“I don’t have a crush on Betty!” Hope yelped. “Who said anything about crushes? I just like her for her brain. Because she’s so smart. Did I mention she was smart?”
“Yeah, you did. Several times.” Ivy rubbed the bridge of her nose as if she had a headache. “Hope, don’t you get it? She works for Gaze. No doubt he ordered her to cozy up to you in order to get to me. She was using you.”
Hope flinched from the stark statement. It was exactly the fear that had been gnawing at her ever since the disastrous party. The worry that had kept her from responding to any of Betty’s increasingly frequent messages.
“Betty wouldn’t do that,” she said, trying to convince herself. “I’m sure she’s not part of anything bad. She’s only knows Gaze because his charity runs her shifter orphanage.”
Ivy rolled her eyes. “So she’s one of his little street minions. Wonderful. And now he has her spying on us.”
Hope caught her breath as the truth dawned on her, chasing away her deepening clouds of misery. “No she isn’t! She can’t be working for Gaze!”
“She is right there, Hope. I can see her.”
“Exactly! If she was really spying on us, you wouldn’t! She’s a hellhound, she can do their invisibility thing. If she’s letting us see her, it’s because she wants us to know that she’s there.”
Ivy stared at her, clearly having only heard one word of this explanation. “Your so-called lab partner is a what?”
“Hellhounds aren’t all bad, you know,” Hope said defensively.
“The clue is in the name! There’s a reason they aren’t called heavenhounds!”
“Oh, like you can talk, wyvern? At least Betty doesn’t literally spit acid!”
“What’s going on?” Hugh had appeared in the kitchen doorway. He rubbed his eyes, his hair sleep-tousled. “What’s all the yelling about?”
“We’re being watched,” Ivy reported tersely.
The bleariness vanished instantly from Hugh’s face, his muscular shoulders tensing. “Gaze?” he asked, striding to join Ivy at the window.
Ivy moved over to give him room, though her right hand twitched as though she’d nearly reached out to touch him. “One of his minions.”
“She’s not—“ Hope started, but neither of them was listening to her anymore. They both stared out the window with inhuman, predatory focus.
“Shifters,” Hope said under her breath, like a swearword. She waved her hands futilely, trying to attract their attention. “Come on, guys. Snap out of it. I’m not going to let you eat Betty.”
“I know that girl.” Hugh’s ice-blue eyes didn’t warm at all. “She’s the one who called the fire department the other night. She told us that Hope was trapped in the elevator.”
“There, see?” Hope said triumphantly. She started to swivel her wheelchair round. “I told you Betty was good. I’m sure she’s just here to check that I’m okay. Let me go out and talk to her.”
Ivy grabbed onto her handlebars, hauling her back. “You aren’t going anywhere. I’ll handle this.”
Hugh’s hand shot out, gripping Ivy’s shoulder before she had taken more than a step. To Hope’s infinite satisfaction, he held her in place.
“I’m not letting you risk yourself,” he said. “It could be a trap to lure you out.”
“It could be a trap to lure you out,” Ivy countered, glaring at her mate with the protective possessiveness that Hope knew so well. “You’re not going out there alone either.”
“Oh, good.” Hope folded her arms in exasperation. “So I guess we’re all just going to sit here until we run out of food and are reduced to eating cat kibble.”
“No.” Hugh’s jaw tightened. He looked like a soldier steeling himself for a deadly battle. “It’s time to call in reinforcements.”
Chapter 13
“They’re here,” Rose announced, coming back into the Full Moon’s private meeting room. There was a small crease of worry between her eyebrows. “Do you want me to show them up?”
“I’ll go down,” Hugh said, rising from his seat. “It’s best if I prepare them.”
“I’ll get some drinks then.” Rose headed off, shaking her head. “I think we’re going to need them.”