“I’m pissed the Pack can’t see through Cade’s bullshit. I’m pissed he thinks he’s entitled to rule the Pack. The fucking arrogance of it.” His magic was bolder now, hotter, and seemed to push the chill from the air. “They sit around in Memphis, doing nothing for the Pack’s survival but bitching about decisions made up here. Hard decisions. And they think they know better than the shifters who’ve worked their asses off, who’ve sacrificed, to hold the Pack together.”

He linked his hands atop his head. “I’m pissed a demon thinks she can walk into my city—our city—and pour destruction over it. I’m pissed she hurt you and Theo and stole my parents. I hate wondering if I’ll ever see them again. I hate battling an enemy I can’t see.”

His eyes glittered. “I hate Jonathan Black. He is a grifter and a liar, and he looks at you like you’re a prize.”

That one had me blinking. “Not a prize,” I said. “A tool.”

Connor cocked an eyebrow. “Is that better?”

“No. It just is.”

Connor sighed, came to me, put his hands on my arms. “You aren’t a prize or a tool. You’re your own person. My person.”

I lifted an eyebrow. “Is being owned better than being a tool?”

“When you’re owned by the prince, yes.”

The casual arrogance was back, which lifted my own spirits.

“Since you’re feeling better, you want me to give you some scritches?”

He snorted, and that turned into a gale of laughter that echoed across the grounds. There was magic in that laughter, I thought. Joy and love and happiness in it, even if just for a moment. And it was just what we needed.

“No,” he said. “But you should take a turn. Get it out, so you can clear the cache and get back to work.” He sat on a bench behind us, crossed his arms, and stretched out his legs. “Go ahead.”

I didn’t need any more encouragement than that.

“If I’d stopped Rosantine at the gate, my parents would still be here. Your parents would still be here. I’m pissed a sociopath like her has magical powers. I’m pissed off she’s screwing with Chicago. I’m furious that I can’t even know whether my feelings are because of me or because of Rosantine.”

Connor just watched me with that level stare that made my self-consciousness evaporate.

“I’m pissed off that people like Cade exist, spreading their bullshit around and expecting other people to bow down. I’m pissed there are people in the Pack who buy it. And I really want you to kick Cade’s ass for putting you in this position when the entire Pack—the entire Pack—should be focused on getting your parents back. They should be supporting you. And instead they’re partying.”

“Not all of them,” he said quietly. Not yet an Apex, but their advocate even still.

“I’m pissed my best friend fireballed me. I’m pissed I just found out last night that she’s only able to do dark magic, and she’s been able to do it since she was a kid, and she’s been playing the ‘my mother embarrasses me’ part so no one would find out about her skills and use her for them. Or use them both.”