Sean and Micah glared at Cullen. “Good question,” Sean said.
Cullen refused to look at her, focused on his beer.
“Cullen?” she asked.
“I like it here.” He sounded defensive. “I like our house, this land.”
“And?” Sean prodded, his gaze intense.
“And I like the area,” Cullen muttered.
She stroked his arm, pleasantly surprised when he caught and held onto her hand.
Micah stared at their hands and raised a brow. “We just visited up north, and believe it or not, Cullen’s got the right of it. Canada wouldn’t have suited us, not as the current clan now sits.”
“I’m sorry.” But Sarah wasn’t, not really. Why it should matter where Cullen went or didn’t go shouldn’t matter. Not when she still had plans to leave.
“I’m not.” Cullen swore. “The raptors may need guidance, but the eagles are bloodthirsty birds. Talk about fickle.” He blew out a breath. “It’s a good thing our family was high up on the food chain. We made sure others took care of the weaker ones.”
“The new eagle regime isn’t so concerned,” Sean admitted.
“A lot like the jackasses currently in charge here.” Micah glared at Sarah. “How do you stand Larsen, Shaw and Farley?”
“Don’t ask me. I never voted for any of them. It’s a blood thing.”
“Come again?” Micah asked.
“Their fathers and their fathers and so on were clan leaders. They’ve been passing on tradition through bloodlines.”
“No shit.” Micah shook his head. “I knew I should have paid better attention to Mom and that raptor history lesson. I didn’t connect Larsen and Shaw with the prior clan leaders. Maternal lines, right?”
“Yeah.” Which should have meant females in the clan held more rights. Or so Sarah and her mother had often lamented.
“So why don’t you like them much?” Sean asked.
Cullen squeezed her hand. “Rumors stuck her in a bad place. The assholes had the nerve to cheat on their mates and blame Sarah for inciting them.”
She could feel his anger like a palpable force.
“Cullen,” she said, trying to dissuade him from sharing her shameful history.
“That dickhead Shaw messed her up. He’s got it coming, and damned if I’m not going to give it to him.”
Worried, Sarah ignored his brothers and turned to Cullen. She set her wine down and faced him. “You can’t go up against the council. They don’t like problems. And after what happened the other day, they could very well throw you out of the clan.”
“What happened the other day?” Micah asked in a harsh voice. “Cullen, explain.”
Cullen glared at Sarah, then at Micah. “I don’t answer to you.”
“No, you answer to me,” a deep female voice said from the kitchen. A petite woman with daggers for eyes strode through with her hands on her hips. “Cullen Whitefeather, what the hell did you do?”
