Page 18 of Crimson Heart

8

Spencer crossed the hallway of the Gallagher mansion when he heard a chiming from the intercom next to the heavy oak entrance door announcing a visitor. A lot had changed in his childhood home over the last couple of months. Ever since the Werewolf Alliance had exiled his uncle and alpha, William, and killed his cousin Cameron, he felt on edge.

The team from the Alliance had swept in like a swarm of locusts, bringing upheaval to the pack. He’d been the one in charge of security, and he knew he’d done an exemplary job, but the new alpha had made changes, and one of them concerned security for the estate. Now Francisco, one of Jude’s men, was checking everything he was doing. Admittedly, Francisco’s IT and security skills were excellent, but that didn’t mean he liked having somebody look over his shoulder. It felt suffocating. He now felt unimportant in the position he’d always enjoyed. If something happened to him, nobody would miss him, and Francisco would seamlessly take over his tasks. It irked him to no end to be easily replaceable all of a sudden.

The house felt crowded now with too many strangers living in close quarters with the family. Maybe it was best if he bought himself a small place somewhere where he could escape when everything got to be too much. Even running in his wolf form on the vast wooded estate didn’t feel the same. A wolf needed his own territory, and he wasn’t used to sharing it with anybody but his family. He knew that his mother didn’t like the changes either. She complained often enough about how she felt adrift, because she didn’t rule the household anymore. This was Danielle’s domain now. How had he not realized that she was his uncle’s bastard and thus his cousin? Now that he knew who she was, he could almost see the family resemblance.

The intercom chimed again, making him realize that nobody had responded to it yet. He walked to the small monitor next to the door and saw a car waiting in front of the massive iron gates several hundred yards downhill from the house.

“Yes?” he barked into the microphone.

“I’m the tattooist,” the man in the car said.

“Tattooist? You sure you have the right address?”

“Yes, Jude Beaumont made the appointment for his wife.”

Eve appeared in his field of vision. “Let him in. Jude mentioned it earlier.”

Spencer pressed the button to open the gate, then turned to his cousin. “Why would he need a tattooist?”

Eve stopped in front of him. “Danielle has to get that tattoo they all have. You’ve seen it: the one with the head of a wolf and some Latin writing around it.”

“Lupinotuum Societatem? Werewolf Alliance? That makes sense.”

After all, it was a sign of loyalty to the Alliance, and as the alpha’s mate, it was to be expected that Danielle had to carry the same tattoo. Even though he had no intention of ever getting such a tattoo—which would be equivalent to him selling out to the Alliance and betraying his family—he had to admit that it actually looked cool.

Eve furrowed her forehead. “You knew about this?”

Spencer shrugged. “It’s logical that he’d demand that of her.”

He heard the arriving car stop in the driveway and opened the door. The man who got out of the Mercedes was a werewolf, evidenced by the supernatural aura that surrounded him. He took a thick black briefcase from the backseat and walked up the stairs to the entry.

“Hi, I’m Vince,” he greeted them with a nod.

“Come in,” Spencer replied, but didn’t go as far as offering his name.

Judging by the expensive car and the equally posh clothes, working for the Werewolf Alliance as a tattoo artist paid well.

“Danielle is upstairs in the master suite,” Eve said and waved at Priscilla, the young servant who at this moment carried a basket with fresh laundry toward the stairs.

“Priscilla,” Eve demanded, “can you please show Vince to the master suite. Danielle is expecting him.”

Priscilla nodded dutifully. “Of course.” With a smile at the stranger, she added, “Please follow me.”

Spencer closed the front door and watched the two disappear upstairs. He was about to turn away to get on with work when he felt Eve’s hand on his arm.

“What is it?”

She leaned in and lowered her voice. “Since you know a few things about the Werewolf Alliance, have you also heard that everyone who’s mating with an alpha within the organization gets a new identity?”

“What do you mean by a new identity?”

Eve looked around, obviously making sure that nobody else was in the hallway to hear what they were talking about.

“Like in witness protection.”

“That’s ridiculous.”