His head snapped toward me and as our gazes clashed I gasped. Gold heavily threaded his dark irises, and the air crackled between us with an unspoken energy. He held me with nothing more than his gaze, but thankfully before I made a fool of myself and stepped toward him, he was gone, leaving my legs so weak I almost collapsed into a nearby chair. Pure strength of will kept me standing, and by the time Hunter was out of the room and Warrick had returned to my side, I’d gotten myself together.Sorta.
Okay, not at all. But fake it till you make it and all that jazz.
“Come on, Emmeline.” Warrick’s voice was gentle. “Let’s get you to your new, temporary home.”
“Emme,” I said softly. “If I had friends, I’d tell you that’s what my friends call me.”
“You’ve got friends now, kid.”
Dammit. I was already out of sorts after meeting a scent-match, which left me vulnerable to softer emotions. The last thing I needed was to grow attached to shifters or this whole pack life.
The loneliness of my life had never felt so soul withering as it did today. “Well, in the spirit of friendship, and the fact I’m nolonger on death row, I’m actually twenty-five years old. So, not technically a kid.”
Warrick snorted out a laugh, and I was relieved he didn’t appear upset by my lie. “When you get to my age, everyone younger is a kid.” He paused briefly. “Also, in the spirit of friendship, let’s keep your actual age between you, me, and your scent-matched pack. At least for a while.”
“I’d really rather keep them out of it completely. It’s none of their business.”
Hello, denial, my old friend.
Warrick hid his confusion fast and didn’t push me for a reason, making him my new favorite shifter in Golden Claw. He led me down to a basement where a black Range Rover was the only car still parked. I was a bike wolf through and through, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t appreciate a four wheeler. “Nice, Alpha Warrick,” I said as I glided my palm just above the shiny paint and curved lines. “This model isn’t supposed to be released in America until next month.”
Surprise flashed across his face, followed by a genuine smile. “You know your cars. I’m a collector. My pack indulges me because I’m the one who makes the most money.”
I smothered my laughter with my hand. “That sounds like a fair exchange.”
He unlocked the door and gestured for me to enter. “What did you drive out in the human world?”
My heart panged as I think of my baby. “I had a black Yamaha YZF-R6. Nothing fancy, but she was very good to me. I assume it’s still at the hotel where they took me down.”
Dwelling on her loss would only make it worse so I changed the subject as I buckled myself in. “Is being on the council your job? The one that pays all the money?”
Warrick shook his head and started the engine; the first throaty thrum calmed me in a way I hadn’t felt since beforeFlorida. “I head up an enforcer squad of twenty shifters. We’re like… SWAT or black-ops in the human world. There’s ten of these squads in Golden Claw, and we’re the security and law enforcement here. Interestingly enough, one of your mates heads up another squad.”
My insides twisted and squirmed at the usage ofmatein such a casual way. I replied stiffly, “Interestingly enough, I don’t have mates.”
Warrick wore an infuriating smirk as he exited the parking lot. “Right, kid. Keep telling yourself that.”
Smug bastard. I was tempted to retract myspirit of friendship.
For the rest of the drive, as Warrick weaved through bustling city streets that reminded me of a few of the mid-sized cities I’d lived in over the years, he filled me in on Golden Claw.
“We’ve moved past the days of one alpha controlling a large pack, with the rest considered betas and deltas beneath them.” His gruff voice filled the car. “With the number of dominant wolves across the five cities, we had challenges and fights constantly, until we decided to try a different way. So, in Golden Claw for example, the twenty thousand shifters are now governed by the council of twenty alphas you met today. We’re considered the strongest and most dominant alphas here. With one stipulation…”
Despite my lack of plans to ever integrate into this world, I found myself listening closely, barely resisting asking questions to sate my many curiosities.
“Only one alpha per quintet or smaller bonded pack can hold a council seat. Hence why Hunter was the only one of your mates there. All of them would slot into the top twenty strongest…right at the top.”
He was persisting with the mate thing, and I was very aware he’d revealed this information for a reason… or more likely awarning. This pack was filled with powerful alphas, and I could try to deny them all I wanted, but they were used to getting their own way.
“What did Hunter say to you just before he left?” I asked. I wasn’t sure I could mentally handle the answer, but I needed more information on this pack. Especially ifignoring themout of my life wasn’t going to be an option.
“He threatened me,” Alpha Warrick said casually, taking a right turn that brought us out of the downtown and into a more suburban housing estate. I waited for him to expand on that cryptic and worrying statement, but he just started whistling a fucking tune like we were about to head into a diamond mine while a girl as white as snow slept in our cottage.
With a huff I finally said, “Okay, what did he threaten you over?”
Warrick eased off the gas as we turned into another neighborhood where the houses were larger and the estates farther apart. He was not kidding about earning luxury car money.
He pulled the Range Rover up to a white metal gate, and while we waited for it to open, he turned and faced me. His expression was neutral, but his eyes called me a fucking idiot. “You’re not that naive, kid. What would any man threaten another man over when they’re close to their mate. I’m lucky he didn’t attempt to rip my head off in the council chambers.”
