Chapter 20 #2
“It was kind of a dick move to slap me out of a panic attack. I thought you broke a tooth. Those don’t always grow back.”
Eric snorted. “It was that or let you hyperventilate yourself into a change.”
I rolled my eyes and chose not to argue. “If you’re not calling to check on me, then what’s up?”
“About that…”
“Eric.”
“Remember how you tried really hard to stay under the radar and just run with the three of us?”
I straightened up, not liking Eric’s tone. “Yeah.”
“So… that didn’t work.”
“For the love of the moon, would you spit it out already? What’s going on?”
“Conrad has requested your presence at the House. A private audience.”
I glared at the wall in the living room, now covered in slim frames.
I’d finally gotten around to hanging pictures of Josh and me.
Most of them were of stolen moments that he likely had no clue I’d captured.
Those were my favorites. He was open and honest, his guard was down, and he was enjoying life.
My heart squeezed, and I automatically floundered for the flimsy bond, but no matter how tightly I held it, it never got stronger.
“Hellooo… Earth to Elijah. Are you even listening?”
I spun away from the wall that held the memories of Josh and my very brief time together. “What?”
“I said you have to come to the House, like now.”
“Do you know what it’s about? Why didn’t Conrad contact me directly?”
“First, no. I can only guess what this is about, and my guesses aren’t good ones.
Second, if Conrad had called, would you have even answered?
” Eric let that hang. We both knew I would have dodged the call.
“That’s what I thought. But Red, it’s weird.
It’s almost like he’s trying to give you options that wouldn’t provoke a challenge. ”
“Why would he do that? We both know if he could, he’d be rid of me yesterday.”
“That’s just it. I don’t think he can. You saw how frayed the pack is. He needs you to walk away, and until you do something that actually gives him enough leverage, he has to tolerate you or risk losing the entire pack.”
“Fine. Let him know I’ll be there in thirty.”
“Okay. And Red, try not to do anything reckless.”
“When have you ever known me to be reckless?”
“You mean aside from sleeping with a Lycan Detective who turned out to be part of an infamous family known for hunting down our kind?”
I ground my teeth. “I’ll be careful.”
“That’s all I can ask. He said to meet him at the old solarium.” Before I could ask why the hell we were meeting at the decrepit location, the line died.
As fast as I could, I dressed in something slightly more appropriate to be meeting with the Klamath Alpha.
I diligently did not look at the wall of photos lest I get drawn back into reminiscing about happier times and walked out the front door a scant five minutes later.
At the last second, I decided to arm Atlas.
What good was the fancy tech if I wasn’t using it?
With only a few minutes to spare, I approached the long-forgotten solarium west of the House.
Glass, spotted with age and covered with greenery, rose out of the ground as if it had actually grown from the forest floor as opposed to being the independent structure it had once been.
Someone had brought in newer lounge chairs at some point and even cleared the debris enough to make walking through the dilapidated structure feasible.
I caught sight of a silhouetted figure through the dappled patches of light falling through countless holes in the roof.
As I walked closer, the distinct fear that I could be walking into a trap solidified, and all I could think was that Josh would never have made such a careless mistake.
He would have scouted the area and risked being late rather than go in blind.
I squared my shoulders and reassured myself that Conrad wouldn’t have told Eric where to find us if he had something nefarious in mind.
“Prompt.” The Klamath Alpha’s voice rolled out in a low baritone as he stepped into the open. “Must admit, I’m a little surprised given your recent behavior.”
I stiffened, then immediately forced myself to relax and finished closing the distance.
In front of Conrad was a veritable explosion of red flowers.
There were the occasional yellow, white, and even some odd-looking blue ones off to the side, but the array was predominantly red.
I vaguely recalled that Conrad had an affinity for growing things, but hadn’t realized he’d commandeered the solarium ruins as a makeshift greenhouse. “They’re lovely, Alpha.”
He nodded. “Castilleja affinis.”
“Coast Indian paintbrush. They were my mother’s favorite.”
“I know.” He finished watering one section, then moved on to the peculiar blue ones.
“What are those?” I asked in a poor attempt to prevent awkwardness from settling too firmly.
“Columbian monkshood.” Something about that tickled at my memory, but before I could pin it down, he was talking again. “I was pleased to see you join us the other night. It’s been too long since you were with your packmates.”
I resisted the urge to tell him that, given the choice, I wouldn’t have bothered. Eric’s warning sounded in my head, and I bit my tongue harder to make sure none of the thought made its way past my lips. “Always nice to see the others.”
Conrad set down the sonic watering can and turned to me. “Is it?”
I blinked back at him. “I’m not sure what you’re implying.”
He brushed his hands together and idly walked towards a path that led out of the solarium, leaving me to follow. I really hated when people did that, but I gritted my teeth and did what was expected. When I stepped up beside him, he resumed speaking as we walked without looking directly at me.
“We both know that even before this disaster with the Harkers and the murder investigation, you were withdrawn. I had hoped that placing you on the council might be a way to get you more involved with the pack.”
I didn’t believe that for one second. He’d put me on the council to keep a closer eye on me and to prevent me from going behind his back.
Conrad glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, no doubt having picked up on my sudden tension. “Sadly, that did not have the desired effect. Add to that the last six months, two of which you refused to run with the pack. What am I supposed to think?”
I barely stopped myself from openly gaping at him.
Was he really standing there, casually insinuating that I’d become a lone wolf?
Me? Who always put the pack first, who was there for the younglings, who helped cubs with their first shifts, who tutored the adolescents, and offered advice to the young adults? I was a lone wolf?
Suddenly, all of Eric’s cautions and worries about my lack of involvement struck home. I’d been more of a leader to this pack than Conrad had ever been… or I was until Conrad had assigned me to shadow Josh as the Pack Liaison. When was the last time I’d done any of those things for the pack?
As if reading my mind, Conrad said, “Ever since that detective came to Adler Springs, you’ve been even more distant, borderline rebellious.
” And there were the magic words. Conrad was fishing for an excuse to expel me permanently from the pack.
“I’d hoped you’d see the assignment as the gift it was. ”
I stopped dead with the effort of keeping my rage in check.
He had the audacity to call that shitty-ass assignment a gift?
Punishment was more like it. Or at least, that had been the intention.
Unfortunately, no amount of biting my cheek could stop the words from bursting out of me. “Gift? Are you kidding me right now?”
Conrad spun around, anger plastered on his face. “You’re right, not a gift. It should have been an honor to protect your pack from the likes of them. One you spit back in my face when you helped him escape pack justice.”
“He atoned for his crimes. Joshua Hart nearly died saving this pack.”
“Better that he had. It was his actions that put us in danger in the first place. And what of what he did to Tommy, and Liam, and Keith? Who will pay retribution to their families?”
My hands clenched into fists as I quietly vibrated with anger. It had been his stubborn, short-sighted views that had led our pack to be a target in the first place, and it had been his actions that had killed Keith and would have killed Tommy if Josh hadn’t locked him up first.
Conrad jabbed a finger at me. “You act like you have the pack’s best interests at heart, but all I see is a selfish wolf too wrapped up in his own problems to actually be part of a pack.”
I fought the growl rising in my chest. If I attacked Conrad here without witnesses, it would be his word against mine, which at the moment was definitely not in my favor.
I truly hated it when Eric was right. The pack had gone to shit while I’d been wallowing in my misery.
Like it or not, I had other responsibilities besides finding Josh—not that I was making any headway on that front.
Sadly, attacking Conrad would only exacerbate an already complicated situation.
A sudden ping in my ear, followed by the familiar voice of the Atlas system, snatched my attention.
“Security disarmed.” Panic flooded through me, washing away the last of my irritation.
I didn’t even think twice. “You’re right, Alpha.
I’ve not been fulfilling my role within the pack as I should be.
I’ll strive to do better in the future. This conversation has been… illuminating.”
Conrad’s brow furrowed in obvious confusion at my abrupt shift. I couldn’t help but think how impressed Josh would be at how I’d said exactly the truth and meant something completely different.
“If you’ll excuse me, Alpha, there is some business I need to attend to.” I couldn’t have said what expression he wore as I boldly walked away without actually being dismissed. I didn’t care either. Someone was at my house, and it sure as hell wasn’t Josh.