I slammed my hand against the elevator door to stop it from closing. “Come inside. We need to talk.” My voice was deep and fiery and filled with power, but that didn’t seem to faze Imogene even a little bit.
Imogene ran her hand across my chest as she walked by me, and it took everything in me not to hit her.
I didn’t want her to touch me. I didn’t want her to look at me. I didn’t want her to breathe the same air as me.
If she was part of taking Tessa, then I wanted her dead.
She froze when she saw Michael sitting on the couch.
“Come on in, ladies. We’re on a tight schedule.” Michael rose and strode toward us. “I can make it an order.”
“We’re not in your pack anymore.” Shannon stepped hesitantly out of the elevator. “You don’t have any authority over us.”
“Oh, but I do,” I said. “I’m part of the new council that—”
“No,” Imogene said. “They don’t hold the authority—”
“Yes, I do.” I gripped my hands into tight fists. “Sit!” The word came out mostly growl, but the shove of power I sent toward them had them dropping to the floor where they stood.
Imogene smelled like smoke and sweat, and as I looked down at her, I wondered what I’d ever been thinking dating her. Her blonde hair was perfectly straight. Her gold sequined dress fit against her body like it’d been made for it—and I was sure it had been. Her makeup was perfect, and she looked up at me with this calculated, seductress look that made me want to—
“Dastien!” Michael’s power-backed voice jerked me back to reality.
I was kneeling in front of Imogene, growling, with my hand reaching for her neck. The sickly sweet scent of fear filled the room. Imogene didn’t look so confident anymore. Her face had paled, and Shannon sat next to her, silently sobbing.
I stood and stumbled back a step. This wasn’t me. This wasn’t what I did. I always had control. Always.
But I’d forgotten how hard it had been before Tessa. She made everything easier. She had just as much power as me—more than me—but somehow, she didn’t struggle with it like I did.
I turned to Michael, who was watching me closely, and I gave him a nod. His eyes were glowing green, but he had control. He could ask the questions. I was too far gone now. Way too far gone to be trusted with anything important.
“Where is Tessa?” Michael asked.
Imogene’s shoulders hunched, and she dropped her gaze to the floor. “I don’t know. I—”
Michael lowered until he was squatting in front of Imogene. He gripped her chin, forcing her head up until she was looking at him. She kept squirming—trying to get away—but he waited until she realized he wasn’t letting go.
“What part did you play in her disappearance?” he asked.
“We didn’t do anything!” Shannon’s voice was thick with tears, and her brogue was thicker still.
I didn’t feel sorry for her. Not even a little bit.
Michael ignored Shannon. I knew she probably went along with whatever Imogene had done, but the way that Imogene strolled in here—brushing my chest with her hand while Shannon cowered in the back of the elevator—meant that Imogene was the one in charge. It made sense. She was much more alpha than Shannon.
“Who did you show our pack bonds to?” Michael asked.
“I’m not a part of the pack anymore. I don’t owe you anything.” Imogene’s voice was more whimper and whine than anything else, but the words were defiant.
I stood behind Michael and looked down at her. “But you know my bonds. You know who I’m tied to. You can follow the web from one wolf to another until you find me, and then you could find my tie to Tessa. You took it. Who did you give it to?”
Michael dropped her chin and slowly rose, moving to stand beside me.
“I didn’t take anything. No one can take a bond.”
God. Dealing with Imogene was like dealing with the fey. Had she taken lessons on not answering questions? “Fine. Who did you let into our bonds?”
The two girls looked at each other, but I didn’t have much patience left.