“Fine. Send him up. He and I have things to discuss anyway.” The Alpha places the phone down, a self-satisfied smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “It appears my luck has already improved.”
I’m not sure exactly what he means by that, but I don’t like the sound of it.
We all stand in silence, waiting, until the elevator dings down the hall and the Alpha says, “Jake, go escort Mr. Matisse back here.”
Jake dips his head, then runs off to do his Alpha’s bidding. A few moments later, the most gorgeous man I have ever seen walks into the room. Jake’s probably back too, but I can’t see anyone else but the new arrival.
He’s somewhere in his mid-twenties and clearly related to Remy with that same angelic beauty, but where Remy has the cute cherubic thing, this guy—Remy’s brother Julien, I assume—is more like a deadly archangel. His hair is blond, a few shades darker than Remy’s, and it falls in artfully messy waves to his lightly stubbled chin. He has the same bright blue eyes as his brother, but the similarities end there. Julien’s features are sharper, giving that prettiness a more severe edge, and he’s at least six four with broad shoulders and muscled arms.
Julien Matisse reminds me of a young Brad Pitt mixed with a bit of Thor.
And I kind of want to climb him like a tree, a desire I’m going to catalog under the heading ‘what the fuck’ because I’ve seen all sorts of attractive guys and never had that kind of urge. Hell, I’ve had sex with guys I wasn’t this into.
Of course, I’m over here falling deep into lust, and Julien’s completely ignoring me. He hasn’t even deigned to send so much as a glance my way.Ouch.That hits right in the self-esteem.
On second thought, though, it’s probably a good thing he’s concentrating on thehostile Alpha shifterin the room instead of me. I’d very much like the newfound object of my desire to avoid being hurt or killed. And if he can get me out of this too so we have some time to get better acquainted, all the better.
“Have you come to offer amends for your brother’s trespass, Matisse?” asks the not-Julien Alpha.
“No, Rossi,” replies Julien, addressing the Chicago Alpha. “I’m here to retrieve my pack’s guest.”
“Guest?” Rossi’s eyes narrow.
“Keir.” Julien jerks his chin in my direction without taking his eyes off the other Alpha. “The one your goons grabbed and dragged here against his will.”
Rossi sweeps his arms outward. “Grabbed? Dragged? I think you misunderstand the situation.” He turns to me. “Isn’t that right,Keir?”
His power presses into me, trying to force an answer, but there’s a big difference between forcing submissiveness or a shift and forcing someone to act completely against their will.
“No.” I cough out. “That’s not right.”
Rossi’s eyes go hard. “But you were trespassing. My men had every right to—”
“Actually, they didn’t,” says Julien dryly. “Omegas have free passage in any territory.” The words are confident, but his tone makes it sound like he’s repeating something he heard someone else say.
Rossi’s nostrils flare. He clearly does not like the fact Julien knows what I am. Does this have something to do with me being valuable?
“That’s true,” says Rossi in a conciliatory tone that in no way matches his expression. “But my men took custody of someone thought to be a trespasser, something they have a right to do. It wasn’t until Keir was here that I realized his status. How was I to know?”
Julien’s lips curl into a wide smile as he bares his teeth. “Then I suppose Keir is free to go?”
Rossi scowls in response, his mouth twisting with distaste. He practically spits his response. “Of course. I wouldn’t dare to hold an omega against his will.”
For the first time, Julien turns his full attention to me. His eyes widen and his body goes stiff for a beat. If I hadn’t already been watching him so closely, I would have missed the split-second reaction and I’m pretty sure everyone else in the room did. As it is, I’m not sure what the reaction means except that he’s just as affected by me as I am by him. He’s just better at hiding it.
“There’s still the matter of your brother,” says Rossi, breaking me and Julien out of our little stare off. “He is not an omega, so his trespass still stands.”
“To avoid any further ‘misunderstandings,’ I would like toofficiallynotify you that Remy is here acting as my procurator and as such he is permitted to travel within your territory during the summit.” Julien narrows his eyes. “Though I believe you already knew that.”
Rossi shakes his head sadly, eyes wide with feigned innocence, as if he can’t believe he’d be accused of such a thing. “I had no idea.”
Julien scoffs. “Sure you didn’t.” He tilts his head toward the door and gestures for me to follow. “Come on.”
He doesn’t have to ask twice.
We’re waiting for the elevator when Rossi pokes his head out of his office. “And Julien? You might want to keep a closer eye on your ‘guest.’ Who knows what could happen to him if he wanders too… freely.”
Seven
