Courtney snorted a laugh. “That’s putting it mildly. Your great-grandfatherandgrandfather had some sort of blood feud with Leviathan Cross back in the day.” Her smile faltered. “Oh, shit, sorry. I forgot he’s an invited guest.”
Blaise looked uncomfortable, and his eyes bounced from me, to Anders, and back to Courtney.
“Uh, yeah,” he said. “So, the Demon Wolf really is gonna be here with his, uh,pack?”
“Yes,” I said. “He’s not a demon, though. That’s just a story.”
The look on Anders’s face said he wanted to disagree, but he held his tongue.
“Did that guyreallyform his own pack out there in the wilderness?” Hakeem said, looking thoroughly impressed. “Like, living in caves or something?”
It was my turn to snort. “No. Not like that. It’s a small village. Mostly rough cabins, but they have electricity and indoor plumbing. More like a homestead community than anything.”
Anders shot me a glare. He must have been growing irritated that the attention had been pulled away from him. I didn’t know how he could blame them. We’d all heard the stories of the shadowy and mysterious wolf in the woods. Anyone would be curious.
“That’s interesting,” Blaise said. “Impressive too.”
“Isn’t that part of what you guys are going to talk about this week?” Courtney said, finally turning her attention back to Anders, who quickly plastered a smile back on his face. “Didn’t Leviathan give us a warning about a dangerous pack in the forest?”
“Correct,” Anders said. “The Red Maw pack. It’s an all-male pack, some alphas, who are looking to increase their territory and possibly attack our communities. We’ll discuss all that whenI meet with the other alphas. For now, why don’t you all come inside. I’ll get us some drinks, and my lovely mate has made some snacks for us to enjoy while we wait for the other alphas to arrive.”
“Oh my gosh,” Tamara said, putting a hand to her stomach. “That’s great. I’m starving.”
As everyone headed inside, I decided to take my chance. Soon, the other alphas would arrive, and I doubted I’d have a chance to speak to Blaise alone.
“Blaise, can I ask you a question real quick?”
He turned, a look of confusion on his face, then he shrugged and sent Courtney in with the others. Anders shot me a look as he ushered the others inside.
“What’s up? Something wrong?” Blaise asked, crossing his arms, and looking concerned.
Thankfully, I’d come up with a story that I thought might sound believable.
Doing my best to put on an embarrassed smile, I tried to act shy about what I was asking. “I’ve been trying to put together a mating ceremony gift for Anders. It’s a surprise, and I thought you could help.”
Blaise’s eyebrows shot up. “Okay. I’m not sure how I can help, but I’ll do what I can.”
“I’m making a scrapbook of sorts. Kind of a history of Idlewild,” I explained. “I want a lot of stuff in there, including the good and bad.”
Blaise ran a hand through his curly black hair. “Still not sure I’m following.”
“Well, you all mentioned how your great-grandfather Hugo Boucher was kind of an enemy of Idlewild, remember?”
“Unfortunately, I do,” Blaise said. “My grandpa had the same sentiment. It wasn’t until my dad took over that we tried to mend the fences.”
“I wanted to put something in the scrapbook that alludes to the history of that conflict. Do you happen to have anything that belonged to Hugo? A personal item? Maybe something back home I could borrow for a day or two?”
“Borrow?” he frowned.
I chuckled. “Sorry, I should have said that. I won’tkeepanything. I know a really great artist who is sketching pictures for the scrapbook,” I explained, thinking of Levi and his skill with artistry. “I’d have him draw the item, then I’ll return it to you.”
Blaise still looked confused; he at least didn’t look put out or upset.
“How long?” he asked at last.
“Oh, he’s really fast. A day or two at the most depending on how intricate the item is.”
Blaise tilted his head back, his lips turned down. When he looked at me again, he looked like he’d come to a decision.
