As Shawn turns to face me, I can see an expression of pure outrage on his face. The meaning is clear—he didn’t do this to impress me, or to look like a nice guy.
No. He did this because he actually finds it morally reprehensible.
“I’m so sorry about that,” he says. “I can only imagine how it made you feel to have your father behave so callously. Are you alright?”
I nod, my chest too tight to force any words out. Shawn offers his arm to me, and I take it, letting him support me as we walk up the hall.
“I’m going to have a drink,” he says. “Would you like to join me? I understand if you’d rather go straight to bed.”
I look into his eyes, emotions churning inside me. I’ve never been so confused in my whole life, but I’m also curious.
Maybe he just finds me completely ugly, and the idea of consummating with me disgusts him. After all, Father did have to pay him to make him take me.
Or, maybe, he’s a decent guy…
“Okay,” I answer before I can think too hard about it. “Talon distilled brandy, his own recipe. The bottle is on the top shelf there.”
“Okay. Would you like some leftover pudding?”
“Sure.”
I follow Shawn into the kitchen, and he gets the tray of pudding out of the fridge, and I find two glasses while he gets the brandy.
“Rough day, huh?” he asks, pouring two generous nips.
I nod, taking a small sip.
“I want you to know, my friends and I really are here to improve things for you. Rex can’t stand the idea of people suffering, so once he realized how it was up here, he had to do something about it.”
I just nod again, watching him carefully as I pick up a spoon and take a bite of pudding.
“I’m sure he doesn’t really want to rule you guys,” Shawn goes on, “but from his perspective, it’s easier to take command. He’s just a take-charge kind of person.”
“Okay,” I mumble, taking small sips of brandy in between bites of pudding.
“And—well. I really don’t want to bring this up, but your warriors did attack us. Our women and children. Rex can’t just leave you up here, knowing you’re a potential threat.”
“Talon would never have attacked women and children,” I say firmly. “And how can we possibly be a threat to you?”
“Look, I’ll make the small concession that maybe your warriors were not aware of who was in the clearing, but the fact remains it was Grace, the Eccles luna Alisha, and our children in the glade where the attack began.”
The Eccles luna is Alisha! Is that why she was weird this morning? Was she in the battle?
The idea of being friends with the woman who murdered the only people I ever really loved turns my stomach, and I push the food away from me.
“You might think that you aren’t a threat,” Shawn says, “but there is always the potential for violence. The best way to ensure peace is for one of us to take the lead here. Who would have been alpha, if I hadn’t come?”
“Father, probably,” I answer, hating it.
“No other contenders?”
“Maybe. But I think Leah would have spoken against it.”
“Interesting. What duties did you have in the pack before this? What exactly did your father have you do?”
“I mostly stayed at home,” I answer. “I took care of things there. I was good friends with Talon and Jess. I visited a lot.”
“Did your father tell you to do that?”
