I wanted Rachel out of here and sharing a drink with her wasn’t on my list today. “Rachel,” I said without preamble. “Why are you here?”
Her lips turned into a pout. “What kind of welcome is that?”
“The welcome I reserve for unwelcome guests who don’t call in advance.”
Her eyes flickered, the amusement in them guttering. “Being Lord does not seem to appeal to you,” she said after a long silence.
“Being Lord is fine.” I leaned against the opposite couch. “It allows me to deal with nuisances any way I see fit.”
Rachel sucked in a shocked breath.
Simone gave me a warning look, but I didn’t back down. “State your business, Rachel. A Lord does not schedule around your whim.”
She blinked in surprise, her hands trembling as she reached for her teacup. I knew for a fact she hated tea, and she was using the cup as a crutch so she could get her emotions under control.
When I first walked in, she smelled of satisfaction and pleasure. Now, her scent had turned a little sour and fearful. She needed something from me and wasn’t pleased I’d called her out. Rachel liked arriving at things her way and didn’t like to be reminded she was at anyone’s mercy.
I was happy to remind her. Seeing her again stirred no fond memories. We had none together. Only mutual destruction. Once, I’d wanted her more than anything in the world. She wanted everything else. Power, fame, money, status, all the things I’d never cared for much, those were the things Rachel worked toward.
I was Lord because I was too powerful to be anything else. Rarely did I access those powers, preferring to save them for when they might be necessary, but I could access them at any time. Rachel had no idea how close she walked the line between death and freedom.
I could crush her with a moment’s notice, and a small part of me wished to. Wiping her off the face of the earth would save a lot of people in her orbit heartache and destruction. Rachel wasa user, a creature so self-absorbed she didn’t care who she took down on her way to the top.
I’d become Lord to stop people like her, and yet, here she was sitting on my couch and drinking my tea. The irony of it left a bitter taste in my mouth. Walking away from her was the hardest thing I’d ever done.
I never thought she’d darken my doorstep. Yet here she was.
I crossed my arms over my chest and waited for her to lie to me.
“My father sent me here with a warning of rogue shifters trying to infiltrate packs all over Europe. He’s convinced some of those rogues are coming from America.”
I knew all about the rogues and knew my Pack had none. “Try again.”
Anger rolled over Rachel’s eyes. “It’s true.”
I lifted a shoulder in an unconcerned shrug. “Perhaps, but it isn’t the complete reason you showed up. A message like that could have been sent via email or phone call.”
Rachel huffed. “You know my father hates modern technology.”
Another tactic of hers. Trying to humanize her family, so I’d soften my stance. “Your father has been using email for the past thirty years and you know it. He’s also been in several of our last video conferences. This is your last chance to be honest. If you lie to me one more time, I’ll throw you out myself.”
Her green gaze landed on Simone. “Can you ask your Omega to step out?”
“No,” I said shortly.
Rachel blinked, unused to being refused. “Do you trust me so little?”
“Yes.” I flicked an impatient hand.
Rachel rose in a liquid move and slunk over to where I stood. She reached out a slender hand tipped with burgundymanicured nails and was about to press her palm against my chest, when I snatched her wrist and held it two inches away.
“No.”
She clicked her tongue. “Scared, Caelan?”
I let the gold shine through my eyes, a slow grin curving my lips. “Not at all. More like taken.”
Her nostrils flared. “Who?” she demanded.
