Page 24 of The Order of the Bitter Hunt

“Not the devil—just a half-demon. Better that than a deal with my father.”

“And whatisour deal? There has to be a catch or a payment. I know how demons operate.”

His teeth grind together, and he leans in, close enough that my nose fills with cinnamon and musk. “You don’t know me, no matter how much you want to.”

“Oh, trust me. I donotwant to know you.”

“I’m not like my father.”

“Sure. I’ve clearly touched on a sore subject.”

“The point is, there is no catch. No deal. It’s you and me working together as equals. If you can’t do that, I’ll go to Tobey instead. They like me, don’t they?”

“Theytolerateyou.”

“I’ll take it.”

I grimace. There’s more Jun doesn’t know, and it’s probably best to change that if he’s going to work with us.

“Speaking of Tobey… there’s something you need to know about them if you’re going to be a part of our team.”

Chapter Eight

“You told him I’m a human?” Tobey has been pacing around our dormitory for an hour and shows no sign of stopping.

Trusting Jun may be a mistake, but I’m confident about it. I may have been too confident, which led me to tell him about Tobey’s humanity.

Jun had no clue, which proves there was more going on with Amelia. She claimed everyone knows that Tobey is human, but that’s clearly not the case. Instead, I’m hypothesizing that a select number of people know.

Including my father. Including whoever is involved in this so-called secret society that Jun has been chirping about.

Unless Jun is lying to me, but I can’t wrap my head around the idea. His response to the body seemed genuine, as did his desire to help. After a month of waiting for a clue, a move, or anything… we only have Jun.

I’ll have to take any help I can get.

“Jun is going to work with us,” I say. “It’s important for him to know you’re not a werecat. He would have found out eventually. Isn’t there a full moon coming up?”

Tobey is impossible to convince, but it’s only a matter of time before they have to stop pretending.

“Since when do you trust Jun? You don’t even like him.”

“I don’t see why that matters right now. Besides, you like him. You sat with him on the first day of school.”

And that’s something I won’t forget. Tobey didn’t know what they were doing, but, in that moment, they betrayed me by befriending my nemesis.

I’m over it now. Really, I am.

Their chin trembles. “No, you don’t get it. You don’t even trust him, but you gave away my secret.”

Damn it all. They have a point, and that look they give me—it pulls at my heartstrings, as it always does.

“Please. Don’t do that.”

“I’m not doing anything.”

I knew this would be a serious conversation, but I didn’t expect it to hurt them this much.

I stand up, taking cautious steps closer. “I didn’t mean to betray your trust, and I know this isn’t my first time doing so, but this is different. I got ahead of myself. This is the first big movement we’ve had in the case since Amelia died, and I’m antsy. I’m so sorry. I just wanted to do something right.”