They eventually got everyone upstairs.Rex and Harmon were at the back of the group, their shoulders bumping together as they walked up the steps.Rex trusted Harmon to have his back, which was a bit of a surprise.Usually, the only people he trusted were the members of his family.Harmon had shown that he was on their side, though, and, in a way, he was family, too.
There were even more dragons hanging around when they emerged from the basement.Rex frowned, hoping the dragons were here because they were curious and not because they were planning something.Jacob still looked like he’d been forced to eat a whole lemon, while the guards who’d been with them in the basement appeared confused.
Most of the dragons were silent as they watched the wolves scurry around, but a few scoffed and made what they thought of the situation obvious.They seemed to believe that the wolves should’ve been kept in their cells, which didn’t make sense.These people hadn’t done anything to the clan or to Martin.The only person they’d betrayed was Kieran, and he was taking them back.Shouldn’t the dragons be happy that they were getting rid of the wolves?They wouldn’t have to feed them anymore.
Not that they’d been doing a lot of that, considering the state the wolves were in.
They were led into a massive kitchen.There were more people here, too, and while a few left, clearly unhappy at the thought of having to deal with wolf shifters and vampires, others stepped up.Two women hurriedly put together food, while a man helped the children sit at the counter.There weren’t a lot of wolves, so they didn’t take up a lot of space.
“We’ll need rooms since we’re staying for at least a few days,” Arlen told Jacob, who was watching the scene with a slightly disgusted expression on his face.Rex wasn’t sure if it was because he didn’t like kids or because he didn’t like wolf shifters.
He didn’t care.
“You can’t stay here,” Jacob said.
Arlen arched a brow.“Can’t I?”
“Who our next leader is, is none of your business.”
“Considering Merrick here is the person who killed your former leader, I think it is.”
Jacob took a step back as if he expected Merrick to kill him, too.Rex was pretty sure that Merrick was tempted, but he just grinned, exposing his vampire fangs.Jacob paled.
“We’ll need blood, too,” Merrick said, still smiling.
It was slightly creepy, maybe because Rex wasn’t used to seeing him smile so much.He kind of wished Merrick would stop.He couldn’t deny it was working, though.He was creeped out, even though he knew Merrick.He couldn’t imagine how the dragons around them felt.
“Not everyone here agrees with what Martin did,” Jacob said.“We’re not all evil.”
“You might not be, but you never stood up to Martin.”
“Some of us tried.They’re not here to tell the tale.”
Arlen nodded.“I understand.What’s left of your clan needs guidance, and Kieran wants to be involved in choosing who will provide that guidance.He won’t choose for you.He just wants to make sure we don’t have a second Martin on our hands.”
“The clan should decide who will assume the leadership,” Jacob insisted.
“That’s fine with us.We’ll chat with anyone the clan chooses.If we’re not happy with the choice, we’ll ask you to rethink it.That’s all.”
Jacob snorted.“Is it?Don’t you think it’s too much?”
“Considering everything your clan has done, I’m not sure it’senough.”Arlen leaned closer.Jacob looked alarmed and took a step back, hitting the fridge.There was nowhere for him to go.“You don’t have a choice, Jacob,” Arlen drawled.“Your clan doesn’t have a leader anymore.You still have people, of course, but will that be enough?The pack killed your leader and his second-in-command.We won this fight.We have allies, and we won’t hesitate to take the clan down if you don’t go along with this.We just want what’s best for everyone, including your clan.Isn’t that what you should want, too?”
Jacob looked like he wanted to argue.Instead, he nodded curtly and gestured at the guards who were hovering by the door.“Prepare guest rooms,” he said.“Show them where everything is once the wolves are gone.”
“Jacob—” one of the guards started.
Jacob shook his head.“You heard them.They’re doing this whether we like it or not.Do you really want to put the clan in more trouble than we already are?”
The guard hesitated, then shook his head.Rex felt a bit like an animal at the zoo with everyone staring.Hopefully, they wouldn’t have to stick around for long.They needed to talk to a few people, find out who the better leader would be, and put them in charge.The clan would do the rest.
Something told Rex things weren’t going to be that easy.
* * * *
THE ROOM THEY WEREled to was dimly lit but clean and neat.It also only contained one bed.
Harmon turned to the guard who was still hovering there, looking like he wanted to run.“There are two of us.”
