least, and then taking off now… ”

She squinted at him. No. Damian’s people were her friends, too. Loosely, after so much time had passed, they had trusted her, and Zach knew that, so there was something else at play. “You’re scared of Austin, aren’t you,” she guessed.

Zach rolled his eyes. “No. Never.”

“You are,” Stella said more strongly, convinced that she was right, and then groaning. “I can’t believe I’m going on a mission with someone scared of their brother.”

“Well, I can’t believe I’m going on a so-called ‘mission’ with you at all,” he said, opening up his car door. “So stay in here, okay?”

She did a full-body shrug. “Sure thing, scaredy-cat.”

He leaned back inside the car and growled at her. “I am not, nor will I ever be a cat,” he said, then slammed the door.

STELLA ROCKED her chair back and put her boots on the dashboard. How long would it take him to pack? Zach probably owned more clothing than she’d ever worn in her whole life. She hoped they didn’t need to look like they matched for this mission… if they did, she was going to have to take him down a notch or two.

She pulled out the compass Maddox had given her now that she could look at it alone. It had a nice weight to it, and it was beautiful. The outside was burnished smooth, whereas the inside was secretly ornate. The cardinal points were embossed into the bronze with flourished letters, and the arrow inside of it swung unerringly to the north.

North pole, north star, starry sky.

And her. A councilmember.

Stella shook her head. She couldn’t believe it.

She heard a faint knocking from someplace nearby. She glanced out, then up, and saw Andi waving at her through a high window. Stella grinned and waved back just as the other girl disappeared. Not long after, Andi opened the front door and came running out to see her. “Stella! Oh my God, it’s been so long—where have you been?”

Stella beamed back at the other woman, glad her instincts about Zach’s people were right. “You know—around,” she said with a shrug and a grin. “How’re you? And, your brother?”

“I’m fine, and Danny—well, the less I know about what he’s been up to, the better.” Andi’s hand rose to push back a wave of her black hair, and Stella couldn’t help but notice the astounding ring she was wearing. Andi caught her looking. “And Damian and I are engaged! You have to come to the wedding, Stella—you helped save the day!” Andi whipped her phone out quickly. “What’s your address?”