“No, he was wearing an extra.”

Jase’s face did something that might have qualified as a smile to someone who didn’t know him as well as Talley did. “How convenient.”

“Jase, you can’t seriously think he orchestrated the whole thing.”

“I can, and I do.”

Talley started walking, refusing to just stand there any longer. If he wanted to keep spouting off crazy to her, then he could follow her to her next class. “What purpose would having me spill a drink down my shirt so I’d have to borrow his serve?” She asked once she certain he was following along behind her.

“Now you’re covered in his scent.” To emphasis his point, Jase wrinkled up his nose. “It marks you as his.”

“I think you’re stretching to come up with some sort of nefarious intent.”

“And I think you’re being played.”

Without meaning to, they had stopped again. Jase was just inches away from her, his green eyes clashing with her blue ones. With him standing this close, her mind flashed back to the dream. The memory of it had been plaguing her since she’d woken up from it days ago. Her hands ached to reach out and touch him like she had then. The urge was so strong she had to ball her hands into fists, digging her fingernails into the soft flesh of her palm to keep from doing something stupid. It had been over a year since Jase allowed her the privilege of touching him. At first, it was merely a bit hurtful, but now it was agonizingly painful.

Talley had always adored Jase. It was impossible not to adore the boy who radiated confidence and joy with every breath he took. Sure, sometimes she found herself thinking unkind thoughts about whatever girl he was dating at the time, but in high school it was more of an isn’t-my-friend-fabulous, I-wish-I-could-get-a-guy-like-that-to-love-me adoration. It wasn’t until a couple of months ago when they’d had to fake being in a relationship that Talley actually allowed her thoughts to go there. And now that she’d let herself think about what it would be like to be loved by Jase, she couldn’t stop thinking about it.

And the more she thought about it, the more she wanted to touch him.

To put some distance between herself and temptation, Talley took a step back and then started walking again. Like before, Jase immediately trailed behind her.

“You said you needed to talk to me about something,” she said as they approached the Chem-Phys building.

Jase scanned the area around them, and a familiar knot of dread wound its way into her stomach. “Did you know Toby is in Virginia?”

“Virginia? No.” Like Jase, she was purposefully kept out of the loop when it came to Toby’s whereabouts and actions. “Did he call you?”

“No, Sarvarna did.”

The Alpha Female knew where Toby was, and Jase decide to lead with, “Whose shirt are you wearing?” Sometimes Talley didn’t understand him or his priorities in the least.

The biggest problem with being a spy amongst Shifters is you never knew when someone was listening in on your conversation. Jase was pretty good at picking up on another Shifter’s scent, but he wasn’t flawless. Only the most dominant of Shifters could actually listen to a conversation from miles away, but unfortunately those were the exact Shifters they were pitting themselves against. The Alpha Pack was the most elite of their kind, which meant they had the most power and skills. Everyone told her the ability to smell a lie was a myth, but Talley still worried about it. Every conversation, every thought made her nervous. She just knew someone would discover the truth, sending both her and Jase to the guillotine intended for Scout.

“How is our majesty today?” Talley asked, noticing how her voice shook.

“Concerned. She worries she doesn’t have Toby’s full allegiance.”

Talley’s mind flashed to a night five weeks ago. Toby, who had always been the embodiment of strength and vitality, was covered in blood. His face was so swollen he was barely recognizable. Even without the power of X-ray vision, Talley could tell three of his fingers were broken. It wasn’t hard since they were bent in a ninety-degree angle.

“I believe Toby learned his lesson before. He would never harm our queen again.” Maybe Shifters can’t smell a lie, but surely they could hear how her heart sped up. “I’m sure there is a good reason he’s ventured into… Whose territory is it?”

“Northcutt.”

Someone bumped into Talley, their thoughts about how a decent person would move off the busy sidewalk screaming in her head. Feeling more than a little ashamed, she moved into the grass.

“That’s Amy’s Pack, isn’t it?”

“Yep,” Jase answered.

“Oh, well. That’s it. Toby mentioned going to visit her to ask her to See if Charlie was strong enough to fully recover. Surely Sarvarna will understand that.”

“She did,” Jase said. “But she’s still concerned. It seems someone has been relaying some unfortunate gossip about our former Pack Leader.”

The knot of dread in Talley’s stomach developed a knot of dread all its own. “Gossip?”

The bell from the clock tower chimed three times in the distance.

“You’re going to be late to class,” Jase said, double-checking the time on his phone.

Talley was normally a big believer in promptness and class attendance, but some things took a priority over school. “You can’t just leave me with that kind of cliff-hanger.”

Jase pretended like she hadn’t spoken at all. “My room. Six o’clock. Be there, and bring pizza,” he said, walking backwards. Talley wanted to strangle him for leaving like that, but she was too busy worrying he was going to run over someone or something. He turned just before plowing into a blonde, who blushed furiously when he apologized. “I want pepperoni this time,” he called over his shoulder before disappearing around the corner of the building.

Chapter 4

On a normal day, Talley didn’t automatically reach for her gun when someone knocked on her door. But days involving random Shifters and phone calls from the Alpha Female weren’t typical days.

“I know we got off on the wrong foot, but this is a bit extreme, don’t you think?”

In a single movement, Talley turned and aimed. Her hands didn’t tremble even as she put the center of Walker Helkamp’s forehead in her sight.