I take the cup, whispering a quick thanks, and Earl’s eyes narrow in on the young shifter. He catches the Alpha looking at him and his body goes tense, his shoulders hunching up near his ears. His movements become jerky under Earl’s glare, and when he goes to hand cup to Macy with shaking fingers, a small splash of coffee lands on the rug under the table.
The young man freezes in place, his eyes slowly coming up to look at Earl’s face, then quickly darting back to the floor. Earl’s upper lip is curled back, eyes hard and angry as he stares down the young man.
“Why are you just standing there?” asks Earl in a low voice laced with anger.
“I’m sorry, Alpha,” he stammers. “I’ll clean it up.”
“Damn right you will,” he snaps. He jerks his chin. “Get to it.”
“Yes, Alpha.” He ducks his head and hurries out of the room, returning with a towel to soak up the minuscule puddle on the floor. He pours a new cup for Macy, this time handing it to her without spilling a drop, and the last cup goes to Clay, who’s moved to sit next to me on the couch. Then the young man practically runs out of the room, disappearing through a doorway in the kitchen.
Wanda makes a tsking noise and turns to Macy. “I’m so sorry about that. It’s hard to find good help sometimes.”
Macy blinks and opens her mouth as if to speak before shaking her head and closing it again. “It’s fine,” she finally says. “No harm done.”
“Stupid clumsy beta,” mutters Earl, either not realizing—or not caring—that he’s insulting Macy with the comment as well.
Conversation stalls and the six of us sit there, sipping at our drinks. After a few minutes, Earl sets his cup aside and leans back in his chair.
“Now,” he says, clasping his hands over his stomach as he leans back in his chair. “I think Jon—Luke—and I have some things to discuss.” His cold gaze lands on me. “Like how we’re going to handle the fact that Oliver is a member of the Rockcastle pack and no mating was agreed upon.”
Clay makes a noise and his eyes dart to his mother. She gives him a slight shake of her head.
Luke narrows his eyes on Earl. “If you think—”
“Clay, why don’t you take Oliver and show him around a little while dinner is being prepared? Maybe it will help jog his memory,” says Wanda with forced cheer.
“Of course, Mother,” says Clay, jumping up from his seat. He motions to me. “Come on, Oliver.”
Luke flashes his teeth and grabs my hand. “No,” he says firmly. “Ollie and I stay together.”
Earl smirks. “How sweet.” A calculating look enters his eyes. “But you don’t want to insult my hospitality by implying Oliver won’t be perfectly safe in my territory, right?”
Luke looks like he still wants to refuse, but I squeeze his hand. Sure, I don’t want to wander around with Clay as a tour guide either, but this is the perfect opportunity to get information for the triumvirate.
And, as much as I hate to say it, Earl is right. If Luke insults Earl by refusing, that might create more problems than we’re ready to deal with.
Earl plasters a wide smile on his face and glances at Wanda. “In fact, why don’t my mate and your beta go along too? That way it’s just us, Alpha to Alpha.”
Luke looks even less likely to agree now, but I squeeze his hand again. Antagonizing Earl won’t do us any favors, and it’s not like anything’s actually going to happen to me just because I’m out of Luke’s sight. Plus, if it comes down to it, Macy is perfectly capable of protecting me.
“That sounds… like a plan,” I say, not able to be any more positive than that. “I wanted to get alook aroundanyway.”
Luke’s gaze darts to my face and he raises his brows. I give him a pointed look, willing him to understand what I’m trying to say. His jaw tenses, but he nods and tilts his head toward Macy in a silent command to stick with her.
As if I would do anything else.
I stand and Clay tries to take my arm, but I pretend I don’t notice and quickly move to Macy’s side. Wanda pushes out of her seat, not looking particularly happy, but she follows us as Clay leads the way through the kitchen to a back door.
Wanda pauses in the doorway. “Y’all go on ahead,” she says, staring directly at Clay. “I’m going to go pick out some wine to go with dinner.”
Clay turns a wide smile on me and Macy. “Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of our guests.”
Macy and I share a look. She raises her brows and I shrug. I’m not sure what Wanda’s deal is, but I don’t think we can back out of this now. Macy moves closer to me, her shoulder bumping against mine, and we step outside behind Clay.
He walks around the side of the house to a large fenced-in area. Precise rows of plants stretch out across the area with a few raised beds in the center.
“This is our household garden,” says Clay proudly. “Most of the vegetables we eat come from here.”
