Matt’s gaze sharpened further, his eyes narrowing at the implication this news had the potential to upset his mate.
The debrief rolled out from there. Karl’s voice was steady, his words precise and stripped of drama, but Leon still caught the tightening in Matt’s jaw as his story continued, the way he stilled completely when Karl mentioned he’d been injured.
Once Karl’s recounting reached the pack in the woods, fury burned in Matt’s face. Luna masked hers better, under a deceptively mild tone, but the tension in her shoulders was its own tell. Leon doubled down on his decision not to mention the crown prince charade. No sense tossing a lit match into a room already smelling of gasoline.
What surprised him was how often he and Karl ended up defending Michael. Not defending hischoicesbut his reasons, pointing out he hadn’t actually crossed the line, that he’d been acting to protect his pack. The words felt strange in Leon’s mouth. But then, Matt and Luna hadn’t seen the raw edge of desperation in the man’s eyes. They didn’t know how close he’d been to shattering.
“He’s still a dick, though,” Leon muttered as Karl reached the part where he’d finally released them, and Karl’s laugh broke the tension in the room.
Matt’s mouth twitched, though he smoothed it out fast. His gaze slid to Karl. “Leaving aside the small matter of a pack of Argents, is there anything else you’d like to share?”
“Can’t think of anything, boss. Except we’re going to need to restock some of the caches and deal with a moldy tarp in one of them.”
“Leon?” Luna’s head tilt was so innocent that Leon was close to climbing out the window to escape.
“Nope.”
She looked about as convinced as Ruth had been by his guileless expression but evidently wasn’t going to push it in front of others.
“Actually,” Karl said, “one more thing. You might get a letter from the clowns with the camera. They threatened to sue after I broke their memory cards.”
Matt raised an eyebrow, very briefly. “Let them try. Their lawyer will tell them to forget it. If they don’t, mine will.”
“Yeah, that’s what I figured,” Karl said.
“So,” Matt said, holding Luna’s gaze, “it looks like our worst-case scenarios aren’t going to happen. Jesse’s not some mythical anomaly anymore. He’s just one of a long-lost pack.”
He glanced at Karl. “And if more Argent packs come out of hiding, even better. It’s going to be hard to believe the legendswhen you see Argents living the same life as everyone else, going to the store or losing it over a football game.”
“Or not knowing how to use a phone,” Leon said disdainfully. “I have no idea how Michael even knew what Google was.”
“Or that,” Matt agreed. “There’s all the difference in the world between one wolf, who could have anyone’s wants and needs projected onto him, and a whole lot of them.”
“No one’s going to want Argents in charge again,” Karl said, stretching out his leg with what looked to Leon suspiciously like a wince. He’d be checking that later. “Rulers always want tribute.”
God, Karl was good. Because in one sentence, he’d identified the reason why shifters wouldn’twantto believe the legends about Argents once they realized there were a whole load of them who might expect tribute.
“And they’re not getting their paws on my tiara,” Luna said, sounding almost giddy. Leon hadn’t fully realized the strain she’d been under until he saw her grinning, looking young and free.
“So, that takes care of the shifter side of the equation. We just need to work out how to let non-shifters know we don’t see Argents as anything more than a genetic quirk, like having red hair, say—unusual, but not particularly noteworthy,” Matt said.
“Get geneticists talking about how silver coats are due to recessive traits, and suddenly it’s boring,” Leon said. “Science kills mystique.”
Karl’s eyes on him were filled with warmth and… admiration? Leon wasn’t used to that, but he thought he couldgetused to it. He liked the way it felt.
“Sorry to say, Matt, but I think getting the message out to non-shifters is where you come in,” Luna said. “Right now, your profile makes you the leading shifter in the country, in most people’s eyes. You’ve got a level of trust that shifter politicians will never have. What we need to do is get you out there with Michael inlive interviews, and let people see you interacting as normal people, not even a hint of deference from you towards him.”
“Likethatwould everhappen,” Leon murmured, earning a sharp look from his sister.
“People will see that Michael’s just another guy, with no mystique or supernatural abilities,” she continued. “The only questions left will be from people wanting the human-interest stories, and the usual anti-shifter crowd agitating about where these packs are going to live.”
Matt looked deeply frustrated at the prospect of more interviews.
“Just do it for a week or so,” Karl suggested. “By the end of the week, Jesse’ll be nothing more than another silver wolf with an allegedly hot boyfriend.”
Seemed like Karl enjoyed sailing close to the wind with his alpha, because Matt wasnotimpressed at that.
“And then we’ll be left in peace,” Karl added, and the expression in Matt’s eyes changed, became a kind of yearning.
