“I’m not dying.I’ve been better, but she didn’t hurt me.”Harmon didn’t count the few scratches on his hands.If Sarah had wanted to hurt him, she could have done so easily.The fact that she hadn’t told him something.
He just wasn’t sure what yet.
“You need a keeper,” Rex muttered.
“Are you volunteering?”
They were joking around, so Harmon didn’t expect Rex’s expression to turn serious.“What if I am?”he asked.
Harmon had no idea what to say.He wanted to tell Rex that of course he wanted him to be his keeper, but at the same time, they still hadn’t discussed what being together meant for them.Harmon knew that Rex didn’t want to stay with the pack, but would he be willing to leave his family to move in with him?He wouldn’t become the coven leader or even second-in-command, but he’d still have some authority over the coven.Once the coven got to know him, Harmon had no doubt that they would like him and might even go to him when they needed advice or help.He wasn’t sure Rex would be comfortable with that.It was something they needed to talk about, but it would have to wait, like many other things.
Thankfully, Harmon didn’t have to answer right away.They walked into the conference room, and things immediately went to shit.
“You can go,” Jacob said as he turned toward Eva.
She blinked at him as if she wasn’t quite sure why he was giving her that order.Harmon wasn’t sure, either, but he could guess.Jacob didn’t like that Eva had taken the situation in-hand earlier.She’d shown everyone who’d been present how bad a leader Jacob was.
As if they’d needed her to notice it.
Jacob hadn’t stepped in to stop Sarah.He hadn’t said anything.He’d just stood there, waiting for someone else to intervene.No matter what he told himself, that wasn’t the sign of a good leader—or of a leader at all.Jacob was out, and he knew it.
“She stays,” Merrick snapped.“She did more in the past five minutes than you have since we’ve arrived.She’d be a better leader than you are.”He turned to Eva.“Have you ever thought about it?”
“About what?Becoming clan leader?”
“You’d be better than Jacob, although that’s not hard.”
Jacob turned an interesting shade of red.“How dare you?You don’t know me.”
“I know enough to be sure you’d be a shit leader.Hell, everyone with eyes knows that.”
Harmon didn’t think that letting those two bicker was helping anyone.They still needed answers and to find out what had happened to Brian.“Do we think that Sarah killed Brian?”Harmon asked, hoping to distract everyone.
He wouldn’t put it past Merrick to turn the fight with Jacob physical, and that wasn’t something they could afford right now.He wouldn’t mind kicking Jacob down a few pegs, but he didn’t want to go to war with the dragons.Merrick didn’t seem to have the same problem.He looked ready to take things into his own hands.
“Why would she do that?”Mallory asked.
“I don’t know, but it can’t be a coincidence.We’ve been looking for the person who killed Brian, and she attacked one of us.”
“You’re vampires,” Jacob spat out.“She probably doesn’t want you here any more than I do.”He seemed to realize what he’d said and snapped his mouth shut.
Harmon had to stop himself from laughing in Jacob’s face.He didn’t care what Jacob or any of the other dragons here thought about him or his presence in the house.He was here for a reason, and it wasn’t to make friends.
He just hoped no one else was going to try to kill him.
“You need to be careful with your words,” Merrick said with a growl.
Jacob glared at him.“This is my home, not yours.You had your chance, and you wasted it.”
Merrick snorted.“My chance?My chance to do what?Become a murderer because someone ordered me to?Become a drug dealer?How involved were you in both those things, Jacob?”
Harmon loved Merrick, but sometimes, he wanted to strangle him.Today was one of those times.Merrick was making everything more complicated by being snarky and annoying.Harmon was pretty sure that he was doing it to push Jacob to the point where he would expose himself, but he was done with the bickering.His arm hurt, and he wanted to go back to bed, even though he’d just gotten up.He wanted to spend time with Rex and get to know him.Hell, he wanted to take Rex home to his castle, lock him in his bedroom, and not allow him to leave until he was satisfied with how much time they’d spent together.
He was pretty sure there wasn’t an upper limit.
“Enough,” he said, staring at Merrick.
Merrick frowned, then nodded.At least he understood.
