“So is killing a human, yet I survived. And Abby said that Faythe infected someone years ago, and she’s in charge of a whole Pride now. They found her guilty, but gave her a light sentence because the infection was an accident. It could go the same way for your brother.”

I shook my head. She still didn’t understand. “You’re both women. The council values your lives over male lives. Especially over stray male lives. Most of the members will take any excuse to execute a stray, and I can’t let that happen to my brother. I have to find out what really happened before anyone else figures out that he’s involved. Thus the suitcase.” I stood and flipped open one of the hard shell cases, then began folding the clothes draped over the back of my chair.

“Okay.” Robyn stood and headed for the door. “Let me get my stuff. Which is pretty much the extra toothbrush you gave me yesterday.”

“Whoa, wait,” I said, but she kept walking, so I had to jog past her to block the bedroom door. “You have to stay here.”

“Why? Do you think the council will keep its word, now that you’re not the Alpha? Because I think they’ll use this as an excuse to make me go to Atlanta immediately. Especially now that Abby and Jace aren’t here. They’re not going to leave one of their precious tabbies in the hands of a bunch of strays they’ve never even met and have no reason to trust.”

“Robyn, I gave them my word.” Breaking that now would only make things worse for both of us. And for Justus.

“But you never told them I’d stay in this house for two weeks. What you told them was that you’d protect me, and you can’t do that if I’m here and you’re in Jackson. What if something happens to me while you’re gone? They’ll hold you responsible. You have to take me with you, Titus.”

Son of a bitch. Robyn had me. And it was possible I didn’t try very hard to convince her otherwise.

“Fine. Go get your…toothbrush. I have to make some calls.”

Robyn looked satisfied, if not happy, as she raced into the hall and closed my bedroom door behind her.

I called Jace first, while I packed. He answered on the third ring. “Hey, Titus, what’s up?” Highway noise and the use of a hands-free speaker made him difficult to understand, but cat’s hearing gave me an advantage. “Robyn driving you nuts already?”

The grunt immediately following his question told me Abby had elbowed him. Or punched him in the arm.

“No. Well, yes, but that’s not why I’m calling.” I rolled a wrinkle-resistant button-up shirt and wedged it into the suitcase between a pair of spare shoes. “Shouldn’t you guys be there by now?”

“We stopped for a long lunch,” Abby called out. “We’re about half an hour away.”

“Has Drew been in touch?” I asked.

“No.” A steady ticking sound came over the line as he used his blinker. “Why would he?”

“Because I just stepped down as Alpha and put him in charge.”

“Whoa, what?” Abby demanded, as brakes squealed over the line. “Jace, pull over.”

“Working on it,” Jace said. “Titus, what’s going on?”

“I don’t have much time, so I’ll let Drew go into the details later. But the quick version is this: I’ve been implicated in the infection of the stray Spencer brought in last night. I stepped down to keep that from affecting the Pride’s chances of acceptance.”

“You can’t really stop that,” Jace said.

“I know, but they’re better off without me at the moment.”

“What happened?” Abby demanded. “What do you mean by ‘implicated’?”

“I’m not going to go into that right now. What I can tell you is that it’s not what it looks like, but it’s every bit as bad as it sounds. I’m leaving for a few days to figure this whole thing out, but I’ll have my phone with me. I told Drew that you and I would both be available in an advisory capacity.”

“Of course,” Jace said.

Abby sighed. “Jace, maybe we should go back. You’re more qualified than Drew…”

“Yet less likely to be acknowledged by the council. I’m no good to the Pride except in an advisory role,” he insisted, echoing what he’d already told me a dozen times.

“But we can’t leave Robyn there now. Everything will be chaotic, and Drew will be distracted from looking out for her.”

I added another rolled up pair of jeans to my suitcase, then threw in several pairs of boxer briefs. “Robyn’s coming with me.”

“What? Where are you going?” Abby demanded. “You can’t parade Robyn around the free zone. It isn’t safe.”

“There won’t be any parading. And since I gave my word that I’d protect her, I kind of have to bring her.”

Jace chuckled. “That was her idea, wasn’t it?”

“It doesn’t matter whose idea it was. I’m hanging up now so I can call Faythe.” I said as I flipped my suitcase closed. “But don’t worry about Robyn. She’ll be fine. I swear on my life.”

“What about you?” Abby asked. “Will you be fine?”

“You’ll know as soon as I do.” With that, I hung up the phone and sank onto the edge of the bed. The most difficult call was yet to come.

I dialed Faythe’s cell phone while I closed the clasps on my suitcase, and I was almost relieved when her voicemail kicked in. I left the basics—I was stepping down for the good of the Pride, and Drew Borden would be taking over—in my message, as I threw toiletries into a small leather case in my bathroom. When I emerged from my room, fully packed, I almost ran smack into Robyn, who stood in the middle of the hall. Holding a toothbrush.

“Abby took all her toiletries with her, and since she’s the size of a fourth-grader, all her clothes look like dirty Halloween costumes on me.” She shrugged and gestured with the toothbrush. “So it looks like I’m packing as light as I thought I’d be.”

“I have soap and toothpaste and we can stop for clothes and things once we get there,” I told her. Robyn nodded, but didn’t look entirely happy with that thought. “Let’s go.”

“Don’t you want to say goodbye to the guys?” she whispered when I marched down the stairs and headed straight for the front door, carrying my suitcase in one hand.