“That’s a question even my pack can’t answer.”
Truthfully, Wade was just always hungry. He knew it had to do with mass—shifted or not—and his true form. Whatever inherent ability allowed him to shift from dragon to human and back again didn’t mean he had a human-sized need when it cameto food. He was a growing dragon, as Patrick liked to sigh over every time he had to pay the credit card bill.
Ella leaned forward, peering at Wade over the top of her sunglasses. When she spoke, her voice was barely louder than a whisper to account for the people around them, but Wade heard her clearly anyway. Besides, he’d have warned her if he smelled any kind of threat. Mostly, it was just mundane humans on their lunch breaks. “I won’t have my pack owing you. We can’t afford half a million dollars for what amounts to an entrance fee to a bar.”
“You don’t have a debt with us. We hate those,” Wade said seriously, thinking about Patrick’s soul debt, which had been the catalyst for everything they’d all gone through. “This is a no-strings-attached payment I’m handling to help all of you. We need to know if Abby Boy has been taken or targeted, and if he’s still around, I want to try to convince him to go after Niall.”
“Ambitious,” Donal said from the other side of Saoirse.
“The enemy of my enemy is my friend. My pack and I have played this game before, and it usually works out.”
“Usually isn’t always,” Riordan said, shifting on the bench. His thigh pressed up against Wade’s and stayed there, his touch warm through both their jeans. Wade had to squash the urge to lean into the touch, a little panicky way deep down that he’d even thought about wanting it in the first place.
“Uh,” Wade said, trying to find his train of thought again. “I mean, we still won?”
Riordan snorted, but there wasn’t any judgment in his eyes or his smile. And he had a really nice smile.
Wade wanted to keep him.
Hoarding tendencies were theworstsometimes.
“Abhartach can’t be trusted,” Ella said.
Wade rolled his eyes. “I knowthat. I’m not asking you to trust him. But if we have Niall focusing on the problem of apissed-off master vampire, that gives us time to search for where your alphas are being kept and where Saoirse’s skin might be.”
Ella sat back, frowning thoughtfully. “I suppose divide and conquer is as good of a plan as we can hope for.”
“Thankyou. Oh, I think our tacos are coming.”
Wade watched hopefully as a few servers weaved through the tables over to theirs, holding plates of tacos set in little stands with three V-shaped dips in them to hold them in place. Wade shoved his soda cup to the side to make room, watching happily as three plates were set down in front of him.
“The rest of your order is coming,” the server said.
“Great.” Wade piled up the taco stands on one plate. “You can take those back so there’s room for the rest.”
The smell of street tacos had his mouth watering, and Wade promptly picked up one and ate it in two bites. They were overflowing with meat, onions, and cilantro, but that wasn’t a problem for him. Once he had his entire order, he methodically ate his way through the tacos at a pace the others didn’t even try to keep up with. Even though he had ordered more than the others, he still finished before them, licking grease off his fingers instead of using a napkin.
He was thinking about maybe getting back in the line to order another couple of tacos when Riordan passed over his last Baja fish taco, dressing dripping out the end from the slaw. “Here. Eat this if you’re still hungry.”
Wade grinned at him. “Thanks!”
He took the Baja fish taco and promptly devoured it, then started on demolishing the communal chips and salsa bowls everyone else was ignoring in the center of the table.
“Those fae will most likely tell Niall that I’ve managed to find help despite the spell on me and the others. The same goes for you as well, Riordan. Niall will know by tonight you’ve got help,” Ella said.
“Will you leave your territory to keep him from finding you?” Wade asked.
Ella shook her head. “No. We still need to be available for other packs under our protection.”
“I’d send the kin into the sea, but Lady Caith didn’t lie about something residing in the deep,” Riordan said slowly.
Wade paused in picking up a chip, looking at him. “Oh?”
“There’s a danger in the ocean. She’s right about that. It feels off.” Riordan paused, frowning slightly. “Itsoundsoff.”
“I can’t help you in the sea. But if you don’t think it’s safe for your people, and you don’t want them to stay here, you can always send them out of Boston. Do you have any place they can go to ground at?”
“Bolt holes here in Boston. Salem, maybe, as a last resort, but I still think that’s too close to Niall’s reach.”
