“Joke is on all of us.”
6
Jessie
An hour later,Indigo gave the all-clear to move Drex to his bed. His wounds had mostly healed, and there was no danger of them ripping open if he took it easy. He’d protested when she’d refused to let him walk until she’d released the binding, letting him feel the pain, and then he’d yielded to the stretcher.
Vessa, the beta, approached, wearing her suit and jewelry and a wary expression.
“Alphas,” she said. Austin stood, and I joined him. “As you know, Alpha Ashvale will be detained for some time further. He would like to speak with you, however. We invite you and your pa—convocation to stay with us. All of them, the gargoyles and ba—“ Her voice caught, and she cleared her throat. “Excuse me. The basajaunak, your remaining shifters. Everyone. We mean you no harm, and we believe you will honor your word and present no harm to our pack.”
Her words ended in a pregnant pause.
“Listen, I’m really sorry about that basajaunak thing,” I said. “They think of us as family, and they can get a little extremewhen they believe their family is in trouble. But they’re good now. They know to stay calm. They’re lovely, honest, and nice to have at BBQs. Shifters, especially, generally love them?—“
Austin touched the small of my back. Humor colored the bonds. I was babbling, and he thought it was funny.
My teeth clicked shut.
She cleared her throat again. “We’ll have a cook-out this evening in your honor, and tomorrow, if Alpha Ashvale is well, we can go over some details he’d like you to know. However, we also understand if you’d rather stay at the motel.”
“You have accommodation here for all of us?” Austin asked. “The basajaunak will likely prefer to stay outdoors, but we have a large party.” He glanced around at the remote location.
“Yes, we have room,” Vessa said. Again, with the pregnant pause.
I fidgeted. I didn’t know what was expected, and I couldn’t read her well enough to fill in the gaps. This was getting awkward.
“Forgive me,” Vessa said, letting me off the hook. “We are extending a lot of trust here, and ask, above all, for peace. Whatever surprises you find in our territory, they are benign. There is no danger to you, but we ask that you give Drex a chance to explain. After what we witnessed this morning, we are assured that our well-being is solely in your hands. We ask that you keep that in mind.”
“I am in-trigued,” Fred said from behind us in her scratchy voice. She’d sneaked closer without me realizing it.
I glanced back. She was sitting in the backseat of the Jeep with her phone in hand. Our eyes met, and she reddened.
“Niamh said I might as well come along,” she said, “and that you wouldn’t be mad about it, and even if you were, you’d get over it. And then all the Big Feet—Big Foots?” Her flush deepened. “Sorry, I’m not supposed to call them thateven though that whole thing blew mymind!Anyway, they showed up, and now we’re all welcome, so I figure I’m good, right? Except in the woods. I’ll get lost in the woods almost immediately. Please don’t leave me in there. I will definitely die.”
I raised a brow at Austin.
“I heard her sneaking closer before I felt her,” he explained. “I figured you’d find out eventually.”
I gave Vessa a smile of apology that rode a sigh. “If you can handle the oddness of my people, sure, we’d love to stay.”
Vessa nodded and strode away, pausing to exchange a few words with Dan before walking on. According to Tristan, who’d checked in earlier, they had vehicles stashed half a mile up, and their town was a few miles beyond that.
“Tristan,” I called as I folded the blanket.
“How dare you!” Mr. Tom admonished me, wrestling the blanket away. “You are the mistress of Ivy House and the co-leader of an important and prestigious convocation. You do not pick up a dirty blanket and fold it like some sort of washer woman.”
“Yes, Mistress Ivy House?” Tristan said with a devilish smirk as he drew near.
I stared after Mr. Tom. “What does he have against washer women? Also, what decade does he think this is?”
“He’s still looking for his golden ticket to the chocolate factory,” Tristan supplied. “At least he won’t be like Grampa Joe, who is bedridden, letting someone work and cook and clean for him, until he gets a chance to go to a coveted factory. Suddenly then he’s the picture of health.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “I feel like you took that movie a little too personally.”
“He cheated Charlie’s mom out of that trip, and that woman was doing all the work! To hell with Grampa Joe,” he groused.
“Agree.” Nessa lifted a fist as she jogged by. “Good for nuthin’…”
