Page 73 of Pucking Feral: Part Two

Footsteps thunder suddenly on the fire escape outside, making the entire side of the pack house shake like there are bulls about to come through the door. The door blows open and the alpha that barrels in is about as close to a human bull as it gets.

"IVY!" Whiskey's voice booms through the house. "It's been ten minutes! Do we need to—oh."

He appears in the doorway, takes in the scene—me and Valek standing several feet apart in what could generously be called a civil conversation—and stops short.

Plague appears behind him, eyes immediately assessing the situation. "Everything alright?"

"Peachy," Valek says pleasantly, flashing him a grin.

"Fine," I say quickly. "We were just talking."

"Talking." Whiskey's gaze bounces between us. "That's all?"

"What else would we be doing?" Valek asks dryly.

"I don't know, man. You're unpredictable. You look and act like you have a fuckin' villain lair somewhere. Could've been plotting world domination for all I know."

Valek barks out a laugh as he passes me, close enough that I catch his scent. Sharp and cold, winter pine and blood and steel.

"I meant what I said," he whispers, low enough that only I can hear. "All of it."

Then he's gone, disappearing down the hallway.

What the fuck does that even mean?

Whiskey immediately rushes over, hands hovering like he wants to check me for injuries but isn't sure if he's allowed. "Did he threaten you just now? Should I kick his ass? I'll kick his ass."

"Nobody's kicking anyone's ass," I say, batting his hands away. "We just talked. It's fine. He likes to be vague and mysterious. It's kind of his thing."

"For ten whole minutes," Whiskey mutters, like I've committed some kind of cardinal sin. "We used a stopwatch."

Thane steps forward, his dark eyes searching my face. "Are you sure you're alright? You seem stressed."

I roll my eyes at Whiskey and turn to Thane. "I'm okay. Actually, it went better than I expected. I think we... understand each other now. Sort of."

"Understand each other how?" Plague asks carefully.

"Well… I don't know," I admit finally. "But he's not a threat."

"Not to you," Whiskey points out.

"Yeah."

Wraith lets out a low growl to get my attention and signs to me. I don't catch all of it, but I catch enough to put it together. I'm getting better at this. Did V-A-L-E-K say anything about W-A-D-E?

"Just that Wade's an asshole who deserves nothing." I can't help the small smile that tugs at my lips. "Which, you know. Accurate. And he implied he wants to kill him, so, no. They're not friends."

"And he wasn't just saying that?" Thane asks warily.

I shake my head. "I'm a firm believer in following my gut after all the shit I've been through. Valek didn't lie to me once today. Okay, so he did play lawyer when I made him promise not to kill Wade. But he didn't lie. He was… aggressively honest, if anything."

All four alphas perk up sharply at the word aggressively.

"Not aggressive like that," I clarify.

More silent alpha communication. Then Thane nods slowly. "Alright. If you trust he isn't a danger to you, we'll... try to lay off."

"Try being the operative word," Whiskey mutters. "I can lawyer, too, you know."