I filed it away, keeping my face neutral. “Where is he?”
“I had him shown to the main hall and assigned four guards to keep make sure he remained there.”
“Good.” I clapped Kirk’s shoulder. “Give me five minutes, then bring him refreshments. A formal service.”
Kirk’s eyebrow rose a fraction, but he nodded and headed back down the stairs.
I stood alone on the landing, breathing through the shift in headspace. I was no longer a husband or the male who’d spent the morning arranging flowers for his wife.
Now, I was king, alpha of all the packs in this region, including Bastian’s unless he refused to sign the treaty.
I took the stairs up instead of down.
The sound of Victoria working in her laboratory reached me before I opened the suite door. The soft clink of glass. Her voice dictating something to her enchanted pen.
I found her in my father’s office with a vial held up to the light. She’d eaten breakfast. The empty plate sat on the small table by the window, the flowers still listing to one side in their urn.
She looked up when I entered, her expression going from focused to alert in the space of a breath.
“The northern alpha is here,” I said. “Bastian arrived unannounced with two enforcers.”
She set down the vial. “A power move.”
“That’s what I thought.”
“What does he want?”
“I don’t know yet. He’s waiting to speak with me in the main hall.”
“Why come here now?”
The same question I’d been asking myself. “I don’t have that answer either.”
She studied me for a moment, her analytical gaze reading things on my face I probably didn’t want examined. She closed her notebook, smoothed down her dress, and met my eyes. “Shall we go greet him?”
My chest settled at her assumption that this was a thing we’d handle together rather than something I’d deal with alone.
My wolf rumbled approval.
Acorn leaped, landing on her shoulder.
I offered her my arm, and we descended the stairs side by side, Acorn scampering to keep up behind us.
The main hall occupied the ground level of the tree next to mine, a wide space carved from the living wood with the same attention as the rest of the structure. Rough-hewn beams supported the high ceiling. The floor had been worn smooth by generations of paws and feet. Weapons lined one wall. Ceremonial pieces, mostly, but functional enough if needed.
Acorn rode on Victoria’s shoulder, his tail curled around her neck for balance. His bright eyes tracked everything from the weapons on the walls, the pack members scattered throughout the room, to Bastian’s enforcers.
Bastian stood near the center of the room, his posture deliberately casual. Hands loose at his sides. His weight balanced. The kind of stance that looked relaxed but could change to violence in a heartbeat.
Silver threaded his dark hair. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and he had the kind of presence that came from decades of holding power. His enforcers flanked him at a respectful distance, silent and watchful. Their eyes tracked every movement in the room.
A dozen of my pack members had found reasons to be present. Kirk stood near the entrance. Maria and Tessa leaned against the weapons wall, Maria cleaning her nails with a long blade. Others had scattered throughout, close enough to intervene if needed.
Bastian’s gaze tracked to me as I entered, then slid past Victoria like she was part of the furniture.
“Feral.” He dipped his head, the exact degree of deferment required by protocol between alphas. “I appreciate you receiving me.”
“Bastian.” I didn’t return the gesture. I outranked him. “You should’ve sent word you were coming.”
