I used the bottle to gesture toward the humans. “Them included?”
The alpha’s green eyes widened. “Why not? Have you heard something that makes you think differently?”
I considered my answer carefully and went with the truth. “I heard Silas is ready to take a stand against those insects; that we won’t have to hide from them much longer. I assumed that meant he hated them as much as I did.” I threw in that last bit for effect.
“Where were you recruited?”
“Club Luna.”
“Many humans attend Club Luna. Well,attendedClub Luna,” he corrected.
I shrugged. “I’m usually hungry after I fuck,” I replied matter-of-factly. “It’s a matter of convenience.”
The alpha laughed, causing four of the humans to give him a small smile. But the man he wanted abite ofsimply stared—the human’s mouth hung open, ready to catch flies.
The alpha wiped his eyes as if my answer brought him to tears. “Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you.” He patted my back, still rubbing his eyes. “But I don’t hate humans. I pity them.”
The revelation made me both uneasy and relieved. I was close enough to kill Silas in the blink of an eye, and I couldn’t. But that meant I was also close enough for the cloner to do its job.
I held out my hand. “Silas, it’s an honor to meet you.” His grip was firm yet welcoming, as if we’d become friends because I made him laugh. “I’m sorry if my comment offended you.”
He patted my back a second time. “Don’t be ridiculous, Marcus,” he assured. “My beta mentioned a new face with anactualstreak in his hair, and I had to see it with my own eyes. I should’ve introduced myself from the beginning.” He placed his other hand over his heart. “Iapologize.”
I chuckled. “Let our apologies cancel each other out, then.”
He nodded. “I agree. Let’s go look for a real drink so I can toast to our do-over.”
I chuckled under my breath.Thiswas the alpha of the rogues?
Silas led me through the throng of his constituents to a small office down the hall. As we passed, he hugged a werewolf he introduced as Chris, an alpha with hair down to his back.
Inside the office, Silas moseyed past the leather couch to the bar cart by the bookshelf, where he stopped for the bottle of red wine. “Brought this up from the wine cellar.”
I moved my phone and the cloner from my back pocket to the front one closest to the bookshelf, before taking a seaton the couch. I fixed the bottom of my sweater to cover its protrusion.
Silas raised the bottle, holding it out for me with a sophisticated air about him. “It cost me hundreds, and I think it tastes like piss,” he chuckled, reaching for a wine glass. “It’s not the most expensive bottle I own by far, but I’d hoped it’d be a little better, you know? Would you like some?” he offered.
I declined with a shake of my head as he poured, holding up the nearly empty beer bottle.
He swirled around the blood-red liquid in his glass before taking a sip.
I rubbed my hand over the pocket of my jeans. “Why do you pity the humans?” I asked.
Silas placed his glass down and drummed his fingers against the cart. “Because it’s so easy for them to fear what they don’t understand.”
“Doesn’t everyone?”
He turned to face me, resting against the cart with his arms now crossed. “We’re predators, Marcus. We challenge even what makes us uncomfortable. Think about the last time something really scared you; did you run from it?”
Joanna’s smirk flashed before my eyes.
My gaze drifted to the floor, the polished hardwood throwing my pitiful expression right back at me.
“You think I’m full of shit, don’t you?” Silas chuckled, reaching behind him for his glass. “Fine. What if I told you my first love was human?”
My eyes had narrowed to slits as they shot up to Silas’s face.
“I traveled a lot after a dispute with my father rendered me an alpha without a pack,” he began. “I still do, actually. I’ve owned this house for two years and have spent less than half the time in it.” He glanced wistfully around the bookshelves liningthe office. “Anyway, we met at the wildlife center where she worked—where she took care of the wolves.” He stared into his glass as if picturing the human’s face. “She was such a timid little thing.” He took a sip of the wine, scrunching up his nose. “Don’t worry, I won’t bore you with all the details.” He pushed off the bar cart and sat next to me on the couch. “I’ll tell you how it ended.”
