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“In theory that should have been enough. She just needed Allie to pick another heir.”

“Like you.” Casey frowned slightly.

“I’m half convinced she set all that up too. I mean I moved to Allie’s school because Dad got some terrific job opportunity. She was an enchantress. All I had to do was meet her to get hooked.”

“Do you really believe all of your attraction to her was because of that?”

I shrugged, and that caused my shoulder to brush against hers. “Some of it. It’s impossible to know, but I probably would have had a crush on her anyway.”

Casey smiled lightly. “Yeah, I’d think so.” I noticed that Casey’s tone had no hint of jealousy. There was however a sadness there. She hadn’t known Allie nearly as well as I had, but she felt the loss.

“But what I was getting at is that after Allie chose Levi, Tiffany had to come up with another plan. Do you think it’s a coincidence that she came after you now?”

“You’re right. You’re absolutely right.”

“I’m glad you agree, but does that put your guilt to rest? I’ll ask you again, how is any of this your fault?”

“I feel guilty anyway.”

I hopped down and stood in front of her. I put my hands on either side of her face. “You shouldn’t.”

She shrugged. “Now what? Now what happens?”

“I don’t exactly know, but my guess is Georgina does.”

“But who takes power? You?”

“Me?” I held a hand to my chest. “Not exactly.”

“Then who?”

I paused before answering her question. I hoped she was ready for the answer. “You. You become queen.”

“Me?” I choked the word out. “I’m in charge?”

“Yes, and I expect you to take your place without complaint.” Georgina walked into the office. She was no longer crying, and she was all business.

“There has to be another way. I can’t be queen. I know nothing about The Society. I shouldn’t even be here.”

“You are a Laurent. You will take your place. You will declare Toby as your intended mate. That will quell the hysteria over Lev—the king. Two of the strongest Pteron families united should let people know who’s in charge.” Georgina’s inability to say her grandson’s name was the first hint that she wasn’t as okay as she wanted us to believe.

“I can’t become queen,” I repeated. I couldn’t even think about the mate part. Become queen? Was she crazy?

Georgina stepped in front of Toby to get to me. He quickly stepped back. He probably knew that getting in Georgina’s way after the news she’d been given wouldn’t be a good idea. She took my face in her hands. “You are a Laurent. You will step up and take your place. You will represent your family and lead The Society. We all need you.”

“But how? I know nothing about leading.” Tears poured down my face out of a mix of shock, grief, and overwhelming fear. I’d just met my half-brother and now he was gone. How was The Society going to survive without his leadership? I couldn’t do half as good a job as he could.

“You won’t be alone. You will have advisors, your mate, and you’ll have me. You can and will do this.”

“Not yet. What if the information you have is wrong? What if they’re okay?” I still held onto the glimmer of hope that the information was wrong.

Georgina shook her head. “I refuse to let delusions and false hope derail us. This Tiffany character wants us to panic. She wants us to get lost in grief and let everything fall apart. We have a duty to our people to maintain decorum. We will do that. We will get everything in place, and only when we have taken care of The Society will we allow ourselves time to grieve.”

“I can’t imagine how horrible all of this is for you. Is Robert—is my father back?”

Georgina shook her head. “Helen is in a complete state of shock and denial. I need to get back to her, but my first priority is getting you ready. That is where Hailey will come in when she pulls herself together.”

“With all due respect, the girl just lost her best friend.” Toby seemed to regret the words immediately, but they were out. He couldn’t take them back.

“I lost my grandson, a child that is like a granddaughter, and very likely my son. Yet here I am taking care of business. Hailey took an oath as Allie’s chief advisor. Levi’s chief advisor is off with the so-called head of security somewhere. Those of us here need to do our part.”

“Do you really think Robert’s…” I couldn’t finish the sentence.

“I don’t know what to think. It’s like he disappeared into thin air when we needed him most.”

“I’m sure there’s an explanation,” I started. I refused to believe he was gone too. If they actually expected me to take a leadership role, I was going to need all the support I could get.

“Stop looking for explanations. That’s just another word for an excuse. You’re not getting any right now. Pull yourself together. You are a Laurent, and you will act like one.”

I took a few deep breaths. I needed to pretend to be okay, even if only for Georgina’s sake. She must have been so broken, but she refused to let that get in the way of what needed to be done. I needed to do my part. “So what do we do?”

“Right now you get cleaned up, changed, and prepared to make a public statement.”

“Where should I do that?” I didn’t have a place in New Orleans unless Georgina had gotten me one without telling me.

“There’s a suite for you upstairs.” She turned to Toby. “There’s stuff for you up there too. I guessed on your measurements, but it should be close enough.”

“Okay. Just tell us where we need to be.” He took my hand.

Georgina nodded stoically. “I’ll call up when we’re ready for you.”

I nodded. There are times when you ask questions and there are other times when you don’t. This was the latter.

“Casey?” Georgina called as I headed to the door.

“Yes?” I stopped.

“I’m proud of you.”

“For?”

“I know what you did with the bears. That kind of strength isn’t something everyone has. Don’t forget you have it.”

I tried to smile, but I’m sure it came out forced. “I’ll try to remember that.”

Toby put a hand on my lower back and led me out the door. He didn’t say anything as we headed to the elevator. I purposely avoided looking for Hailey. I knew she was going through a lot, and I didn’t want her to have to delay her grief. I could do this without her help. I felt badly enough that Toby had to stay strong for me. Despite everything, he’d loved Allie. None of this could have been easy for him to take. Plus he was now being pretty much forced to be my mate. He may have played it off as cool, but he couldn’t be. We hadn’t even known each other that long. I sighed. What the heck was going on? When had things gotten so unbelievably out of control?
The day you saw the wolf
, I answered for myself. Nothing had been remotely normal since then.

As soon as we found the room, I tried calling Jared again, but I got nothing. The lack of communication made everything so much harder. I tossed my phone aside and got ready for my shower. I needed to pull myself together. The hot shower helped some, but that didn’t mean I felt ready.

“Georgina is right.” Toby came to stand next to me while I hastily tried to apply some makeup. I usually went without it, but I looked just about as good as I felt—which was terrible.

“Right about what?”

“Come on. You know exactly what I mean.” He ran a hand through his still damp hair. He’d taken a shower after I had. There was no showering together this time.

“The part about me being able to lead The Society?”

“Yes, that part.” He put his arms around my waist while standing behind me.

I leaned into his comforting embrace. “I wish I believed it.” I watched our reflection in the mirror. I loved that reflection.

“You will eventually.”

“Hopefully sometime in the next few hours.”

“Preferably in the next few minutes. You are getting ready to make a speech.”

“Thanks for the reminder.”

“I’m going to be with you the whole time.”

“And I really, really appreciate that.”

“But…”

“But I’m still the one who has to sound like I actually know what I’m doing.”

“Look at me.” Toby turned me in his arms. “Just go with your heart. You can’t go wrong.”

“But my heart hurts. It’s full of grief and anger and fear.”

“No.” He shook his head. “It’s not full of any of those things. Those are all in your head. Your heart is full of love and hope.”

“You are so much better at words than me. You’re the one who should be making this speech.”

“No. It’s yours to make. I’m just the eye candy on your arm.”

I pushed him. “I don’t know how you can make jokes right now.”

He shrugged. “What’s the alternative? Is there any?”

“None that are going to help us.”

“Exactly. We can do this. You can do this.”

“You were right the first time. It’s we.”

He kissed me lightly on the lips. “You look beautiful.”

“Thanks.”

“I mean that.”

“I know, and you look as handsome as always.”

“You mean I’m not beautiful?” he teased.

“No, but your heart and soul are.”

“Ohhh now you’re the sappy one.” He pulled me into his arms. “Glad I’m rubbing off on you.”

“You are more than you’d think.”

“Yeah? Well you’re rubbing off on me too.”

“Hopefully it’s in a good way.”

“Of course. Could there be another way coming from you?”

I swatted at him. “Now you’re going too far. I’m not perfect.”

“Yet you’re perfect for me.”

“I’m distracted enough. You can stop.”

“Let’s get through the speech. Afterward we can finally let ourselves feel what we really do. How does that sound?”

“It sounds good as long as you’re still with me. I don’t want to be alone tonight.”

“Don’t worry, Case. You’re not going to be alone any night.”

I brushed my lips against his. “Now that sounds perfect.”

The main chambers of The Society were something out of another place and time. I guess that shouldn’t have come as a surprise since it was a supernatural society, but still everything else about The Society was modern.

I found focusing on the stone seating around the room and the large thrones in the center helped keep my mind off the things I should have been concerning myself with. Namely the speech and the fact that within twenty-four hours I was going to be a queen. Wasn’t being a princess enough?

And what about my weakness? If Tiffany had messed with my mind, what would stop someone else? When I’d voiced my fears to Georgina she had told me we’d come to that bridge when we had to cross it, but what she didn’t understand is that things didn’t work that way. You had to prepare in advance because you never knew when your time would be up, and you’d have to face the problem head on. When she wouldn’t listen to my protests, I stopped arguing. Instead I tried to monitor my thoughts more closely. Everything seemed normal, but I was always going to be afraid that I’d find a thought that wasn’t my own. What would I do then?

I started counting the number of people in the audience.

“Casey.” Georgina said my name, interrupting my counting at three hundred and four.

Toby kissed me lightly on the cheek. I let out a few deep breaths before joining Georgina in the middle of the room.

Georgina nodded, letting me know it was time to begin. I had a flashback to a speech in high school I’d completely messed up. This time I had nothing memorized, and I hoped that would help instead of hurt.

I swallowed hard before beginning. There was no microphone, so I was going to have to make sure I spoke loudly enough for my voice to carry. “Today is not a joyous occasion. I am not happy to be here, and I am sure that none of you are either.” I looked out at the sea of black. Clearly the word had spread.

“Sometimes life is not fair, and we are dealt tremendous loss that seems unfathomable, but in life we have to do things we don’t want to do because it’s the only way we can move on, and staying stuck in one place is rarely the answer.” I was rambling, and I knew it. I looked over at Toby and he nodded. “I didn’t know Levi or Allie as well as some of you did. I wasn’t lucky enough to grow up with them in my life, but from the time I did spend with them I learned that they were wonderful people. They were a couple willing to dedicate their lives to the betterment and success of The Society, and in their honor I pledge to do the same. I realize I can’t do this alone. I will be relying on the experience of my grandmother, and the expertise of Allie’s chief advisor, Hailey Kaye.”

Hailey glanced up from her seat and smiled faintly. I hoped that the space I was giving her would help even if it was in a small way.

“I will also have the aid and help of a Pteron that is my deepest confident and companion. As the heir of another powerful Pteron family, his help will be immeasurable.”

A hush fell through the crowd. Evidently this news hadn’t spread. “Although we are not formally mated, he will be with me through this transition.” I turned to him. “Toby, will you please come up here.”

“But you’re both Pterons!” a man yelled from the front row. He stood up as did several men sitting around him. “This is blasphemous. Georgina, how can you stand for it?”

Georgina stood beside me. “We will not be abiding by old wives tales developed as a means to influence the type of children being bred by our leaders. Yes, there is a chance that their children will not be Pteron by nature, but there’s just as much of a chance that they will. Or one will. I will not allow fear to sway our decisions. We will cross that bridge when we get there.”

The man nodded and sat down. The others did too. Georgina gestured for me to continue.

“I can’t pretend to know exactly what I’m doing, but I will learn. What I can promise is that I will do everything in my power to see to it that The Society continues to stay strong. Sometimes the best way to cherish those we have lost is to move forward. We will not lose hope. We will stand united and together ensure a successful future for The Society.”

The clapping started before I realized I was done. I could have said more, but in reality I’d said everything I’d needed to say. Besides, according to Georgina I’d be giving another speech the next day at my coronation. I might as well save material. If I’d said that last line out loud Toby would have applauded me for making a joke. I wasn’t in the mood to be applauded. I just wanted to slip away. I wasn’t meant for the spotlight.