A nod. “One of the Shifter Lords.”
The first paused, a sharp tang of new scent in the air.
Terror.
I focused on the first. “Allow me to introduce myself to you. My name is Caelan, Lord of this territory. You’ve already met my lady.”
The smell of urine saturated the air.
My eyes went gold, casting a light on the shady forest and the man who’d dared to threaten Evie.
“Hey man,” the shifter said, raising his hands in the air and jerking back a step. “I don’t want any trouble. I saw an opportunity and took it.”
He spoke about Evie as if she were an inconvenience, not a living, breathing sentient being. The love of my life. “An opportunity,” I mused. “Who gave you said opportunity?”
“I dunno. We got an email, and it became sort of a game to see who could get her.”
He swallowed hard when he realized his choice of words.
“And did you?” I asked. “Gether?”
A flash of malice in his eyes, there and gone. “We left,” he lied.
“Oh? How did you end up here of all places? Not many people go prowling through these woods. Wolves are prevalent in Joy Springs. Mine and the natural species.” I let claws slip from my fingertips. “The smell of blood attracts predators, you know.”
He took an involuntary step back. “Look man. Like I said, we don’t want any trouble.”
The second turned and took off running. I didn’t even bother to look. My wolves would take care of him.
Sure enough, a single sharp scream came seconds later, followed by the metallic scent of blood.
I watched as an interplay of emotions played over the shifter’s face. Shock. Fear. Fury. And resignation as he calculated the odds of walking out of here alive.
“Someone should have told you, cat shifter, to never intrude on a Lord’s territory.”
He took a few more steps backward, the shifter’s heart pounding triple time.
“But even more important, is never threatening a Lord’s woman.”
This time, my smile was full of fangs, my power saturating the air.
I was on him an instant later, his scream ringing out through the still air, blood saturating the earth, a worthy sacrifice for his insult on its daughter.
I didn’t bother showeringor even changing my clothes for my meeting. If the Lords wanted war, I’d give it to them. Targeting Evie was the same as targeting me, and they’d know it the moment I stepped foot into the meeting room.
I’d chosen to take Simone with me. Garrett’s presence made me itchy for violence. My Second understood and planned to make himself scarce for at least the next week.
Not that doing so would be an issue. Thalia took up far more time than any of us expected.
Not telling Evie who she was, was wearing on me. We’d promised honesty, and neither of us were doing a great job. Granted, Evie’s secrecy wasn’t as harmful as mine, though I guess I could argue almost getting Garrett killed trumped any secret I was keeping.
But that wasn’t her fault. Keeping Thalia’s true identity from Evie was mine and only mine. She wouldn’t understand me keeping a promise to Cernunnos if it prevented honesty with her.
Once again, the goddamned fae had gotten me into a pickle I was unprepared for.
Rowan was the first to arrive, the familiar prickle of his magic reminding me of Evie. His eyes widened when he walked into the conference room and spotted me. A bark of laughter cracked through the room.
“Looks like the marriage scheme is off to a grand start.” He grinned and pulled out the seat next to me. His nose wrinkled as he caught a whiff of me.
