Wade continued to pretend he couldn’t understand them. Ella, however, seemed annoyed at their rudeness of excluding everyone else from the conversation. “Wade is part of the New York City god pack. He’s agreed to help us with a problem.”
At that, both of the fae froze where they stood, their attention zeroing back on Wade like a heat-seeking missile. Donal swallowed. “New York City?”
Wade wiggled his fingers at them. “My pack isn’t looking to expand up to Boston. I’m here as a courtesy.”
“When Brigid called for aid, the clans up here answered. We heard the fight against the gods was led by your pack,” Riordan said slowly.
“I don’t remember seeing you on the streets.”
“We fought at the Battle of Samhain in the Hudson River.”
Wade made a face. “Water fae? No wonder you got stuck fighting against the Norse dead.”
“We’re selkies.”
Wade’s gaze lingered on the leather jacket Riordan wore and the stylish brown coat Donal had on. “Sealskin?”
Maybe he could hoard Riordan after all if Riordan was willing.
A wary look came to Riordan’s deep brown eyes. “Off limits.”
Ooh, a challenge. Wade liked those—when it came to stealing.
He’d never tried to steal someone’s affections though.
“Niall kidnapped the alphas of the Boston god pack two weeks ago and gave the rest of the pack an ultimatum to fall in line and hand over their territory, or he’d kill Casey and Harper. What did he do to you?”
Both the selkies seemed startled at his statement, the pair looking to Ella for confirmation, which she couldn’t give. She just stared back at them with a grim expression, mouth pulled tight. “Wade isn’t from around here, and we couldn’t ask for help in Boston. Take what he says as truth.”
“The terms they were given sounded like fae words. If you’ve had a run-in with Niall, maybe you can confirm for me that heisfae. Ella thinks he’s just a mobster businessman.”
“He’s fae,” Riordan said, crossing his arms over his chest. “Part of thedaoinesídhe.”
“So he’s a lord or whatever? Demigod? Did he get kicked out of Underhill like Tiarnán?”
Riordan blinked at him. “How do you know the Lord of Ivy and Gold?”
“He’s my dire’s boss.”
To be fair, Tiarnán was back in Brigid’s grudgingly good graces after the Battle of Samhain. Something told Wade that whoever or whatever Niall was, that wouldn’t be the case with him.
“How high up are you in the New York City god pack?” Donal asked curiously, eyeing Wade with a frankness that was much more businesslike than his brother’s intense stare.
At that, Ella laughed. “High enough you won’t want to mess with him. But it sounds like we’re on the same side here, and Wade can be of help. So what does Niall want with you?”
Riordan and Donal were quiet for a good long minute before Riordan finally spoke. “Our sister was attacked two weeks ago. Niall’s people took her sealskin. He said he’d give it back in exchange for mine and control of our clan, or he keeps it and Saoirse forever, and we’d never see her again.”
Wade crumpled the bag of Oreos in his fist, destroying the rest of his cookies. “Oh, fuck that.”
He didn’t condone what basically amounted to slavery. He’d been there, survived that, and wasn’t willing to leave anyone else in that kind of horror if at all possible.
He pushed himself off the doorframe and stepped into the living room, tossing the Oreos bag onto the coffee table. “It sounds like this boils down to a territory fight, only Niall is going about it by taking hostages to get you to comply. I’m going to need to see a map of everyone’s territories, and you’ll probably want to form some kind of official alliance for this mess.”
He knew the Five Boroughs like he knew what was in the hoard in his apartment these days. All he knew about Boston was food places he’d seen on social media that he was hoping to hit up while there.
Riordan eyed Ella with a healthy dose of judgment. “Can you even speak for your alphas while they’re in captivity?”
“Honey, it’s not your fault you’re a little slow on the uptake, but yes. I’m dire for a reason,” Ella bit out.
