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“And I have leave to burn you both or tear you to shreds if I feel threatened.” Now Golden sat.
Anders felt too uneasy to sit. “We—”
“We have both forsaken our packs,” Misti interjected.
Immediately he knew why she had cut him off. She did not want the Wild Shades to know about their relationship. Do we even have a relationship? Her touch alone sent a thrill through him, and he knew she desired him too, but death was knocking at their door. Maybe it would be better to not give in to the pleasures of each other’s bodies again until they did not have to wonder if they would see another sunrise.
If that day would ever come to pass.
“Forsaken your packs.” Golden rubbed his chin. “You both realize how serious that is?”
“Serious enough that my father…” Misti clammed up too late.
“Your father did what?” Golden asked, leaning forward in his seat.
“He has elevated my cousin to be his heir in my stead,” she said smoothly.
Anders winced inwardly. Golden was no fool. He had to know she wasn’t telling him the complete truth.
“So you two have come here wishing for what? To be welcomed into the fold?” Golden stood, arms crossed, obviously trying for intimidation.
There was no point in lying or withholding the truth until they spoke with the alpha. Anders cleared his throat. “Not exactly. We would like to have your help in defeating both of our former packs.”
“You would have us to go war for you?” a deep, booming voice asked from the doorway.
7
Misti forced herself to turn around leisurely to face the newcomer, trying her best to stay calm and composed while not appearing startled or alarmed. This wasn’t going well at all.
“War is such an ugly word,” she said slowly.
“War is ugly,” the newcomer said bluntly. He was an older man, with salt and pepper hair and hard lines on his face, but she could still see that years erased, he would have been handsome.
“Wouldn’t you care for revenge? To be able to live back—”
The newcomer glowered at Anders, his bushy eyebrows sinking over his eyes. “Revenge isn’t good motivation for anything. Yes, I’ll grant you the land was bountiful, and the ability to live so close to where one could turn and be free and not have to worry about revealing one’s true nature to humans is one we lack here, but we have known peace.”
“Peace is wonderful,” Misti whispered. She had never known peace.
“Peace is for fools,” Anders countered. “You may think you’re safe here—”
“We don’t think that. We know.”
“Watch how you talk to Dunn Kastner,” Golden piped up behind them. “He is our alpha, and I have seen him firsthand rip out the throat of men who had given him more respect than you have.”
To his credit, Anders inclined his head. “I apologize if I offended you, but peace is fleeting.”
“I’m sure you feel that way, given that you were exiled for nearly a decade,” the alpha said coolly.
Goosebumps appeared on Misti’s arms. Kastner was not a man to be trifled with. How much does he know about us?
“Your father never was happy with you, was he, Misti?” Kastner unhurriedly walked a circle around her. “Or so my men have told me.”
Your spies, you mean.
The idea that he had kept tabs on both packs unsettled her, although it did give credence to Anders’s assurance that peace was for fools. Kastner was no fool. Whether he had started the military-like practice of the pack or was continuing on what the previous alpha had instituted, he was ready for war, regardless of whether or not he actually reentered the fray.
“Happy and my father are not words I would ever put in the same sentence,” she said stiffly. For some reason, she wanted to clasp her hands behind her back and stand at attention. She didn’t, of course.
