Leon nodded slowly. He understood that far better than he liked.
Bryce appeared at his elbow, holding out a glass of something purple. “Hey, Catman. Want some of Jason’s famous berry soda? No actual wolves were harmed in the making of it.”
Leon stared at him, wondering why thehellthis wolf thought he had the right to call him a nickname.
Bryce grinned. “That’s a joke. It’s a joke.”
Luna cleared her throat, just enough to remind him not to hiss at the damn wolf. With an effort, he bit back his annoyance and tried to be friendly. “You named one of your goats Chaos, and you expect me to find your sense of humor funny?”
“Technically,Tristannamed the goats. I just lean into the brand.”
“Hard,” the tall, dark-haired wolf said dryly, slipping up beside them. “You’re scaring the guests, love. I’m Tom, by the way.”
“Pfft. They’re not scared. Just naturally suspicious, like cats always are.”
Leon raised an eyebrow. “You know we can hear you, right?”
“Yep,” Bryce said cheerfully. “Wouldn’t be fun if you couldn’t.”
Tom rolled his eyes but smiled. “Don’t mind him.”
Leon took a slow sip of the berry soda. It was sweet and cold, and somehow not awful.
He glanced around the yard again. A bunch of relaxed wolves and stressed-out cats, two smug goats that had somehow reappeared, and one scruffy, legendary wolf curled on the porch.
And that feeling again. Eyes on him.
He didn’t flinch. He just turned casually toward the trees, slow and deliberate, scanning shadows that didn’t move and branches that didn’t stir.
Nothing.
He turned back. But he knew someone was there.
Chapter Three
KARL
Karl finally made himself leave his peaceful spot observing the cats to go meet them. He emerged from the trees just as Tristan succeeded in luring Mayhem away from the food table with a handful of lettuce. Chaos watched from behind a bench like she was weighing up the best moment to pounce on an unattended burger—the kind of decision that led to a vet bill bigger than most mortgages, but which didn’t teach her a thing.
Typical. He was about to hand over partial control of security to a bunch of cats, yet goats were still the real problem.
He kept to the edge of the yard, observing. Three of the cats were sitting at the picnic table with Dave, Jason and Riley. He was almost sorry to have missed their reaction to meeting Riley—unless they’d treated him like he was less, just for being a non-shifter. In which case, it was probably for the best Karl hadn’t been there.
Now, the blonde one was sitting next to Riley, close enough to signal the cats weren’t avoiding him. But like the other cats, shewasn’t relaxed. Every movement was measured, even her breathing deliberate. Or maybe that was just cats.
The long-haired one, the one that sparked alarms in Karl, had come over from the porch with Luna and Matt. They’d settled around the kitchen table that’d been dragged outside for the purpose, with Bryce, Tom and Jesse. The long-haired one hadn’t sat with them, and didn’t have any food. He was planted behind Luna, scanning his surroundings with a gaze that scraped like claws, searching for what lay underneath.
Matt caught Karl’s gaze and tilted his head, an invitation to join them. Karl ground his teeth and moved across the yard. Time to play nice.
“Karl, good,” Matt said, as he approached. “Let me introduce you. This is Luna, of course, and Leon, her head of security. Antoni, Joaquim, Ava.” Each of the names came with a brief glance or faint nod of acknowledgement from the cat in question. “This is Karl Griffin, who runs security for my pack.”
Karl gave them each a nod in return.
Matt held his gaze. “I’m going to need you to work out details with Leon of how we coordinate. The cats will be staying on-site.”
“They’restayinghere?” Somehow,Karl kept the horror out of his voice. At least, he thought he had.
“We think there’s too much ground to cover in a single day,” Luna said smoothly. “It makes sense to remain close, collaborate in person without wasting time.”
