Painful Reminders

Chapter Six: Girls' Night

"Let's go out tonight, just you and me. Becca is working late and I'm only going to be in town for two more days."

Clenching my jaw, I glared down at my textbook. Shane had been like this for the past three days. Tomorrow was my final exam and I needed to study. "I can't."

"Mya."

I squeezed my eyes shut and began to massage my temples. "Shane, I have my last exam tomorrow before I graduate. If you wanted to be chauffeured around the city, you should've planned your trip better." Had he always been this childish? I remembered being much more smitten with him.

"You really don't miss what we had?"

With a sigh, I shut my textbook and turned to look at him. "Shane, we were teenagers. We're in completely different places. I'm not looking to date anyone, let alone you. You deserve better."

"I don't want better."

"It's never going to happen. Please don't keep doing this."

"One night out," he pressed. "One, and I'll drop it."

"I have to study."

"There's such a thing as overstudying." We stared at each other for a minute, both waiting for the other to break first. I wished that Becca were here to mediate, but then I'd never told her about her brother and I. "Go out with me tonight and I swear to you I'll respect your decision."

Glancing down at my phone, I heaved a sigh and pushed away from my desk. "I'll give you three hours, but then I'm heading back with or without you."

***

"Another thirty have been brought in, but we're running low on space. Charles has agreed to take in the overflow in order to assist, but they've been bringing in people too, and don't have much more room than us," Andrea reported from beside her brother.

"It's believed that twenty more are dead. They're setting fire to the buildings and blocking the exits. If we don't find a way to secure the surrounding areas more effectively, there's nothing stopping them from coming after us as well," Godfrey added.

"Have we narrowed down which packs are in the area?" I demanded, turning my attention to Zeke expectantly.

Zeke leaned back in his chair, interlocking his fingers and placing his hands behind his head. "We believe there are three main packs hunting us down in Virginia and North Carolina. Stefan Gadsby appears to be at the head. He's been spotted in Richmond with prominent pack members tracking some of our own leaders while their lesser counterparts track our weaker members."

"We believe they may be targeting you next," Andrea put in. "Cassian, I'm confident that I speak for everyone when I say that you should stay closer to home while they're so close. A decision needs to be made regarding the...outlier. We need to start closing ranks and stop spreading out."

I leveled her with a contemptuous look. "I didn't realize you were in the position to dictate my comings and goings."

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat and her eyes slid toward her brother beside her. "No sir, I was just trying—"

"Your concern has been duly noted. Godfrey, reach out to Victoria and Marcus; see how things are faring in the West. We need to create a contingency plan and expect the worst. Everyone continues with what we're working toward. You may go." I waited a beat, watching them all push to their feet, "Except for the two of you." Zeke and Andrea exchanged pained looks before sitting back down.

"What do you want to do about her?" Zeke asked once we were alone. "There's a chance that she remains unknown, but..."

"But it's a risk to our security if she's discovered and they find a way to use her against us," Andrea finished. "I don't enjoy spilling innocent blood, but sometimes there isn't a choice. Unless you think we can use her?"