Chapter 65-1
Kiana
It was Troy who announced over dinner that he was closing talks early.
London balked. “Neither we nor our witches have made any progress.”
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“My clan has become too dangerous. There has been a direct attack on a guest. Until I know who
attacked her, I would like to err on the side of caution.”
Claudine’s gaze slid to me. “Removing temptation?” She purred.
I gritted my teeth. The whole dinner had been tense. Troy had been right all along. He considered the other alphas enemies, and now he had good reason.
Morven had turned his third in command to betray Troy. Claudine was ready to pin everything on
me, and she was willing to kill now and ask questions later.
And London was walking around with guards bathed in magic. Glamour magic? Some other kind of magic? It took time for me to study it and try and pinpoint what the magic did, and I couldn’t just
stand in the open and stare at the guard.
Not to mention the problems we were having outside the alphas. Irene hiding her magic.
Lunessa capable of all the magic used in the attacks.
The whole situation was a fucking mess. The sooner we got the alphas out of the territory, the
better.
“The only temptation at the table for me, Claudine, is my mate,” I responded easily.
“To fuck or kill, my dear?”
“Depends on the night.”
Morven cleared his throat. “I’m with Troy on this one. We’ve had a good start to a hard
conversation, and we all know that we are not going to agree on anything tomorrow or even next
week. It will take time. I, for one, have things I need to sort at home. I do not have the luxury of spending all my time here.”
Claudine was the only alpha who hadn’t weighed in except to take a jab at me. I wondered what they did when they needed to break a tie, and then I remembered London’s comment and how
quickly Troy had brushed it aside.
There used to be five packs.
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< Chapter 65-1
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As a rogue, I’d thought frequently about the safety a wolf must feel with a pack. To have the love of an alpha. To be protected by family. Deep down, I’d always suspected that it wasn’t for me, and now I could see why.
The politics of it all was a nightmare. One false move, and you were out in the cold.
Or dead.
My gaze strayed back to Troy. To be an alpha was to be hard as steel. No wonder the other alphas didn’t take mates. Even now, I could feel the bond between us hardening. I’d never noticed how
much it fluctuated before now.
Claudine smiled, and it chilled me to the bone. “Yes, I think it is time we all went home. We can
finish battering our ideas around from own separate packs, and it’s obvious that Troy has his
hands full.”
Another stab at me. Claudine really believed I had attacked her witch.
I was definitely going to have a talk with Cam before she left.
London was outvoted, and dinner ended with tension still in the air. Troy headed outside, and I
started to the stairs to his bedroom when Claudine called my name. Pausing on the landing, I
turned as she sauntered my way.
“Yes?”
“How does it feel to go from a nobody to the mate of an alpha?”
There was no bite in her voice. It was an honest question, and one that surprised me. “You think I
hold any power here? As I’m sure you’ve discovered, this pack hasn’t exactly accepted me.”
“No, they have not. Perhaps they never will. It is hard to shake a reputation once it’s earned, even if
it’s earned unfairly.” Turning her head, she studied me. “I am not convinced that you are innocent of
my witch’s attack.”
“Really? You’re hiding it well.”
She chuckled darkly. “I have already lost one witch. I cannot afford to lose another.”
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