Viktor grinned and squeezed his mate’s thigh beneath the table. “She’s got you there, Teddy.”
Theodore opened his mouth to retort, but Margot smoothed her palm down his chest and dryly interjected, “Isn’t today supposed to be serious?Monumental,even? Why are you poking at your cousin, baby?”
Viktor coughed into his fist, covering up a bark of laughter.
He didn’t care how many times he heard it: listening to the tiny, red-haired healer call the terrifying sovereign of the Elvish Protectoratebabywould never, ever get old.
“I can be seriousandannoy my cousin,” Theodore smartly replied. Catching his wife’s hand, he brought it up for a brief kiss to her palm. “I canmultitask,as you so love to say.”
“Besides,” Viktor added, smiling, “they’re not here yet.”
Theodore nodded. “See?”
“Angelique will be here with her mate any minute.” Margot dared to tap the tip of the sovereign’s blue nose. “Benice,okay? No growling.”
“Hey, I’m only here for mediation. This one isn’t on me.” Theodore arched his brows at Viktor. “My wife is right, though. This is some monumental stuff you’re trying to pull off. You ready for the big time, Vik?”
“It’s time,” he answered, sharing a look with his mate. “I’ve been thinking about this for years. They deserve this chance, Teddy.”
Not that the weres couldn’t manage it well enough on their own, but Viktor knew what it was like to feel like the world was against you. If he could help out a pack that had never been offered even achance,he was going to do it. No one should have to fight for every scrap they got.
Margot reached across the table to touch his knuckles with the tips of her warm fingers. Immediately, magic hummed from the contact like a low-grade electrical current. “You’re doing the right thing, both of you,” she said, eyes suspiciously shiny. “They’re good people. Very, very good people.”
The sound of a door opening echoed across the cavernous room that was The Rotunda. If he peered over the railing of the balcony, he would see shoppers moving about their business, unaware of the world-shaking deal that was about to take place just over their heads.
Camille turned in her seat to peer over the open area that separated them from the far end of the restaurant. “They’re here.”
The strange, opulent restaurant had been cleared out for their use. Only a skeleton crew of waitstaff remained, giving them much-needed privacy. Conversation and soft music floated up from the floors below. It was the only sound in the restaurant as the maitre’d escorted the diminutive form of Angelique Batacan and her mate, Anders Batacan, around the circular room toward the only occupied table.
Angelique was a small, soft-looking woman in her mid-200’s. Her skin was a soft brown and her hair was a long, straight curtain down her back. Laugh lines and crow's feet had just begun to kiss her skin, but her most striking feature was her two different colored eyes — the mark of a were.
Her mate, a lanky Dutchman with straw blond hair, one pale blue eye and one dark brown, walked beside her, his expression cheerful. Angelique, on the other hand, could only be described as suspicious.Her dark brows were drawn in a deep frown and her body language read,Look at my mate wrong and I’ll claw your eyes out.
He respected that.
As they neared the table, everyone stood up to greet the new arrivals. Viktor took the lead.
Sticking out his hand like he’d never met the woman before, he said, “It’s good to see you, Angelique. You too, Anders.”
Angelique gave his hand one firm shake. “Well, it’s nice to seesomeof you.” She gave a pointed nod in Margot’s direction. “You doing well, Healer Goode?”
“She’s just as well as she was thelasttime you asked her if she needed rescuing, Alpha Batacan,” Theodore deadpanned.
Margot elbowed her husband in the stomach, but Viktor was certain the blow bounced off with little to no impact. “I’m doinggreat,thank you.”
“It’s always worth checking,” Angelique sniffed.
Hoping to defuse some of the tension, he gently pulled Camille up beside him and proudly announced, “Angelique, Anders, this is my mate, Camille Dia Solbourne. Cam, this is Angelique and Anders, the alphas of the San Francisco were pack.”
Camille inclined her head and offered them a small, close-lipped smile. “It’s nice to meet you both. Margot’s told me some very… interesting stories about your teens.”
Anders slung his arm around his mate’s shoulders and let out a hearty laugh. To Viktor, it sounded a bit like an accordion dropped down a staircase. “Ah, you know how it is! Teenagers are always getting into trouble, and were-teens are even worse. Absolutelynoimpulse control. We’re just glad that Healer Goode hasn’t become too busy to make house calls.”
Margot smoothed a lock of hair back behind one dainty ear. Her cheeks were flushed when she answered, “Any time, Anders. I like to help.”
“How’s Frankie?” Theodore’s voice took on a somber note, drawing attention back to him.
Viktor had only heard bits and pieces of Margot and Teddy’s encounter with the weres, but he knew that at some point Theodore had reflexively threatened a young man’s life. Knowing how seriously his friend took that sort of thing, Viktor wasn’t surprised by his remorse.
