“I just don’t want to hear about any shenanigans. No showing up on TV again. Are we clear?”

“You end up on the news a couple of times…” I muttered.

True, the whole supernatural community had gotten outed, but give a girl a break. We’d been hunting a demon-summoning evil witch. How were we supposed to know the cop cars’ dashboard cameras would auto-upload to the police station server? And I couldn’t exactly help that there’d been reporters around as we left the chapel. There’d been a ton of cops there getting their asses kicked before we even showed up. The battle was already so loud, it must’ve woken up half of New Mexico. There wasn’t any way anyone could’ve shoved it under the carpet with the humans.

I chewed on my lip as I replayed the horrible scene in my mind. The memory so sharp I could almost smell the sulfur…

I shook it off, but my mind went to my friends—specifically Cosette. She’d had my back and was probably in the area. If I was getting out of here, I had to call her. At least try and get her to meet up.

“I think I’m going to call Cosette. See if she wants to go shopping.”

Max and Dad shared a long look before Max finally spoke. “That might not be the best thing right now.”

“Why not? She’s my friend. She has a condo in Denver. If she’s around, there’s no reason I can’t hang out with her.”

“Let’s just say the fey aren’t happy with the pack,” Max said.

“I understand that the fey are mad, but Cosette’s not just fey. She’s my friend. Friendship overrides all that political nonsense.”

“She’s fey first. Just like we’re pack first.”

I nearly growled. They were pissing me off. Time to make my exit.

I started to brush past my father, but he stopped me. “I know you’re friends with her, but I want you to be careful. Colorado has a heavy fey presence. Donovan is meeting with the queens to smooth things over, but until that happens, do everyone a favor and heed your brother’s warning. Leave Cosette alone.”

I blew out a breath. Arguing wasn’t going to get me anywhere. “Fine. Maybe Ciara will go shopping with me.” Ciara was kind of like my nanny, but more like my mom slash best friend. We talked about everything, and when I was first cursed, she was the one who’d pulled me back from a deep depression.

But she’d been avoiding me since I got to Colorado. It wasn’t like her. We’d never even fought before. A shopping trip would be a good excuse to find out what was going on. If I’d upset her somehow, I’d make it right.

“Good. I think that’s a much better idea,” Dad said.

I leaned back. Dad’s hair was a darker blond than the rest of ours, but all of us had his blue eyes. “Okay.” As soon as I said the word, I wanted to take it back. I understood his point, even if I thought he was wrong. Now more than ever, it was important to protect my friendship with Cosette.