Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
brYCE
Both Matt and Jesse looked more relaxed over breakfast than they had lately. Bryce had the feeling that wouldn’t last long, because Matt had declared his intention to meet the Council’s head of security himself later that morning.
“Mind if I’m there too?” Bryce asked. “That way I can pick up any discrepancies between what Tom’s said and what this guy’s asking.”
“I’m counting on it,” Matt said. His voice was calm, but his eyes found Bryce’s with quick, quiet trust. That flash of reliance, rarely spoken aloud, settled warm and steady in his chest.
He turned his attention back to his plate, anticipation bubbling inside him at the prospect of seeing Tom again.
If Tom had pulled away before, that had vanished last night.
Bryce had been half asleep, and his question about Tom coming back had slipped out without any intention on his part.
Even he’d heard the longing in his voice.
And Tom’s question in return hadn’t been whether Bryce wanted him to come back to the ranch, but whether Bryce wanted him. At least, that was the way it had sounded to Bryce.
If it hadn’t been for that damn goat, who knew? Maybe they’d have ended up in bed. Or maybe he’d have passed out in the porch chair with Tom watching him snore.
Tom arrived just after lunch, and when Bryce opened the door, something jolted through him at Tom’s smile. That connection was still there, still sparking. His wolf surged in welcome, so enthusiastic it took Bryce by surprise.
Tom introduced him and Matt to Duane Jaxom, head of the Council’s security detail.
Bryce had expected someone in a suit with dark glasses and an earpiece, but this guy looked military rather than Secret Service, with his brush cut, combat boots and fatigues.
The look in his eyes suggested he’d rather enforce than protect.
At Jax’s side, Tom was once again in dress pants, and his shirt today was light blue with a soft sheen that reminded Bryce of Jesse’s coat.
But it wasn’t the clothes that got him, though yeah, they fit him just right.
It was the way Tom moved—aware, centered, calm even in the presence of a man like Jax who practically bristled with every step he took.
As the four of them sat at the kitchen table, Bryce reluctantly had to admit that Jax knew what he was talking about.
He wasn’t just muscle. There was calculation behind every move, a shrewdness in those cold eyes, and the way he instantly oriented the ranch on a satellite printout and spotted the weak spots told Bryce this was far from the first time he’d planned for trouble on someone else’s territory.
Though, when he ran a finger over the page, his nails were bitten short.
A nervous habit that didn’t fit with the rest of him.
“I’ll station men at each of these points around the property,” Jax said. “There’ll be six men inside the house, and we’ll conduct a full sweep before the councilors arrive.”
“You can have two men in the room with the councilors and three outside the house,” Matt said calmly. “One at the rear, one at the front, and one covering the mudroom door.”
Jax raised his head, nostrils flaring. “The safety of the councilors is my responsibility. They’re not stepping foot on your land unless I can guarantee it.”
It was the challenge that Bryce had been waiting for since he’d laid eyes on Jax.
Matt leaned back in his chair, hands folded in front of him, his smile faint but steady. “That’s just fine with me,” he said. “You might want to check with your councilors what they think about it, though.”
Bryce watched the moment stretch—Jax coiled and ready to snap, and Matt.
.. not. Not anymore. Twelve years ago, this would’ve gone differently.
Back in Cheyenne, Matt would’ve taken that comment as a gauntlet thrown and responded in kind.
Not out of ego—well, not only ego—but out of something restless and young and too damn sure of his own dominance.
This Matt? He didn’t rise to any bait. He stayed calm, steady, and in control. It had cost him almost everything to learn this level of restraint, but it was what made him a real alpha, a leader rather than someone throwing his weight around.
Bryce sat back and let the tension stretch, knowing nothing would move Matt once his mind was set. And yeah, maybe he was a little proud of that.
TOM
Jax’s shoulders were tight and temper sparked in his eyes. He wasn’t used to being questioned or told no.
Tom intervened before this went sideways.
“What if we stationed guards outside your boundary, Alpha Urban?” he asked. “That way we’d be satisfied it was locked down, but we wouldn’t be on your territory.”
Matt met his eyes. “That sounds workable.”
Tom had to admire the gall of the man. He knew as well as Tom that, if that was what they decided to do, he couldn’t stop them.
“My pack will do the security sweep before the councilors arrive,” Matt added.
“And your pack have the same sort of training my guys have? I don’t fucking think so,” Jax spat.
Tom sighed. Diplomacy was wasted on Jax.
“I don’t care what you think,” Matt said, sounding as if he meant it.
“It’s your councilors that want this meeting, and I’ll guarantee their safety while they’re on my land.
I’m prepared to let you look around the place today but I will not have a full, armed security detail roaming my pack’s territory. ”
“Fuck that.” Jax was on his feet, his fists clenched on the table in front of him.
“I believe Councilor Steadman will find those terms acceptable,” Tom said swiftly, seeing this whole thing about to explode. “Should I check with her, Jax?”
Jax relaxed slightly, Tom’s recognition of his status soothing his ego.
“No need, Barrington,” he said. “I’m going to look around the property myself, then I’ll make a recommendation.”
“I’ll show you around,” Urban said, rising smoothly to his feet.
Disaster averted for now, they left through the back door, and Tom wanted to bang his head on the table. When he glanced up, Bryce’s blue eyes were full of laughter. “I can see why your colleague didn’t join the diplomatic corps,” he said.
Tom snorted. “You have no idea. That was him on his best behavior.”
“Well, I guess the unstoppable force met the immovable object in Matt. Are you sure you don’t want to accompany them on their tour for the entertainment value?”
“Seriously?” Tom’s horror at the thought echoed in his voice.
Bryce laughed, the sound rich and easy in the quiet kitchen. “Come on,” he said, jerking his chin toward the back door. “Let’s get out of here before Jax realizes he’s never going to get the better of Matt.”
Outside, the sun was high and the breeze strong, sending fallen leaves swirling.
They meandered without aim or urgency, in step with one another, like they’d been doing this for years.
They were close enough for Tom almost to sense the heat of Bryce’s body.
He shoved the thought away before it could catch fire—how Bryce would feel above him, warm and heavy, pressed skin to skin.
Instead, he concentrated hard on the path in front of him, the crunch of fallen leaves underfoot, and Bryce’s soft breathing.
After a while, Bryce asked, “Do you know which councilors are coming? Tristan’s been bugging me to ask you.”
Tom glanced sideways. “So far, it’s looking like Bennett, Steadman, Hart, and Thompson. Final confirmation tonight.”
“You think Bennett and Steadman can be in the same room without killing each other?”
Tom gave a dry huff of laughter. “It’s always interesting. Steadman plays the long game, while Bennett likes shock and awe. Neither of them likes to lose.”
“Which one pushed hardest for the visit?”
“Depends who you ask.” Tom nudged a stone with his shoe, watching it skitter ahead of them. “Officially? They both signed off. Unofficially, I think Steadman’s doing all she can to manage the narrative about Jesse being an Argent before Bennett simply unleashes it on the world like a wayward nuke.”
Bryce frowned. “And Jesse? What do they intend for him, other than simply acknowledging that Argents still exist?”
“That’s the worry,” Tom admitted. “If Bennett thinks he can use Jesse’s support to force through a shift in policy, he won’t hesitate.”
They walked a few more steps in silence.
Bryce said, low and serious now, “You think Steadman would use him too?”
Tom hesitated. “Not like Bennett would. But if she thought there was no other way to keep shifters safe long-term? I think she might.”
Bryce let out a breath, almost a growl. “Hell. So you’re telling me, Jesse’s going to be co-opted to support someone’s agenda? That they’ll claim his support for something he might not believe in, make him the face of their campaign?”
“You didn’t hear this from me,” Tom said. “But if Jesse feels that’s what’s happening, that he’s being misrepresented, he needs to get out there early, hit the broadcast media. Get his views on record.”
He shouldn’t undermine Steadman like this, but, although she cared, she was a strategist. She played the board. Jesse wasn’t a person to her—he was a lever to use.
Tom shoved his hands into his pockets. “He deserves better than to be used as anyone’s token.”
When Bryce turned to look at him, something close to admiration showed in his face.
And for an instant, Tom wondered. Had he been seduced from his path by wanting Bryce’s approval?
By wanting something more than his approval, because the way that man looked in a pair of blue jeans did something to Tom.
He didn’t think Bryce had deliberately set out to compromise him, but somehow, the time he’d spent with this pack had swayed him emotionally.