Kellan smirked as he took a sip of his beer, and I started to eat so fast I was in real danger of choking. All so my psychopathic alphas didn’t snatch slices of pizza from our guests’ hands.
Of course, the faster I ate, the more amused my pack of assholes looked, and eventually I had to pause for a breath. And some damn wine.
Is this what they meant bystress eating?
A few seats down from me, Kassidy snorted, and when I leaned forward to see around Kellan, I found her silently laughing into her pasta. “I swear,” she said, holding her sides, “just when I think I might be ready for a pack, my brother demonstrates the very real reasons why I’d have to kill them all in their sleep.”
I gulped down more wine while trying to figure out if I had indigestion or was in the middle of a mild heart attack. “None of them will eat until I’m all but stuffed,” I told her. “I know they’re about to ask all of you to wait as well. I’m fighting for my life over here so you can eat while the food is hot.”
Kellan’s bottom lip popped out. “Baby, I would literally die for you. Don’t ask me not to ensure your needs are met first.”
I patted his cheek. “I would never, hence why I’m turning into a professional eater over here. Everyone is happy that way.”
One—or both—of the dragons reacted to that, as heat filled the room.
“No one’s happiness matters but yours,” Talon told me, his cold gaze trailing along the table of alphas. “I could kill everyone in here before any of them even realized I was stalking their last breaths. It’s not too much to ask that they wait for you to eat first.”
Every alpha except Kassidy stilled, dropping whatever food was in their hands.
Throwing my arms in the air, I declared loudly, “I’m full. Ignore these alphas. I will personally stand protectively in front of any of you if they so much as breathe heavily in your direction.”
For some reason, the males in the room trusted my word, and started to tentatively eat once more. Kassidy continued to chuckle, but I was too busy glaring my pack into eating to glance her way.
Eventually, everyone was full, relaxed, and had topped-up drinks. Hunter placed his whiskey down and addressed the shifters: “Thank you for being here tonight. I’ve spoken with many of you individually, and you’re all aware of the current situation and dwindling timeline we’re racing against. As I’ve explained, I won’t be taking this to the Alpha Council, so it’s up to us to start preparing for what is to come.”
Slade nodded, staring at his brother. “We’re hunting the witch named Jewels,” he said, picking up where Hunter left off. “She’s from the Termaine line and is considered both powerful and unstable. Her family have been directly involved in more than one of our wars. The only way to end her curse is to destroy her before the next full moon.”
“Which she is well aware of,” Talon added. “Hence why she’s working so hard at staying hidden.”
“How do we find her?” Warrick asked, his voice brittle. All of him appeared brittle, as if a gentle tap would shatter him. “Do we have any witches in the circle of trust who might be able to help?”
Hunter’s beast moved toward me in the bond.We are not disclosing your heritage. Not now or ever.
“There are no witches anywhere,” he said out loud. “We’ve had friends and allied packs searching, and no one can find a single magical being.”
“They’re clearly all together,” Tyson muttered, a scowl slashing his handsome face. “They must be combining their magic to keep the shielding strong and impenetrable.”
“That’s our theory too,” Hunter confirmed. “But we might have found a way to track Blaine Rogers. Our assumption is that Jewels’ shifter allies are also wherever this magical stronghold is.”
“How do you plan to track him?” Warrick asked, his focus unwavering. “Surely if she’s got everyone under this protection, his scent or essence will be blocked.”
Hunter’s eyes darkened. “She might have him under magical protection, but the shifter side isn’t hers to control. Not yet anyway. There’s a way to track shifters using their blood.”
“How do you have Blaine’s blood?” I asked.
“You followed my plan?” Warrick answered before Hunter could, and I turned to find the other alpha’s gaze filled with fire. “I suggested he check out Fletcher’s house, since I figured that a serial killer would have trophies.”
Okay, clearly Hunter had been keeping Warrick updated, which made me feel a little better. Even if neither of them had spoken to me about it.
Hunter’s expression softened when he met my gaze. “Yes, it was War’s suggestion that we check out Fletcher’s, but I would have gotten there eventually.” His voice grew harder as he addressed Warrick. “As you suspected, he kept samples and tests from all his children. Blaine had a lot, especially from the years he was with Emme’s mother. There were a few newer samples that we might be able to use.”
That’s what Constantine is trying to do in the library, I asked through the bond.
Hunter’s wolf pressed against my side.Yes. But not in the usual way of tracking magic. It’s specified to shifters, and Jewels’ shielding should only have minimal effect.
His tone told me that it was a long shot, but it was more than we’d had yesterday.
“If the spell works, will you need us all to fight with you?” one of the other alphas asked. From his neutral tone and expression, it was hard to tell how he felt about it. “If this witch does have all the magical community and her ally shifters together, you will most likely be outpowered.”
