“I think Eli should set up a meeting. Everyone should be there. The pack. The Caraways. The Montevallos. All of them should be present because this concerns us all,” I told Tate after I’d clocked out at Rosemary’s.

The diner was being shut down due to Lucy’s death. Rosemary’s was now considered a crime scene—one connected to the Midnight Reaper killings.

“You should call Eli back and tell him to gather everyone,” I said.

“Okay, but I don’t see why you don’t tell him yourself. Aren’t you headed to the bar to sit with him while he works?” Tate asked. He walked with me through the parking lot. While he was talking to me, his attention was elsewhere. He was skimming the area for Roman.

“I’m not going to sit at Eli’s work.” I climbed into my car and cranked the engine.

“What? Where are you going then? Home?”

I didn’t answer. Instead, I flew out of the parking lot and gunned it toward a place I hadn’t been to in what felt like forever.

Tate didn’t follow. I hadn’t given him the option.

Eli would most likely have his head, but I needed a break. I needed to go somewhere I knew no one would be so I could properly decompress. The woods behind the trailer park hadn’t been safe in a long time.

My hands gripped the wheel tight as I barreled down the street, hoping I remembered how to get where I was going. It had been dark the one time I’d been taken.

I reached out and flipped on the radio, then turned up the volume. A song I barely knew blasted through the speakers. Sometimes those were the best songs because there was no need to sing along. Instead, you were able to focus on the lyrics or become lost in the beat. I’d always thought of music as a Band-Aid for the soul. It helped heal even the largest of wounds if only you allowed it to touch you.

And the song playing, it touched me.

Tears tracked down my cheeks as I listened to the lyrics of a girl just trying to hold on to her sanity. The words resonated with me on multiple levels. I was a tough girl, but I could only handle so much. Seeing yet another innocent person die in front of me had pushed me over the edge.

I cut a hard right and turned onto a gravel road I remembered. It led to the pond I was trying to get to. Images of the first time I’d been brought here flooded my mind.

It had been late. I was riding in Alec’s truck with him. My mind had been focused on how I would let him down easy and break things off because I’d imprinted with Eli. Alec had been so sweet that night, same as always. He’d brought me to this pond with the intention of us spending time together and possibly teaching me how to fish. Both had happened, and the night hadn’t ended the way either of us expected.

I’d told Alec what I was.

It was the first time in my life I’d ever admitted to a human that I was a werewolf. I thought it would change his view of me, as well as the world, but it hadn’t. Not entirely anyway. I’d learned Alec had already known about my kind. He’d suspected what I was for a while, and it didn’t scare him. Instead, it fascinated him.

While the night hadn’t been ideal because I did end up breaking things off with him, it had stuck with me. So had the pond. It was too bad the entire memory had been erased from Alec’s mind because it would forever be tattooed on mine.

The pond came into view, and I cut the engine of my car. I stayed inside, staring out at the water while I thought over everything that had happened since that night. Regina. Finding my mom. Barely having enough time to catch my breath before the Midnight Reaper crap with Lilith and Roman started.

More tears tracked down my cheeks.

How were we going to catch Roman? Nothing we’d done had been successful. Everyone had been pitching in to help, but all we had going for us were the searches. We had no other plan. Roman was tricky, smooth, and always one step ahead of us.

We’d need a miracle to catch him. That and a damn good plan.

I popped my car door open and strolled to the water. I sat down in the brittle grass and stared out at the pond. The scent of wet earth made its way to my nose. I pulled a long stalk of grass free from the ground and twisted it around my index finger on repeat. This place definitely wasn’t the lake, but it would do. It was a reboot of sorts. Nature always seemed to do that for me. It was quiet here, peaceful, which was exactly what I needed.

And a plan.

I needed a plan. One that would allow us to capture Roman before anyone else got hurt. Including me. We needed to get his attention somehow since we hadn’t had any luck finding him during our searches. If we got his attention, he would come to us.

The question was: How were we supposed to get his attention?

We could use me as bait.

The words popped into my head, but I knew Eli wouldn’t go for it. However, it did make the most sense. Roman wanted me. He’d said so in one way or another more than once.

Using me as bait made perfect sense.

Dorian would back me up. He would see that it was the best option. Some of the others from the pack might too. We all wanted Roman caught, and this was one way of doing it. Besides, I’d rather be in danger than anyone else.

My conversation with Ridley at the coffee spot inside the library overtook my mind. Guilt for having asked her to serve as bait surfaced. I’d hated placing her in that position. It hadn’t worked out and she’d been taken, placing her in even more danger than she had been already.

That wouldn’t happen this time. No one would be in danger besides me. And I could handle myself. After all, this wasn’t my first rodeo. I’d been bait before with Regina’s vampire goons back when the Hopkins boys had been hunting my pack.

I pulled in a deep breath through my nose and then slowly exhaled. After a few more measured breaths, I headed back to my car. When it rumbled to life, I shifted into reverse and pulled away from the pond. I silently thanked Alec for once upon a time taking me to his second favorite place.

As I made a mental note to call or text him and Becca to see how they were doing, my cell chimed with a new text. I ignored it. There was no doubt in my mind it was Eli. When it rang a few seconds later, I let it go to voicemail. I already knew what he would say. He would ask where I was and then scold me for having left Tate behind—especially after everything that had happened with Lucy at the diner.

My foot pressed the gas harder. I turned toward home. Eli would get answers soon enough. In the meantime I focused on the road while struggling to come up with another idea besides me being used as bait in case more than Eli disagreed.

Nothing else came to mind.

My teeth sank into my bottom lip. There had to be another way to get to Roman. Something less dangerous.

A vehicle riding too close to the ass of my car caught my attention in my rearview mirror. What was this guy’s problem? I shifted my eyes between the road and the car, trying to figure out who it was. The car didn’t look familiar. I fixed on the person behind the wheel. It was a male with dark hair and piercing eyes.

Roman.

My breath hitched in my throat. Shit! Had he followed me from Rosemary’s or just Alec’s pond? I hadn’t been paying attention to my surroundings as much as I should have been.

I was so stupid.

Roman could have followed me from the diner. He could have done horrible things to me while I was at the pond miles away from anyone. He could have attacked me and finished sucking me dry and no one would have known.

So then why hadn’t he?

The answer was easy—he planned on toying with me first.

I pressed the gas harder. The trailer park wasn’t too far away. I could make it there. I knew these roads better than he did. That was the one advantage I had at the moment. My fingers gripped the wheel tighter as we came to a sharp curve. There wasn’t a street sign to warn drivers about it anymore. Someone had knocked it down years ago, and the town hadn’t bothered to put it back up. I gassed it around the corner. My tires squealed, but I stuck it out having committed the bend to memory long ago. I glanced in my rearview mirror and noticed when Roman got a little squirrelly.

A smirk twisted my face.

For a moment he was out of my sight. I thought I’d lost him, but then he was back. His car nearly kissed the bumper of my car. When I was one street away from the trailer park, he backed off. I watched as he cut a left onto Walnut View Street. I hesitated, wondering if I should make a U-turn and follow him. Probably not the best idea, but I hated seeing him get away again. My wolf nudged me toward home and I listened. She knew as well as I did that going after Roman blindly would only result in us getting hurt.

Eli’s truck was in our driveway as well as Rowena’s white SUV. A baby blue car pulled into the trailer park behind me. I recognized it as Julian’s. Tate must have done as I said and told Eli to call a meeting with everyone. He must have told Eddie he needed to go home too. Good. Now we could figure out how to capture Roman. Now we could form a plan.

I pulled in behind Eli’s truck and cut the engine of my car. My stomach rolled as I thought of facing Eli. He was going to be pissed at me for what I’d done.

A knock sounded against my driver side window. I jumped.

“I didn’t mean to startle you.” Julian chuckled. He leaned close to my window. “Are you coming inside, or planning to sit out here for the duration of the meeting?”

I reached for the handle of my door and swung it open to step out.

“I heard about what happened at the diner today, about Lucy Appleton. I can’t believe Roman went after her so soon,” Julian said. “Are you okay?”

I slammed my car door shut and locked eyes with him. “It was all in an effort to get to me. I’m the one he wants. You know that as well as I do.” I started toward the trailer.

When I opened the front door and stepped inside, hot air moved across my skin. There were too many bodies crammed inside our trailer. Eli stood in the kitchen. I could feel his eyes on me the instant I walked in. I maneuvered my way to him. While his face looked stern, he still wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me into him.

“Are you okay?” he asked. “I tried to text you. I tried to call. Why didn’t you answer?”

“I wish everyone would stop asking me if I’m okay. I’m not fragile.” My words came out harsher than I’d intended, but it was because there was truth behind them.

Why did everyone suddenly think I was so damn breakable?

“No one thinks that, least of all me. You’ve been through a lot lately. People want to make sure you’re okay. That’s all.” Eli released me. His eyes sought out mine.

Hadn’t we all been through a lot? Eli especially.

I licked my lips. “I know. I’m fine. Really.”

I contemplated telling him about Roman trying to run me off the road but thought better of it. Now wasn’t the time.

“Good.” Eli shifted his attention to look at the others. “Can I have everybody’s attention please?” His voice echoed through our tiny trailer. Murmurs from everyone silenced and all eyes fell to him. “I gathered you all here tonight so we could form a plan of action against Roman. He’s become a menace to Mirror Lake.”

Agreement flowed through the crowd. My gaze drifted to Julian who seemed to shift on his feet.

“I need to remind you—as well as myself—that we agreed to help capture Roman, not kill him. This version of him we’ve been privy to is not the true Roman,” Eli insisted.

I could feel the pack’s skepticism flow through the thick air.

“There’s also another larger issue at play. The Caraway witches have stated if we don’t get Roman under control like we agreed, they’ll retract their ability to spell the area we run. It’s imperative we craft a plan today that will be successful. The full moon is quickly approaching. We have to toss away any grievances or flares of anger toward one another and focus on the task at hand,” Eli said. “If you have a suggestion on how to capture Roman without harming him, I’m all ears.”

Silence filled the room. My heart pounded because I’d been hoping someone else would have something to offer up. That didn’t seem to be the case. No one said anything.

Except me.

“I think I should be used as bait,” I said loud enough for everyone to hear.

Eli’s gaze snapped to me. A coldness entered his eyes. There was no way in hell he was going to agree to what I wanted to do.

His face said as much.