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‘It does, and I am. It is hard, being away from him,’ he admitted, ‘but when I asked him if I could go, he ordered me to assist you. That order guides me and helps me cope with the separation.’
‘It is not painful for you?’
‘No,’ he reassured me. ‘It feels a little unusual, but there is no discomfort. I know I am pleasing him by helping you.’
‘Well, I’m glad,’ I said lamely. I studied him. At times Isiah had struck me as being cold and unfeeling, but he’d been passionate about his son. I wondered whether he had ever told him that? ‘Your father cared for you a great deal,’ I said finally.
Jacob nodded. ‘He did. And now I wish to serve our pack in any way that I can.’
Greg entered the room. ‘You can start by helping me to secure the roof,’ he said gruffly.
‘Of course,’ said Jacob. ‘I require little rest. I can man the roof twenty-four hours a day.’
Greg blinked. ‘That’s probably excessive. I would appreciate the presence of a guard, but you need respite even if you don’t require rest.’
Jacob frowned. ‘Then I shall ask for more dark seraph to come. Three or four of us would enable us to mount a constant guard on the roof whilst allowing time for … respite.’ He delivered the last word as if it were totally alien to him.
‘Do you think that Emory will be okay with that?’ I asked with concern.
Greg grinned. ‘I suspect Emory is struggling with all the devotion. I think he’d probably be delighted.’
‘I concur,’ Jacob said. ‘He finds our adoration uncomfortable. This will make things easier for him.’ He looked pleased with himself as he reached into his trouser pocket and pulled out a phone to text someone. Like Reynard, he wore no shirt and his rippling abs were on display. All of the dark seraph were physically strong, in stark contrast to the squat, weak bodies they’d had as gargoyles. No wonder they didn’t feel the urge to hide away their torsos.
There was a knock on my door. ‘Come in,’ I called.
Xander walked in; at my behest, he’d been acting as liaison between me and the Devon pack that I’d subsumed when I’d killed Beckett Frost. ‘I can come back,’ he said when he saw Jacob.
‘It’s fine,’ I said. ‘What can I help you with?’
He wrung his hands for a moment before dropping to his knees. ‘I have failed you, my Queen,’ he said unhappily. ‘I knew that the others were unhappy with Noah’s presence and I should have stopped them.’
‘We can only be responsible for our own actions,’ I said firmly. ‘You are not to blame for the actions of Max, Toby and Harry.’
‘What happened?’ Greg asked, frowning.
‘They attacked Noah,’ I explained. ‘I stepped in. Noah is fine.’ Although now possibly agoraphobic.
‘If I had come to you sooner—’ Xander started unhappily.
‘Don’t waste time on shoulda, woulda, coulda,’ I ordered. ‘It is done and it was not your fault. Hopefully the three of them will think twice before they attack anyone else.’
‘They certainly will.’ Xander gave a sudden, youthful smile. ‘Finley knocked the stuffing out of them. Even three against one, they didn’t stand a chance. He fights dirty.’
Finley had survived as a lone wolf for a long time, and in the recent tourney he’d rocketed into my pack at ninth position. It was no surprise that he was a scrapper.
‘I appreciate you coming to see me, and I appreciate your continued efforts to keep me abreast of how things are progressing with the Devon members, but do not think that I hold you accountable for their actions because I do not. Now, please stand.’ It felt damned awkward having someone kneel to me, though I hoped it didn’t show. When Xander looked at me, it was with a similar devotion to that which the dark seraph displayed to Emory.
He got to his feet and gave me a low bow. ‘Thank you for your time, alpha,’ he said confidently, but then he hesitated.
‘Spit it out,’ Greg ordered gruffly.
Xander cleared his throat. ‘I have been conducting discreet enquiries amongst the former Devon pack. So far I have not found indications that any of them knew anything about Larsden or Ramsey’s death. I wish I had something more helpful to contribute.’
‘Did any of the Devon pack take part in, or watch, black tourneys?’ I asked.
He winced. ‘All of us did at some time or other. Your men Harry, Max and Toby all took part recently. They were sent in rotation. Frost believed in toughening us up in the ring. He sent us young to strengthen us or die.’
My jaw worked. ‘That’s horrific.’
