Tearing my attention away, I nod at Callum who is sitting behind his desk. Finally I notice Henry, sitting in the other chair.
“Hi Jake, I’ve asked you here as our magic weaver.”
Alpha’s words hit like a punch to my gut. He doesn’t really want me here, but he has no choice. The rejection stings. Surely he can’t still be pissed off at me?
“We are trying to figure out how to solve Fitz’s shifting problem before the next full moon,” explains Callum.
I was going to call just such a meeting, before Fitz poisoned me. Now Alpha is taking better care of Fitz than I am. My gaze flicks between Alpha and Fitz in sudden terrifying alarm. Callum is unmated, does he want Fitz for himself? Pain lances through my palms. I’ve clenched my fists so hard I’ve cut my skin.
“Take a seat,” says Alpha.
Blindly I fall into the remaining chair. He has bought him clothes, he is trying to find a cure for his shifting. He was really pissed off at me for fucking Fitz in the woods. Have I really been so oblivious? Fitz is a young gorgeous unmated omega. And he hasn’t once tried to kill Callum. And Callum doesn’t hate hunters with the passion that I do. No one does.
I glare at Alpha, and he blinks in surprise, “Are you going to claim him?” I ask, except it comes out as an angry, bitter snarl.
Callum gives me a long level look. “I’m not going to claim Fitz.”
“Why not!” I snap. He has to be lying.
To my surprise Callum smiles softly. “I have my reasons.”
I glare at him but I know his ‘that’s the end of the conversation’ look. I turn my attention to Fitz instead. He is staring wide eyed at the pair of us. His gaze flicking between us. He doesn’t look devastated at Alpha’s declaration that he wasn’t going to claim him. It mollifies me a little.
I glance over at Henry who just smirks and looks like he wants to break out the popcorn. Bastard. Grumbling to myself, I settle into my chair and try to focus on the purpose of this meeting, How to enable Fitz to shift, or at least not to fall into a dangerous fit.
“There are some herbs that can make the transition easier,” says Henry.
I nod in agreement. “We should treat it like the first shift of an adolescent pup. An alpha should be with him and call out his wolf. Add Henry’s herbs and make our first attempt long before the moon, so there is time for more attempts.”
Not that I’ve been thinking about it or anything.
Callum nods thoughtfully. “But it’s easier to shift on the full moon, that’s why we normally choose it for a pup’s first shift?”
I shake my head. “This is not a usual situation. Fitz is old for a first shift and his ability was artificially hampered by the collar. We’ve seen what the moon does to him.”
“Does he even want to shift?” asks Henry, and I want to rip his head off.
Fitz squirms as we all stare at him. “I don’t want to get sick.”
The little shit. He clearly still believes we are all monsters, and he doesn’t want to lower himself to be like us. He is still a hunter. Fitz looks up at me and winces at whatever he sees in my eyes. He drops his gaze again and his shoulders slump.
“Okay,” says Callum decisively. “Jake, you can make the first attempt tonight.”
“Me?” I splutter in outrage.
“We are the only alphas in the pack,” says Callum, stating the obvious. “And you… Fitz is more familiar with you.”
It’s my term to squirm. Yes, I have fucked Fitz three times, and yes he does seem to respond to me well. I don’t think it is all fake. I hope it’s not all fake. Part of me longs for none of it to be fake at all. Part of me wishes for it all to be true with a passion that burns.
That aside, Alpha annoyingly is right, as usual. It is far more likely that Fitz’s wolf will come out to my call, than Callum’s. Fitz’s wolf will recognize me in the most primal way. It knows my scent. Knows its human side has taken my knot.
“Fine,” I mutter sulkily, and I hate that I sound like a petulant child.
I’ll help Fitz shift, and then I will be done with him. I’ll stay away from him, I’ll ignore him, and everything will be good. It makes perfect sense.
So why does it feel like a lie?
Chapter sixteen
