Chapter Three #3
Rex was pretty sure that Arlen wanted to give Jacob a good shake. Merrick, on the other hand, would probably be happy to slam Jacob into one of the cells and leave him there. To be fair, that sounded like a reasonable compromise. Jacob was an asshole.
The wolves cowered in their cells when they heard them. Most of them were adults, but there were a few children, which made Rex angry. Children should never be imprisoned. They hadn’t made the decision to leave the pack. Their parents had, and the kids shouldn’t pay for that.
“Let them out,” Arlen ordered.
Two guards had followed them downstairs. They both looked at Jacob, who gestured at them to obey. He might not be in charge, but it was clear that he had some authority.
“People are coming to pick them up,” Arlen said. “In the meantime, you’ll take them upstairs and give them food.”
“I haven’t agreed to that,” Jacob said.
“Well, I have, and I’m the one giving orders here. Do you really want to test me?”
Rex had always thought that Merrick was the scary one, and he wasn’t wrong, but Arlen wasn’t far behind when he got angry. From the way Jacob hurried to obey and tell the guards to do what Arlen had said, Rex wasn’t the only one to think that.
He stayed away from the mess. He kept an eye on the kids, just in case, but he was here to be the muscle.
He wasn’t even sure that Merrick and Arlen needed him.
They were intimidating enough that Rex doubted anyone would try anything.
The dragons had numbers on their side, but it didn’t look like they knew what to do with that, which was something Rex and the others could take advantage of.
They eventually got everyone upstairs. Rex and Harmon were at the back of the group, their shoulders bumping together as they walked up the steps.
Rex trusted Harmon to have his back, which was a bit of a surprise.
Usually, the only people he trusted were the members of his family.
Harmon had shown that he was on their side, though, and, in a way, he was family, too.
There were even more dragons hanging around when they emerged from the basement.
Rex frowned, hoping the dragons were here because they were curious and not because they were planning something.
Jacob still looked like he’d been forced to eat a whole lemon, while the guards who’d been with them in the basement appeared confused.
Most of the dragons were silent as they watched the wolves scurry around, but a few scoffed and made what they thought of the situation obvious.
They seemed to believe that the wolves should’ve been kept in their cells, which didn’t make sense.
These people hadn’t done anything to the clan or to Martin.
The only person they’d betrayed was Kieran, and he was taking them back.
Shouldn’t the dragons be happy that they were getting rid of the wolves?
They wouldn’t have to feed them anymore.
Not that they’d been doing a lot of that, considering the state the wolves were in.
They were led into a massive kitchen. There were more people here, too, and while a few left, clearly unhappy at the thought of having to deal with wolf shifters and vampires, others stepped up.
Two women hurriedly put together food, while a man helped the children sit at the counter.
There weren’t a lot of wolves, so they didn’t take up a lot of space.
“We’ll need rooms since we’re staying for at least a few days,” Arlen told Jacob, who was watching the scene with a slightly disgusted expression on his face. Rex wasn’t sure if it was because he didn’t like kids or because he didn’t like wolf shifters.
He didn’t care.
“You can’t stay here,” Jacob said.
Arlen arched a brow. “Can’t I?”
“Who our next leader is, is none of your business.”
“Considering Merrick here is the person who killed your former leader, I think it is.”
Jacob took a step back as if he expected Merrick to kill him, too. Rex was pretty sure that Merrick was tempted, but he just grinned, exposing his vampire fangs. Jacob paled.
“We’ll need blood, too,” Merrick said, still smiling.
It was slightly creepy, maybe because Rex wasn’t used to seeing him smile so much. He kind of wished Merrick would stop. He couldn’t deny it was working, though. He was creeped out, even though he knew Merrick. He couldn’t imagine how the dragons around them felt.
“Not everyone here agrees with what Martin did,” Jacob said. “We’re not all evil.”
“You might not be, but you never stood up to Martin.”
“Some of us tried. They’re not here to tell the tale.”
Arlen nodded. “I understand. What’s left of your clan needs guidance, and Kieran wants to be involved in choosing who will provide that guidance. He won’t choose for you. He just wants to make sure we don’t have a second Martin on our hands.”
“The clan should decide who will assume the leadership,” Jacob insisted.
“That’s fine with us. We’ll chat with anyone the clan chooses. If we’re not happy with the choice, we’ll ask you to rethink it. That’s all.”
Jacob snorted. “Is it? Don’t you think it’s too much?”
“Considering everything your clan has done, I’m not sure it’s enough.
” Arlen leaned closer. Jacob looked alarmed and took a step back, hitting the fridge.
There was nowhere for him to go. “You don’t have a choice, Jacob,” Arlen drawled.
“Your clan doesn’t have a leader anymore.
You still have people, of course, but will that be enough?
The pack killed your leader and his second-in-command.
We won this fight. We have allies, and we won’t hesitate to take the clan down if you don’t go along with this.
We just want what’s best for everyone, including your clan. Isn’t that what you should want, too?”
Jacob looked like he wanted to argue. Instead, he nodded curtly and gestured at the guards who were hovering by the door. “Prepare guest rooms,” he said. “Show them where everything is once the wolves are gone.”
“Jacob—” one of the guards started.
Jacob shook his head. “You heard them. They’re doing this whether we like it or not. Do you really want to put the clan in more trouble than we already are?”
The guard hesitated, then shook his head. Rex felt a bit like an animal at the zoo with everyone staring. Hopefully, they wouldn’t have to stick around for long. They needed to talk to a few people, find out who the better leader would be, and put them in charge. The clan would do the rest.
Something told Rex things weren’t going to be that easy.
* * * *
THE ROOM THEY WERE led to was dimly lit but clean and neat. It also only contained one bed.
Harmon turned to the guard who was still hovering there, looking like he wanted to run. “There are two of us.”
The dragon swallowed loudly. Harmon didn’t understand why he appeared so afraid of two vampires, but the dragon looked painfully young, which might explain it.
“I’m sorry,” the dragon said. “All the other rooms are occupied.”
Mallory and Arlen were sharing a room, while Merrick had one for himself. Harmon had expected the same would go for him and Rex, but apparently, that wouldn’t be the case. He looked at Rex, hoping he wouldn’t mind sharing both a room and a bed. “Is this okay with you?”
Rex didn’t hesitate to nod, which was a relief. Harmon didn’t want either of them to be uncomfortable.
He turned back to the guard. “This is fine, thank you.”
The guard nodded and scurried away, leaving Harmon and Rex by the open bedroom door. Harmon shook his head, amused, and walked in. It could have been worse, really.
He could be sharing with Merrick.
Rex followed Harmon in and closed the door behind himself. He went to sit on the edge of the bed and leaned down to take off his boots. Harmon smiled when he heard Rex’s relieved sigh and saw him wiggle his toes. No man should be that cute.
The tension between them had been steadily building, and Harmon suspected it was about to come to a head.
If nothing happened between them today, they’d part ways once this was over and would probably not see each other again.
If something did happen, well? Harmon wasn’t sure what it would mean for either of them, but he was eager to find out.
“Comfortable?” he asked, his voice low but teasing.
Rex smirked and wiggled his toes again. “As much as I can be, considering where we are and that we have to share a room.”
Harmon raised an eyebrow. “Is that a problem?” He didn’t think so because Rex had sounded teasing, but Harmon didn’t know him well enough to be completely sure.
Rex leaned back on his elbows. “Not a problem, no. Just...unexpected.”
“I agree,” Harmon said, moving toward the foot of the bed. “Which side of the bed do you want?”
Rex didn’t answer immediately. His expression softened, the teasing glint in his eyes replaced by something more serious. “Whichever side you usually sleep on.”
Harmon’s smile faltered for a moment. He didn’t think that Rex had meant it the way it had sounded. There was something between them, and Harmon was pretty sure they both knew and wanted it. Acknowledging it meant crossing a line, and neither of them had been ready for that.
Maybe they were now.
He took a step closer. “So you don’t want me to sleep on my usual side?”
Rex’s eyes widened. “I meant that we should share a side, you know, because we’ll sleep so close that we won’t need both.”
“Oh?” Harmon tried to put everything he felt in that one word. He wasn’t sure he succeeded.
Rex’s breath caught, his eyes widening slightly. He stood, closing the distance between them in one quick movement. He reached up with his hand to brush a strand of hair from Harmon’s forehead. “Unless you don’t want that.”
The air between them felt charged. Harmon’s hands found Rex’s waist, pulling him closer until their chests nearly touched. Their gazes locked, and for a moment, neither moved. The tension was almost unbearable with Rex’s question still hanging in the air, unanswered.