“What?”
“Is this what we are now? The Pity Party Posse?” Her eyes go wide in fake horror before she bursts out laughing, a loud, ugly snort echoing off the walls.
“You’re such a bitch,” I groan.
“I know.” She flops onto the couch, giggling. “But I’myourbitch.”
“Speaking of bitches…” Her gaze sharpens like a predator spotting blood. “What’s that on your neck?”
Shit.
“N-nothing.”
“Oh no, you little slut,” she growls, leaping toward me like I just betrayed the pack.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I lie. Badly.
“The bite marks, Athens. You’ve beenclaimed.”
“Yeah, so?”
“I’m so proud of you, you dirty little whore!” She tackles me in a hug, laughing so hard she nearly rolls off the couch.
“Thanks?” I blink. This might be the weirdest love language I’ve ever experienced.
Fred’s voice slices through the chaos, low and distracted. “I wonder how the party’s going.”
Ryan freezes. The laughter dies.
“What? I can’t want some dick and danger after all this?” Fred mutters. “Just a little post-torture reward.”
“We’re here for Athens,” Ryan snaps, straightening. “Not your libido.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Fred mumbles, waving her off.
Ryan grabs her phone. “Let’s liven things up.” She calls Maeve, puts it on speaker.
“Yes?” Maeve’s thick Irish accent crackles through the line.
“Hey, old girl,” Ryan purrs. “Send up some snacks. Drinks. Maybe a little herbal persuasion.”
Maeve snorts. “Ye’re not gettin’ none of the green tonight. Wyck’ll have my throat if yer all floatin’ by sunrise.”
“Oh come on. Athens is journaling into her repressed trauma. The girl needs a little lift.” Ryan giggles, and I eye her.
“Are youalreadyhigh?”
“What? No!”
I narrow my eyes. “Why would I need that stuff just to read a few journals?”
Ryan’s expression sharpens. “Because you don’t know what’s waiting in those pages. You think you’ve seen hell? You don’t remembereverything, do you?”
I swallow hard.
“No,” I whisper. “I’ve… I’ve lost pieces.”
“Exactly,” she says. “Something,someone, has been keeping you blind. The dreams. The gaps. The fog in your head? That’s not normal.”
