And remain.
It’s him.
Ofcourse, my luck would make it that of all the damn years, this happens to be the one his son leads the meeting. Hecate apparently despises me.
My cheeks warm because surely someone notices where his attention remains. His eyes shine as he nears, a storm before it crashes down and electrocutes.
I’m so fucked.
“There he is,” Jasper whispers in a taunting tone, nudging my shoulder. Given how entrapped I am by the shifter’s presence, I’m unprepared for the gentle push and nearly lose my footing.
The shifter’s silver gaze flicks to where Jasper’s hand was and his nostrils flare. His attention lingers on my shoulder for a few seconds before glowering at my cousin again.
Weird.
He stops a feet away and Mom closes the gap. Only then, does his attention slide from me to her. Freed from his turbulent intensity, I scan the coven, wondering if anyone noticed the exchange.
We’re thirty seconds in. Stress will take me out by the end.
“Hello,” Mom begins, her voice loud enough to carry over the field to both sides. “Where’s Alaric? You know it’s only the Alpha we’ll speak with.”
“Iam Alpha of Coldcrest now.”
Oh, you have to be fucking kidding me.Not only did I break the treaty in front of a pack member, but I broke it in front ofthepack member. The Alpha. He’ll take advantage of my earlier fuck-up, because why shouldn’t he?
“I’m Alaric’s son. My name is Ryder.”
Mom falters before composing herself by running a hand down her front. “I-is Alaric okay?”
Mom cares about a shifter? She stuttered over that question. If I wasn’t mentally dying over every other revelation, that interesting tidbit may have gained more of my focus.
The new Alpha—Ryder’s—expression tightens when he gruffly replies, “He’s alive.”
Mom scans over his people before her hint of humanity disappears. “I recognize you from years of your own attendance, so you’re aware of how these go. To renew the treaty between our people for another three hundred and sixty-five days, you have one boon. Make your request, Alpha.”
Ryder’s dark gaze slips from her to me. His jaw locks before moving onto Jasper, and then down the rest of the coven lines. He finishes his perusal, which makes me think he’s searching for something or someone in particular.
“To renew the treaty, hand over Carina Hargrove.”
Every coven member looks at me.
Jasper curses.
And me? I very nearly pass out.
Five
RYDER
My demand is metwith tense silence that chills my bones.
Xander warned me this request wouldn’t work. That the boons have never been for people before, and they’re unlikely to entertain it, no matter if the original accords depict no limitations beyond requesting any of their deaths.
The coven’s collective glares shift into confusion and then centre on a particular woman. One standing nearby, which I’ve been painfully aware of.
My little sneak from earlier.
She was impossible to ignore the second I crossed into the clearing. Her scent carried my way, and her bowed shoulders obviously attempted to hide her face, since she’s aware the consequences her actions could have.
