~ Chapter Twenty-Nine ~

"Did you..." They were the first words out of my mouth, and hardly very promising for my relationship. But to hear that Nola was dead after catching her scent on my mate, it made the mind speculate, and I wasn't in the best state already since I'd been lied to by Dylan and Xanthe, and Dimitri himself had been missing during the night.

Rightfully, he was offended by my accusation, which set me off, too. "*No*, Erika. Is that seriously what you think?"

"I don't *know*. I've known that girl my entire life and now she's..." I trailed off, trying to think of the last time I had seen her. "Oh my goddess, I *left her*..." My hand snatched out, grasping the island as I stared blankly into space. Images of her flickered through my head in quick succession, filling my body with grief and guilt. How could I ever have just left her with Roger, of all people? It wasn't fair on her and it wasn't looking too good for me, either. If I had been there... If I'd never met Dimitri...

"Erika, there's more to the story," Xanthe said softly behind me.

If I had never met Dimitri, I may never have left Roger's pack, but at least I would be living under the illusion of happiness. I'd be surrounded by people I knew who had grown up with me, including Nola, who deserved so much more than what had happened to her. Maybe life would be simple, it wouldn't be so complicated, and I definitely wouldn't have had to experience rejecting my mate and moving around constantly. I wouldn't have left my only friend in the world to die so carelessly. Even if she did, I would have known about it right away.

My eyes shifted straight to Dimitri's face accusingly - for a different reason this time. "When did you find out about this, Dima?"

"Last night," he answered honestly.

"Your 'alpha shit'."

"Yes."

I stared at him incredulously. "You don't learn at all, do you? Clearly neither do I, because I fucking came back here to be with you when I knew you hadn't really worked on a damn thing and you aren't going to."

"That's not fair," he muttered, but I had already turned away from him toward Jessica.

"Tell me what happened," I demanded of her. "Why does my mate smell like Nola?"

"Well, she was... dropped off outside the pack while you two were out on your date. I guess Dimitri didn't want to ruin the night for you-"

"Jessica," I snapped, and she pressed her lips together for a moment.

"Okay, fine, I'll just stick to the story," she relented. "Nola was dropped off outside the pack and a warrior found her. She was left with this note" - she threw the note down on the island in front of me - "from her killer... Roger. We took her away from the pack grounds to bury her, that's what we were all doing all night. We had to search the woods for any sign of whoever threw her down but we haven't found anything. The note is the only reason we know what happened at all - or who she was."

I flattened out the note on the countertop.

*To whoever finds this first, I hope you enjoy my work. This one did not go down easily, but I suppose everyone has to fold eventually. She tried valiantly to protect you if you're reading this, Erika Keller. That was her undoing; perhaps if she had succumbed the first time, she would not be lying here in front of you in pieces.*

*Then again, if you had never disgraced your family by leaving, she and those you care about also would be perfectly fine. Would be.*

*I'm not going to offer some kind of deal in return for your return, but I am going to rain hell down on you, Keller. You're done for. The trouble you have caused me is next to nothing I have ever experienced before. So beware while you're out there with your little 'mate': I'm coming and no one will survive when I get to you.*

The little air I had left in my lungs slipped out, leaving me breathless and faint. I was no longer holding onto the counter out of anger, but for support, for I felt like I was going to collapse at the mere thought of seeing Roger again, of never seeing Nola again, of putting everybody in the pack in danger. I wondered if Connor and his family had escaped the torment, or if they were the ones I cared about he had mentioned in the note. I could have put an entire family in danger just because I wanted my own freedom... that was so selfish.

But I had other fish to fry before I could feel bad about that.

"Did no one think I'd want to see the body?" I sounded small and meek.

Jessica cleared her throat. "Nola was not exactly in a presentable state, Keller. It is best you don't see her."

"Are you saying that, or is my mate?" She didn't respond to me, so I glanced over my shoulder. "Did *I* say it would be best I didn't see the body? Did I even fucking know she was dead before you decided to hide her body and deal with all of this without me? When it's my doing? My friend?" I was blazing with anger, and all of it was directed at the man staring back at me with soft brown eyes.

"You just can't stop finding ways to fuck up with me, can you?" I snapped.

He looked away.

"Jessica, come with me."

"What?" She glanced over, surprised, her eyes hesitant.

"Come with me. Outside. If I'm going to refrain from domestic violence, I'm going to need to goddamn train." I started to move toward the door, but Jessica didn't move, so I stopped. "Didn't you hear me?"

"Sorry, Keller, I think you should talk to Dimitri first."

I clenched my fists at my side. "If I wanted to damn talk to him, I wouldn't be leaving the room, now would I? And you know what, if I wanted to be lied to and told what to do, I would talk to him, but I just found out that my childhood friend has been killed by a controlling dick and it's all because of me, so I'm not in the mood for a controlling dick to spin his little web of lies to my face right now. Now, tell me something, Jessica, am I or am I not your *Luna*?"

The room, which was already silent, grew tense with not only the warriors' emotions, but Dimitri's anger, too. I could feel it radiating out of him without the mate bond, filling every corner of the kitchen, and I could feel it inside of me, fuelling the anger I already felt, shovelling coal into the fire. I dared him without speaking to come up to my face and try to let out some of that anger after I'd just lost my friend, but he stayed put behind my seat, probably staring at us. And Jessica stayed staring at me in shock.

I cocked a brow, prompting her, and she straightened her back. "Okay, Luna."

"No one else joins," I ordered, as I headed out of the room. I felt Jessica behind me.

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