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Yes, I agreed sorrowfully. They have.
We will help them. We will show them what pack truly means.
Yes, I agreed again. We will.
Since my presence was making them feel awkward, it was time to leave. I nodded at Greg, indicating he should stay and mix, and went to my office.
I paced around it for a moment, but Liam was at the security desk and I had no privacy. ‘Give me five,’ I ordered, feeling agitated.
He nodded briskly. ‘Yes, my Queen.’
Oh wonderful: the Queen shit was catching.
Chapter 3
As always when I felt stressed, I reached out to someone who had always been a safe harbour in a storm. I needed five minutes with my best friend so I shoved the dead body out of my mind and focused on Jess and her problems. Lord knows she certainly had a doozy.
When she answered, her tone was light and happy and some of my concern about her situation eased; maybe it wasn’t that bad. Then I realised what she’d actually said: ‘Hey, Queen of the Bitches!’
Son of a bitch: even Jess was in on the Queen crap. ‘Now I’ll have to explain to Esme why that is not an appropriate title,’ I grumped.
It could not be more appropriate, though I suppose we are Queen of both males and females. And female wolves are more commonly called she-wolves, though I have heard the term bitch used often enough. Esme’s tone was matter of fact. Queen of the Bitches sounds fun. You like fun.
I did a face palm; as always, Esme and I did not agree on the definition of fun.
Jess sniggered. ‘Sorry-not-sorry. How are you doing?’
‘I’m okay. The mansion is overrun with snooty werewolves,’ I complained, thinking of Kearns and his passive-aggressive threats.
‘And you’re hiding in your office?’ she guessed accurately. Damn her and her radar. Jess was a truth-seeker and could always tell when people were lying – even down the phone.
‘I’m not hiding, I’m seeking solitude,’ I said in my snottiest tone.
‘Po-tay-to, tom-ah-to,’ she laughed.
I sobered. ‘Actually, I’m ringing to check on you. You and Emory flew off like bats out of hell and I feel so responsible. I’ve made a complete mess of things for you.’
When Amber had lifted the curse from the gargoyles, they had started to die; they had needed a great magic to fill the void left by the curse. At my behest, Emory had used forbidden dragon magic to save them and make them brethren. It had been the right thing to do, but now Emory would face the consequences of my actions. The guilt was definitely there.
‘Don’t be silly, it’ll be fine,’ Jess said, but her tone wouldn’t have convinced anyone. She was lying through her teeth and we both knew it. No doubt her internal lie detector had pinged.
‘Have you told the Court yet?’ I asked. I had no doubt that the Dragon Court’s reaction wouldn’t be all roses and kittens.
‘About Emory making true brethren for the first time in centuries and accidentally enslaving a whole race to his will?’ she asked lightly.
‘Yeah.’
‘Nope, it hasn’t come up yet,’ she said cheerfully.
‘Jess! I don’t think this is something you can ignore. Emory broke dragon law.’ I whispered the last bit, in case it was a secret. Werewolf hearing is sharp and Liam wasn’t that far away.
‘We just need time to find some loopholes,’ Jess still sounded optimistic. ‘You know me; I can always find a loophole. It’ll be fine. And anyway, the wedding preparations are distracting everyone.’
I blinked. Shut the front door! ‘The wedding preparations?’
‘Oh.’ She cleared her throat. ‘I forgot to mention… we’ve set a date.’
I let out an ear-splitting shriek of excitement and Liam burst in, gun raised – Greg had obviously been handing out weapons again. I hastily shooed him back out. He coloured, re-holstered the gun and left the room.
