“Your parents aredivorced?”
“No, but they lead separatelives.”
“Oh.”
Julian advanced toward us. “Miss Clark, it has been too long.” He let go of his sister and picked up my hand, bringing it to his pouty lips, the diamond on his pinky ring glittering wildly. “Much too long.” His breath, like his kiss, skated over myknuckles.
I snatched my hand away. I wasn’t afraid of Julian, but he still unsettled me. “Good evening, Mr. Matz. Mrs . . . ” What was I supposed to callher?
“Matz,” Nora supplied. She offered me a smile that gleamed as brightly as the sapphire hoops speared through her earlobes. “Ooh, Robbie and Margaux have arrived. I’ll be rightback.”
She tottered in her sky-high heels toward her son and his wife. Both were dapperly dressed. Unlike my pack. I resembled a Pine more than a Boulder tonight, and that didn’t feel right, but it wasn’t Sarah’s fault. She couldn’t have guessed my pack would make noeffort.
Once Julian had gone off to greet some more arrivals, I asked, “Why is your mom’s last nameMatz?”
“Because Dad’s not a wolf,” Sarah said, as though it were obvious. “Last names are pack names. If you ever married outside the pack, you keep your wolf name, and your kids get your last name. It makes tracing bloodlineseasier.”
I raised a brow. “Huh.”
She rolled her kohl-lined eyes. “Babe, you’re such anewb.”
Lucas, who was standing beside us,smirked.
“What are you smirking about, Mason?” Sarah shot him a little glare. It was more playful than vicious though. She was probably stockpiling the vicious ones for when the Creeksarrived.
“Your hair. What’s wrong withit?”
Color rose to her cheeks. “I straightenedit.”
I became distracted by Julian and Liam walking toward one end of the terrace, heads bent in conversation, two burly Pines in tow. Matt and Cole strode closer too, dividing their attention between Liam and Julian’s bodyguards. I watched the two Alphas for a long moment, wondering what they could be discussing, hoping they had a strategy to get us out of here safely if the Creeks attacked or set fire to theinn.
My heart juddered. Where had that contemplation even come from? From the logs burning in the massive stone fireplace beyond the sliding glass doors? I glanced toward the staircase at the side of the terrace. It was wide, but if everyone suddenly started running for it, it would clog up. I peered over the railing. I’d survive the two-story fall, but it would surely break some of mybones.
“What are you thinking about?” August asked, stealing me out of my diremusings.
He’d gone over to see his father and the elders but had come back without my noticing and was now standing with his hip propped against the wooden handrail and his arms crossed. I needed to be more aware of mysurroundings.
“Fire,” I whispered, gripping the smoothlog.
He cocked up a darkbrow.
“What if they’re not here because they want to set fire to the inn?” Imurmured.
I wanted August to tell me that was crazy-talk, that they’d come in peace, but hedidn’t.
“We’ll jump and make a run for it,” hesaid.
Iswallowed.
“I won’t let anything happen to you, kid.” He tendered me a strainedsmile.
Kid?I’d take Dimples over kid any day. I clutched my elbows and turned to face theforest.
“Ness?” Augustasked.
Why did it even bother me that he thought of me as a kid? I made no sense to myself. It was the link. The link was screwing with myemotions.
I didn’t say anything, just concentrated on thewoods.
