“He’s been in the library all day, going through some of the old books on pack law.”
That couldn’t be good. Some of those laws were archaic and had been phased out for a reason. “What the fuck for?”
Elliot hesitated, loyalty for Xen warring with his loyalty to the rest of the pack.
I didn’t want to put him in a position where he had to choose. “Can we help without knowing the specifics?” Jake’s gaze bored into me, his objection obvious without him needing to speak. But the loosening of Elliot’s shoulders was all the justification I needed. Seemed to work for Jake too, because he kept any objections to himself.
“Maybe. If you could convince him that the paranormal police were created because the old pack laws were outdated and unethical. That they aren’t suited to the twenty-first century.” He grimaced. “Goddess, if he tries reintroducing them, he’ll end up with no pack at all.”
I nodded because he wasn’t wrong. No one I knew would think that was a good thing. It was my turn to run a hand through my hair, because Xen was notoriously stubborn. He listened to Elliot because he was his beta. He trusted him. I doubted it would be so easy for me and Jake to convince Xen this was a bad idea if Elliot had already failed. But what other choice was there? “We can try.”
Xen scowled at Elliot.“I don’t appreciate this, E.”
Jake and I stood in the doorway to the library, not exactly welcome, but Elliot turned and beckoned us inside.
“I know you don’t, but as your beta, I feel it’s in your best interests—in thepack’sbest interests—for you to listen to what they have to say.”
“Why?” Xen turned his scowl on us. “What is it you think I’m doing that needs police intervention?”
“Reintroducing old pack laws is a terrible idea.” Elliot gestured to the old books scattered over the table and Xen laughed.
“You can’t think I’m serious?” Xen stared at him wide-eyed, seemingly surprised, and although it appeared genuine enough, something about this whole thing set my wolf on edge. I trusted my gut instinct more than my eyes. It had never steered me wrong yet, and it was telling me to be wary.
Elliot wasn’t totally convinced either. “So you haven’t spent the whole day looking up old laws?”
Xen shrugged, but his eyes flashed with an emotion I was too slow to catch before he schooled his expression. His scent gave nothing away either, years as alpha honing his ability to mask what he was feeling if he chose. “I was curious about our history, that’s all.” He raised an eyebrow. “Why, what did you think I was doing?”
Elliot pinched the bridge of his nose. “You were making notes.” He pointed to the pad on the table, full of Xen’s scrawl.
“And?” His voice raised hairs on the back of my neck. The subtle addition of alpha power enough to make us all stand to attention.
“My mistake, Xen.” Elliot’s fists opened and then closed. “I apologise.” He tilted his head to the side, bearing his throat, a sign of submission that I’d seen a thousand times before, but for whatever reason, this time it left a bad taste in my mouth.
Wrong.
That’s how I felt watching Elliot defer to our alpha, and I couldn’t put my finger on why. A quick glance at Jake’s clenched jaw told me I wasn’t alone.
An uncomfortable silence filled the air.
The urge to back out of the room took me by surprise and I had to grit my teeth to shake it off. “Jake and I should get going, we have places to be.” I started to back away, but Xen’s voice stopped me cold.
“Guarding the fae?” he asked, and I didn’t care for the underlying disdain he didn’t try to hide.
“Yes.”
His lip curled ever so slightly. “If Calder didn’t allow strangers to live in his territory, this wouldn’t be your responsibility.”
Keeping my voice steady, I looked him in the eye and said, “Axel Molhieth is considered part of Rys’s pack. As is everyone who lives within his borders.”
Xen shook his head. “Only shifters can be part of a pack.” His voice was deceptively soft, but I knew better than to relax. “Allowing other non-humans in only weakens it. Calder should send him back through the gateway.” He held out his hands. “Problem solved.”
I already knew Xen’s thoughts on Rys and his unconventional pack, and I had no intention of getting into an argument about it. “We’re just doing our job.” Before he could comment on that, I added, “And we have an early start, so we should probably get going.”
“I’ll walk you out.” Elliot all but herded us out of the room, not stopping until we were outside. Thankfully, Xen didn’t follow us.
Elliot pulled the front door closed behind him, giving us a light shake of his head, not that he needed to. We were well aware Xen could still hear us. He took out his phone and started tapping out a message. “I’m sorry I wasted your time,” he said as my phone chimed with an incoming text.
“No problem.”
