Antoine took an aggressive step toward her, his face hard. “There was never any proof that he did the things he was accused of.”
“Just because Embry wasn’t able to prove it doesn’t mean that Gabriel was innocent.”
“It doesn’t mean he was guilty either. And it definitely doesn’t mean he’s now practically stalking Blair.”
Noelle’s lips thinned. “Look at the facts. He knows where she lives. He regularly sneaks onto our territory. And he leaves her little gifts—he’s been doing it for years.”
Antoine sighed. “He wedges playing cards between the wooden slats of her porch. He’s left similar things on my doorstep. They’re not gifts. It’s his way of saying hi while also taunting the pack that he can slip past our defenses so effortlessly.”
“Whoever left Macy’s body on the porch slipped on and off our territory without being sensed. They’re also evidently at ease with killing. The same can be said for Gabriel—he made his first kill when he was ten.”
Antoine’s eyes blazed. “You don’t know that for sure.”
“I know that he used to strip Blair’s dolls naked and then yank off body parts. Sounds a little similar to what was done to Macy, doesn’t it?”
Shaking his head, Antoine shifted his gaze to Blair. “He wouldn’t do any of this. You were his only real friend, Blair. He’d never do anything to scare you.”
“But he might try his hand at romancing her,” said Les. “And, given he’s not quite normal, his efforts at romancing someone wouldn’t be quite normal.”
Blair placed her cup on the coffee table. “I really don’t think he’d be interested in trying to ‘romance’ me. I don’t see why anyone would. It’s well known that I’ll soon bond with Luke. I wear his damn mark, for Christ’s sake.”
Fiddling with the sleeve of her blouse, Noelle cleared her throat. “Speaking of Luke … I see no need for him to be notified of what happened here tonight.”
Blair blinked, and her inner animal bristled. “Say what now?”
Mitch gaped, setting his hands on his tapered hips. “Mom, you can’t seriously expect her to keep something this huge from her own mate.”
“Why not?” asked Noelle. “You know how ridiculously overprotective he is of her.”
Blair felt her brows fly up. Pot. Kettle. Black. While Luke was indeed exceedingly overprotective, there was nothing toxic about it. He didn’t try to make Blair feel as though she couldn’t take care of herself or be trusted to make wise choices. He’d always made a point of building her up, supporting her, ensuring she knew her own worth, and encouraging her to be self-reliant.
The latter was no small thing, since most alpha males who found their mate while she was at a suggestible age would have instead tried conditioning her to rely solely on them. But Luke had only ever tried to lift her up, not contain her in a little box where she’d be nice and safe and under his spell.
“He’ll completely overreact,” Noelle continued. “No offense”—she looked at Embry—“but alphas aren’t always rational when it comes to the women in their lives. Luke is no exception.”
“She has a point,” said Antoine. “Besides, this is pack business. He’s not pack.”
Les nodded, the traitor.
Donal rubbed the back of his head. “Maybe we should hold off telling Luke until we at least know who did this.”
Ouch. Blair had honestly expected better of him. Knowing she’d be a Beta herself one day, he’d given her plenty of training; had been supportive of her future with Luke. Apparently, that only went so far.
“Or maybe we should let Blair decide what happens,” said Kiesha. “It’s her life, her mate, her choice.”
“No, I think not,” said Noelle dismissively. “She will make the decision she believes Luke would want her to make. Not the choice she should make.”
Yeah. Right. Because Blair so didn’t have her own mind or anything. She was about to give her mother a ration of shit, but then Embry turned to her.
“Blair, I understand why it might make you feel uncomfortable to say nothing to Luke about this,” said the Alpha, “but the situation needs to be handled by the pack, not him. You will hold off on telling him until we know who killed the fox.”
As her parents, Embry, Donal and Antoine all moved on without letting her say her piece, Blair felt her nostrils flare. Not a fan of having her input dismissed, she did what she knew would get their attention. She gently gripped her thumb … and slid it out of the joint. The pop made everyone go still.
A master at controlled dislocations, she did it to one finger. Then another. And another, filling the room with clicks and pops and snaps. She then slid one arm out of the shoulder socket and—
“Okay, okay, stop!” Embry held up his hands. “Seriously, no more.”
Blair unhurriedly righted her joints, hiding a smile at the shudders that ran through her pack mates.