Chapter 13 #3
Callon slammed his palm on an end table, rattling mugs and, no doubt, nerves. “Enough. We’re not storming a kingdom on information that might be wrong. We need proof, we need a plan, and we need to not start a war with a kingdom that might not be guilty of what we’re accusing them of.”
Rafe stood, knocking his chair over. “Roan is practically family, Cal, and Maddie belongs to your female. If that’s not worth going to war, then what is?”
Bane, who rarely spoke, added, “If we wait, we could lose the element of surprise.”
Crowley’s voice was calm, but his eyes were sharp. “If you move before you have solid proof, you’ll fracture every alliance we have. Do you really want to be the match that lights that powder keg?”
Nox’s phone buzzed. He glanced at it, then walked out. Minutes later, he returned, screen in hand.
“Taras wants a word.” He clicked the video call on the TV. The Prime of Claws appeared, silver-haired and unamused, even in pajamas.
Taras’s gaze swept the room. “I see the entire troublemaking section is present. Tell me what’s going on, Callon. I’ve been waiting to hear from you, and you’ve been unusually silent.”
Callon bristled. He bowed his head briefly in a sign of respect. “We haven’t had any news until now.”
Taras cut him off. “Well then I suggest you get me filled in, so we can make a plan to get our shaman and his mate back.”
Nico did another recap of the situation, and then the room waited as the Prime of Kingdom of Claws made a decision. As Nico pointed out, Roan belonged to his kingdom and shaman or not, that meant something.
Finally he said, “Nox, if you’re in agreement, we gather a small group and go in stealth mode. After we get them out, we deal with the treachery of Silk and Chaos.”
Nox nodded. “I would do the same in your shoes. The safety of Roan and Maddie takes priority.”
“Finally,” Katy smiled and rubbed her hands together. “Someone has some sense.”
“Lola,” Taras said, his voice commanding, and Callon wanted to groan. He knew that tone all too well. “You are to come home and wait,” Taras continued. “We already allowed you to put yourself in harm's way when Katy was taken. We won’t allow it again."
Callon could feel the rage and indignation growing in his female. She looked at him as if she expected him to argue on her behalf, but she was mistaken. Callon would always fight to keep her safe. Even when it pissed her off. “He’s the prime,” he told her. “Even I have to obey him.”
Taras ended the call abruptly, obviously having nothing left to say, leaving a vacuum in the room.
“Well, he can’t tell me what to do,” Katy said, shoving her hands into her pockets and rocking back on her heels, looking quite proud of herself.
Callon almost laughed, but managed to hold it in.
Nox turned to look at Gage’s mate. “You belong to Gage, but make no mistake, you’re a member of the Kingdom of Fangs and are therefore under my rule.”
“Careful, Nox,” Gage said, his voice a deep guttural sound.
“Do you want her going?” Nox asked the dire wolf.
Gage glanced at Katy. The glare she sent him would have caused a lesser male to cower. “No,” Gage answered, not a hint of hesitation.
“I will sick Otto on you,” she threatened.
“You can do as you please in your relationship,” Nox said, obviously not worried about her attempt to bully her mate.
“But, you will not do as you please when it comes to my orders. You will not accompany the males on this mission. If you disobey my orders, as your alpha, I will be forced to discipline you, and I will accept whatever wrath your mate deals out because of it.”
Bane whistled. “Damn, brave alpha.”
“That’s why he’s the alpha,” Rafe pointed out.
Katy’s voice was a low snarl. “So we just sit here and let Maddie rot?”
“Is that truly what you think of me?” Gage asked, his eyes glowing dangerously.
“That I would let your friend be left behind? Did I leave you behind? Did I leave any of those females in the hands of Azure? Because, if that’s your opinion of me, female, then we have a lot to discuss when this crisis is over. ”
“And perhaps some couples counseling," Wyatt offered.
“Silence,” Callon growled at his packmate.
Wyatt held up his hands. “My bad. Stress makes me stupid.”
Lola snorted. “Then you’re stressed a lot. Perhaps you should get counseling.”
“Totally have, lovely Lola, didn’t help.” He winked at her, and Callon barely held himself back from raking his claws across the male’s face.
“It’s time for the males to form a plan,” Nox said, ignoring the pissed off stares of Katy and Lola. Even Miryam and Akira were glaring at him. “Even my mate, Everly, will be staying behind. She knows she is needed here. That’s her place.”
“Easy, mate,” a female voice purred, sounding more like a feline than a canine shifter.
“I am happy to stay behind and take care of our pack, but don’t think for a minute that I wouldn’t challenge you if need be.
” She stepped into the room, and her eyes found the females.
“I realize that my mate, and yours apparently, have not explained this very well, but if you will give me a chance, hopefully I can cool your ire.”
Lola glanced at Callon. She didn’t give him the sweet smile he adored, or the sizzling look that made him want to lock her in their bedroom.
The fierce fire in her eyes might have singed his mane if she had stared at him any longer.
“You can try,” she told the alpha female.
“But I’ll be honest, Katy and I tend to be pretty hardheaded. ”
“Understatment,” Gage muttered.
Katy’s head snapped around to meet her mate’s eyes. “Don’t think I will suddenly forget this when you bring Maddie back.”
“So you admit that I will be successful and rescue your best friend?” He challenged.
She stuck her nose in the air and made to follow Everly. “I’ll admit nothing until you produce results. Don’t come back unless you have her with you.”
Gage took a step towards her. “Katherine,” he said, his voice softer.
She held up her hand. “Unless you feel like having your eyes clawed out, I suggest you stop where you stand.” She didn’t look at him again as she left the room.
Lola glanced at Callon, but she didn’t say a word, which was almost worse than a scathing comment.
Callon wanted to go to her, throw her over his shoulder, take her somewhere private, and force her to understand his perspective.
But he knew any words from him at the moment wouldn’t help.
But he still had to say the words that constantly burned in his throat. “I love you.”
“And that’s the only reason I might forgive you,” she snapped. “Eventually.” Then she, too, was gone.
Akira and Miryam followed after them without a word to anyone else.
“Damn,” Wyatt shook his head. “I think I changed my mind. I don’t want a female if it’s going to be that difficult to reason with them.”
“Nothing worth having is easy,” Nox told him. “Having a female that would fold to your whim would be boring. I’d much rather have one that has claws and knows how to use them.”
“And exactly how long did it take for you to appreciate that quality?” Callon asked.
Nox snorted. “A century or so.”
“Great,” Gage said, the word sounding more like a curse.
“Let’s get this plan taken care of so that Callon and Gage can attempt to appease their females before we leave,” Rafe suggested.
Everly could have handled a pack of rabid wolves with less drama than what these females brought to a sitting room, a good distance away from where the males were gathered.
She watched them file in: Lola’s eyes shooting sparks, Katy stomping like a toddler denied a cookie, and Akira and Miryam trailing behind, looking like they’d volunteered for a firing squad.
Everly wrangled her patience—something she’d learned was as necessary to an alpha female as fangs or claws.
She slid a tray of mugs across the low table. “Coffee. Or tea. Or, if you want to keep going with the death glares, might I suggest tequila? But I warn you, I only drink with people who promise not to start a coup in my mate’s house.”
Lola flopped onto the couch, arms crossed, jaw set. Katy followed, muttering something about “testosterone poisoning.” Miryam and Akira perched together, their wariness mixed with the scent of sympathy as they looked at the other two females.
Everly settled herself in the armchair, one leg crossed over the other. She attempted to exude that alpha calm that said: yes, I could kill you, but I’d rather help you fix your mascara and plot your revenge. She needed the females to respect her, but also trust her.
“I know you’re angry,” she began, voice even but not unkind.
“And I know you think you’re the only ones who’ve ever been told to stay behind when someone you love is in danger.
” She met each of their gazes in turn, letting her words settle.
“But there’s a reason for it, and it’s not just because our males are overprotective psychos—though, let’s be honest, they are. ”
Lola snorted. “That’s not an explanation. That’s stating the obvious.”
Everly smiled, a little dangerous. She leaned forward, setting her cup down on the coffee table and resting her forearms on her knees.
“Do you know what happens when alpha females work together, instead of against each other?” Her voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper.
“We move mountains. We make plans while the males are out swinging their swords. When they come back, battered and bleeding, we’re the ones who make sure they’re still standing.
That’s not weakness. That’s importance–strength and competence our mates can count on.
Now, let me teach you some important first-aid and emergency medicine, so we can be ready to help our mates heal when they come home. ”