“I’m sorry. Guess I’m not doing a great job convincing people to like me.”
He eyes me again then quickly his expression softens. “You don’t need to convince people to like you,” he says. “I want you to be yourself.”
“You sure about that? They didn’t seem to enjoy me being myself.”
“Stefan flunked out of the military academy when he was eighteen and has been dining out on his family’s fortune ever since. The man has no idea what he’s talking about when it comes to strategy or interpack politics.”
“Then why did you ask his opinion like he was some fountain of knowledge?”
“He still considers himself an expert, and while his politics may be stuck in the Stone Age he’s a big supporter of my father and he runs in some influential circles. I’m just humoring him, making him feel relevant.”
I have a feeling Jasper is pretty good at humoring annoying and ignorant people, me being the captain of the team.
“You were just being nice to him,” I say.
He shrugs. “You didn’t know the whole story. I should have briefed you on who would be here.”
“I’ll try to keep my crazy super modern beliefs to myself from now on,” I say.
He smiles and takes both my hands. “Please, don’t.”
Jasper grins at me in a knowing and adorable way that makes me drop my guard almost completely and, as the sound of the surrounding wolves rushes in, a stab of pain makes me wince.
“What’s wrong?” he asks.
“It’s just…taking a lot to keep everything in check up here.”
“You want to go somewhere quiet?”
“Just for a minute,” I say.
He nods. “Of course.”
He leads me by the hand in the direction of a set of stairs. “It would be nice if any of the people I actually know were here.”
“When did Aisha say she’d be here?”
“She didn’t. Not really.”
Just then a hush settles over the room. We’re about three steps up and as we turn to look back across the floor we’re able to see over the sea of heads. A couple of newcomers have just entered the bar and are lingering by the entrance. It’s still daylight outside and the light is casting the pair in silhouette, but as the doors close behind them I realize one-half of the couple is Aisha. She’s finally here, in a green dress with her hair in braids, and standing next to her, looking petrified in a loose suit jacket, the reason everyone has stopped midconversation to stare in silence, is Troy.
Aisha has brought a human to a wolf party, and from the way people are starting to growl, the crowd looks ready to prove just how inhuman they are.
INTERLOPERS
“What is she thinking?” Jasper whispers to himself, barely audibly.
I take one step back down the stairs but he grabs my arm. I glance up at him and his expression is all concern.
“Shouldn’t we go say hi?” I ask.
“Wait,” he says.
Back over at the door, two security wolves have approached Aisha and are talking to her while subtly blocking her way into the party. She grows agitated as the conversation continues, gesturing to the party, shaking her head, looking at the unhelpful and unmoving faces watching this interaction unfold. Beside her Troy remains a step behind. He isn’t looking at the guards, he’s surveying the crowd, his eyes wide with fear, hands shoved in his pants pockets. He knows he’s stepped into a wolves’ den.
Brazenly, Aisha moves to step between the guards but they block her path, one putting his hand on her shoulder to coerce her backward. She shrugs him off, staring up at him with flared nostrils and furious eyes. Her mouth moves and I think she’s saying, “Get your hands off me.”
“We should do something,” I say. But Jasper isn’t moving. He’s watching the interaction with a clenched jaw.
