He waved me off. “You are right to guard this secret. Especially from him. That man hates Paladins more than he hates his own mother-in-law.”
I grinned, because it was a funny reference, but I knew he was serious.
“You play the angle that you befriended this little Paladin girl, she saved Walsh, and now this is a political repayment. Got it?”
Damn, he knew exactly why I was going. I couldn’t get anything past Eugene. “You were eavesdropping at the mall,” I stated as I pulled into the valet stand at the hotel.
He shrugged. “My job. I didn’t know if you were going to get emotional again and run off, only to be kidnapped by vampires.” He reached out and clasped my hand. “I took your disappearance personally. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to protect you.”
A lump lodged in my throat as I threw the car in park. Eugene was in the ICU for four days. That’s like four weeks in werewolf time. “It’s okay. It wasn’t your fault.”
I squeezed his hand, but he shook his head. “Agree to disagree.”
My door opened and it shook me from my emotional moment.
Eugene blamed himself for my disappearance? I had no idea. Before I could say anything more, the man who opened my door bowed his head to me. “Alpha Hudson is waiting to see you, Miss Calloway.”
Oh crappers.
I stepped out and followed him through the giant double doors while Eugene lingered behind me, his eyes flicking left and right like a hawk.
This place was insanely stunning. Everything looked like it was made of gold; it dripped elegance and refinery. Sawyer had taken me here two nights ago to check it out as a possible wedding venue. When I told him I loved it, he saidgood, because it was our engagement party venue as well. It was the only place able to hold over a thousand wolves. The party would be split with about four hundred in the main ballroom and then another four hundred on the outside patio and two hundred on the lawn.
The man who was leading me took a left down the hallway and then an immediate right into the giant ballroom, which was being decked out with white roses, floating lanterns, and hundreds of circular tables.
Sawyer’s mom was in the middle, barking orders at a dozen servers who were ironing tablecloths. When I’d told her I wasn’t really into party planning and just to do whatever she’d wanted, she’d hugged me and told me it was probably for the best considering my wardrobe.
My gaze fell to the corner of the room. Mr. Hudson wore a black tux and leaned up against a wall, tapping out something on his phone.
“Demi! You’re so early and you’re…notready.” Sawyer’s mom trailed her gaze over my messy mall hair and jeans and t-shirt.
I laughed nervously. “Got the perfect dress and I’m about to get my hair done, I just had to ask Mr. Hudson something…”
I looked over at him to find that he was watching me with an unreadable expression. He tipped his head to a back room. I swallowed hard and followed him.
“Don’t be long! That hair needs help,” Mrs. Hudson called after me cheerily.
That woman was a 1950s housewife, I swear. The man who had been leading me through the entire hotel now stopped and just let me walk into the room alone while Eugene took watch outside the door with another man I didn’t recognize. There were so many guards now, it was hard to keep track.
I shut the door behind me and readied my speech. Mr. Hudson seemed like a reasonable man and—
“I already told Sawyer no. We are not helping the Paladins. They can starve and do us all a favor.” He continued to tap on his phone without looking up at me.
My eyes went wide at his nonchalant behavior over the situation.
“But, sir—”
“Is that all? Because my answer is final, and I’m very busy getting everything paid and set up for tonight.”
So he was going to play the money card? Try to make me feel bad that I couldn’t afford to pay for my own wedding? That stubbornbastard. I strode across the room and ripped his phone out of his hands, forcing him to look up at me in shock.
“I’m sorry I’m poor and can’t pay for all of this,” I growled. “Maybe if you hadn’tbanishedmy mother she could have provided a better life for me.” Immediately I regretted my temper.
He looked at me with a mixture of pride and anger. “God, you’re just like her. Youlookjust like her too.” He looked at the wall before meeting my gaze again and I realized he was talking about my mother. Is that why he barely ever looked at me?
“Sir, please. They are starving,” I pleaded.
He chuckled.
