“You trust her?” Rys asked.
Jake shot me a look, and I nodded. “We do,” he said. “She doesn’t want this marriage either.”
“Okay, so you—” Rys cocked his head to the side, listening to something only he could hear. “We’re about to have visitors.” He pushed his chair back and stood. “A fucking lot of them by the sounds of it.”
“Are you expecting anyone?” I asked, knowing the answer already, but hoping I was wrong.
“No.” Rys glanced at Talis. “Go get Axel. Explain to him what’s happened and when you bring him back, try and keep downwind of whoever the fuck it is out there.”
Talis hesitated. His beta instinct to protect Rys clearly at odds with Rys’s request. “You need me here.”
“Syl,” Rys called, and two seconds later Syl appeared in the kitchen doorway, alert and ready. “How many others are in the pack house right now?”
“Four.” Syl listed the names off quickly.
“Round them up and bring them here.”
Syl nodded and disappeared up the stairs.
Rys faced Talis again. “Go.” When Talis still looked torn, Rys walked over to him and gripped his shoulder. “I need both youandAxel. Don’t make me order you.Please.”
Sasha stepped up on his other side. “I have his back.” She bared her teeth as her half-shift took over, eyes flashing with a ferocity that made me want to take a step back. “Go,” she hissed.
Talis nodded. “What about the others? Chylath and Wyn arrived as I was leaving. You know they’ll all want to come.”
“Fuck.” Rys’s low growl filled the kitchen. “They can’t use magic. Nick’s only just got his back and Wyn’s a member of the paranormal police. They can’t afford to get involved with this. Neither can the others. If they come, they need to stay out of it, because this is between me and whoever’s decided to come into my territory uninvited.”
Xen. We all knew it was him.
“Make sure they understand,” Rys urged, and I felt the desperation in his words. He knew as well as I did that Talis would have his work cut out.
“I’ll do my best.” This time Talis turned and raced out the back door.
I met Rys’s gaze. “They won’t stand by and let any of us get hurt. You know that.”
Dathal would kill anyone who threatened Axel. And Nick would be right by his side. So would Wyn. This wouldn’t be the first time he’d fought alongside them.
I didn’t know Chylath well, but if he was anything like Dathal then he wouldn’t stand on the sidelines either. And that magic of his might come in handy if things escalated.
Which they would.
Rys looked around the table, expression fierce. “I’m hoping it won’t come to that.”
The rumble of engines caught my attention, and everyone else’s. As one, we all turned to look in the direction they were coming from, like a family of meerkats sensing danger. It would’ve been funny if it wasn’t so terrifying, because like Rys had said, there were a fucking lot of them.
Etiquette dictated packs ask for permission to enter another’s territory, or at the very least inform each other in advance. Since Rys wasn’t expecting anyone, it could only mean whoever was coming didn’t give a shit about etiquette.
Or they didn’t want to give Rys any time to prepare.
I was pretty sure I knew the answer, but I asked anyway. “Do you think it’s Xen?” I grasped Jake’s hand.
“If it is, then he’s got reinforcements from somewhere.” Elliot was staring at his phone. “No one’s heard from him at the pack house, and he’s only got the four he took to guard your dad.” He tilted his head, listening. “I count at least three cars approaching.”
“Same,” Rys agreed, walking over to the door. “I’d ask you both to stay inside,” he said, looking first at me then Jake. “But I know you won’t.”
“Not a chance.” If itwasXen, then I wanted to see the moment he realised he had no power over us. And I would never ask Rys and his pack to go out there and deal with our problem while we hid safely inside. Injured or not.
He sighed, worry etched on every part of him. “Please stay behind my pack—”
