“Hey, he’s my mom’s mate, can we not talk about that?” I asked, surprised that I cared. Sure, my mom had done terrible things, and she’d had her own share of male visitors, but thinking of her being set aside for another woman hurt.
“I didn’t say I used them for that,” Malcom said.
“Won’t your brother know about the tunnels?” I asked.
“Yes, but we’re going in the front doors,” he said.
“That sounds like a terrible idea,” I replied.
“Well, not all of us,” he clarified. “Malcom and Star will enter through the front while you and I take a route less traveled.”
“How’s that going to work? You said your brother knows about us now. And I thought you had to be blood to get in.”
“Star is going to mask my scent,” Malcom said. “She also said the blood magic won’t bother her.”
Why was I not surprised that she had a way to bypass blood magic. The scent thing was different than I expected, though. I lifted my brows. “She can do that?”
“She can do a lot of things,” Malcom said.
“Yeah, I’m starting to realize just how scary she is,” I added.
“Why would they go in the front?” I asked. “Why not all go in through the back?”
“The entrance is sealed up. Malcom and Star will let us in,” Spencer said.
“Wonderful. Sounds like nothing is going to go wrong with this plan,” I deadpanned.
“Have a little faith,” Spencer said.
I sipped my coffee, taking a moment to bite my tongue. I already agreed to this, so I’d go along and hope we all came out of it alive. I supposed it gave me some distance from Alec to give my mind a break from worrying about mate drama. I thought I wanted to be with Alec, but I was still recovering from everything with Tyler. It was a lot to take in.
Spencer stood. “One of the rooms has to have some pants that fit you. You might want to prepare. We’re leaving in an hour.”
I nearly spit out my coffee. How was it nearly time to leave already? “I thought you said it was at night?”
“You slept most of the day. We still have to get there,” Spencer said.
“It’s going to be fine,” Malcom said, not taking his eyes off Spencer.
I took a few breaths and as soon as Spencer was out of sight, Malcom leaned in closer to me. “Remember, if it’s between us or him, we sell him out so fast it makes his head spin.”
“I don’t think that’s going to be an option if they want us dead, too,” I said. “I think our only choice here is to not fuck this up. We’re going to have to pull it off.”
“You might be right,” Malcom agreed. “But I stand by what I said earlier, it’s us over him.”
I nodded. It was a nice sentiment and it seemed to make Malcom feel better, but I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be as easy as all that. “I’m going to get dressed.”
I dumped the rest of the cold coffee in the sink, then left the kitchen. I had expected more time to mentally prepare for all of this. If Spencer was to be believed, my role wasn’t too dramatic. Once an official alpha challenge was issued, shifter law prevented any harm coming to either side. Although, we were talking the king here. He was shifter law. What made Spencer think his brother would keep his word? Couldn’t he just change things on his whim? I knew there were processes and councils and protocol, but I had no idea how much of it would hold up when an actual threat presented itself.
After checking in a few closets, I finally found a stash of clothes that fit me. I was in all black, which seemed appropriate for an evening of breaking and entering. I tried not to think about how strange my life was as I pulled on a leather jacket I found in the back of a closet. It fit surprisingly well. Maybe it was a good sign that things were going to improve. After all, it had been weeks since I’d had properly fitting, clean clothes.
I laced up the boots Star gave me over a pair of men’s socks. Okay, so it wasn’t perfect, but it was far better than anything else I’d had recently. After a quick brush of my hair, I braided it to keep it out of the way.
“This is where you’re hiding.”
My heart raced and flutters filled my chest in response to Alec’s voice.
I looked up, a smile on my lips. It was such a different feeling and reaction from how I felt whenever I saw Tyler. There wasn’t conflict mixed in with the positive emotions.