A napkin tumbled by, carried by a short gust of wind.
“I bet Tak is having a fit with all the littering,” Lucian quipped.
“You can bet we’ll be cleaning that up tomorrow.”
Tak ambled up and put his arms around each of them in a mock hug.“Are you having fun all by yourselves?”He stepped back and flicked his long braid off his shoulder.“Tonight is for mingling and making alliances.”
“We were just talking about Cleo,” Montana said.“I still haven’t heard anything from my contacts about a missing child matching her description.I didn’t put her hair length, since we don’t know what it originally looked like before they hacked it off.”
Tak’s brow furrowed.“Keep looking, and be sure you covered all the states and not just Arkansas.She could have come from Alaska for all we know.There’s a large Shifter population up there.”
Lucian checked his watch.“What happens if you can’t find anything?”
Tak shook his head.“It doesn’t feel right keeping her.She has a devastated family out there, so it’s our duty to keep looking.It would help if we knew her Breed.”
“Well, she’s not a Sensor,” Lucian stated as fact.“If she were, she would’ve pushed her emotions into someone by now.Some of their skills are taught, but they’re all born with the ability.”
“Shecouldbe a Relic,” Montana offered while pinching his chin.“We wouldn’t know that until she exhibited an unusual talent in a field.”
Tak crossed his arms.“Speaking of Relics, Milly wants her to gain more weight—her lab work isn’t normal yet.I don’t like the way she closes herself up in that room; it worries me.Dealing with traumatized children isn’t something I’m familiar with, so I don’t want to force her to socialize.”
“She was walking around out here a little while ago,” Montana remarked.
Tak jerked his head back and then searched the crowd with a concerned look.“She’s not allowed to walk alone.I don’t know all these wolves.Was anyone with her?”
Montana guiltily shook his head.“Maybe she went back inside.”
“Maybe?” he growled.“That little girl is in my charge.We have to protect her.”
All three men turned when they heard a cacophony of shouting and a wolf growl.Shifting during a peace party was against the rules.Hamish Macgregor was riled up, judging by the way he was bellowing.Tak and Montana briskly walked away to investigate.
Deciding to let the Packmaster and his third-in-command handle it, Lucian branched farther away and leaned against the pasture fence.The party had thinned out, but the crowd was a livelier one.To keep himself occupied, he periodically checked the cameras on his phone to make sure no one had ventured beyond the designated perimeter.Guests were allowed to explore the property around the house but only within limits.
“Lucy, Lucy, Lucy.”Deacon sauntered up.“Almost didn’t recognize you with hair.”
Putting his phone back in his pocket, Lucian gave the beta wolf a sharp look.“Same.I thought you only wore kitchen rags,” he said, noting Deacon’s black T-shirt, which covered his torso for a change.His muscles and tattoos were still on full display, but it was the most clothing Lucian had ever seen on him.Deacon had a thing for those stringy tank tops that showed off his ridiculously large muscles.
Deacon gave him a sardonic grin.“Gotta dress for the job you want.”He put his arm around Lucian and briefly glanced over his shoulder.“Tough luck.Looks like the Councilwoman has her sights set on a beta wolf if you catch my drift.We’re going out on a date.Ain’t she a peach?”
Lucian’s stomach dropped when he realized who Deacon was looking at.He had seen them talking earlier, but it never crossed his mind that Deacon would be interested in Eden.He’d thought all that flirting Deacon was doing back at her house was just to get under his skin.
Lucian knocked his arm away.“What the hell do I care?”
Deacon coolly leaned against the fence.“Because you’ve been staring at her all night with those pathetic puppy dog eyes.You don’t stand a chance with a woman like that.She wants a leader, not a fucking loser who can’t even win a fight.Especially a defective Chitah,” he said with disdain.After a pregnant pause, Deacon said in a quieter voice, “A little bird told me your kindred spirit rejected you.Is that true?”
Lucian reeled back and glowered.
“Ho-ly shit.Itistrue, isn’t it?”Deacon rocked with laughter.
Lucian wondered if Deacon was bluffing.He hadn’t even told his family about it.
“I bet you’re wondering how I found out.”Deacon stroked his beard with a cocksure grin.“I learned a long time ago that betas in a prestigious pack have clout.I already knew you were from Cognito, so I gave a few of my buddies up there a call to see what they could dig up on Mr.High and Mighty Lucian Cross.Rejected by your soulmate.”He chuckled darkly, rubbing it in.
Lucian clenched his teeth, fighting his rising anger and shame.“You don’t know a damn thing about me,” he said, his voice tightly caged.
“Really?”Deacon faced him, elbow resting on the fence.“My buddy knows a guy who’s friends with her mate.Small world, huh?I wonder what else he could find out.”He leaned in and spoke in honeyed words.“Must be a motherfucking punch to the gut to have your soulmate reject you, but it’s obvious why, half-pint.”Before walking off, he clapped Lucian on the shoulder.“Let me know if you need another haircut.It’s getting a little long on top.”
Lucian knocked his arm away and turned around so his back was to the house.He gripped the fence, his heart racing out of control and his throat dry with panic.It wasn’t only from the revelation that Deacon knew about his past, although that in itself was a complete violation of his privacy.
