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‘And that’s where my plan comes in,’ I interjected. ‘Noah, Ben is new to being a werewolf and new to the Other. He desperately needs a guide.’
‘I wouldn’t say desperately,’ Ben muttered, folding his arms. ‘I’m sure I can muddle through.’
‘If it was just my pack here, you might be able to – but we have the Devon pack here. They came to attack us but I killed their alpha, so now their pack is also mine. However, that doesn’t mean they want to be here or they want to be friends. And we also have the added complications of the Werewolf Council staying here, comprising thirteen beta werewolves who are a bit too used to throwing their weight around. We couldn’t be in a trickier position.’
‘Plus someone killed Larsden,’ Noah said pointedly.
‘Yes, thank you, Noah,’ I said drily. ‘I hadn’t forgotten, but Larsden is rather low down on the priorities’ list right now.’
Ben blinked at me. ‘Murder is low down the list?’
‘Yes,’ I said grimly. ‘Survival is at the top.’
‘I thought you were proclaimed our Queen.’ Ben was obviously confused. ‘Surely this is the safest place you could be.’
Noah shook his head. ‘She’s got a huge target painted on her at the moment. She needs to travel to the seat of power and get the Crown of Torr in order to be formally crowned. Once she’s done that, if someone else fancies a crown … under our rules they just have to kill her. Bob’s your uncle, you’re King.’
Fucking Bob, Esme muttered.
‘This is bad.’ Ben’s jaw was working. ‘What can we do?’
‘This isn’t a “we” problem, it’s an “I” problem,’ I clarified.
‘Fuck that,’ Ben growled. ‘You’re my sister. I’m not letting anything happen to you on my watch.’
I grinned. ‘I appreciate the thought, bro, but in Disney terms you’re Bambi – brand new and skating on thin ice. The best thing for us both right now is for you to find your feet, and that’s where Noah comes in.’ I turned to Noah. ‘Forgive me if this is indelicate, but your mother indicated that you’re gay?’ Noah nodded. ‘Great. My brother is pan, so I was thinking – how would you both feel about fake dating?’
Sally, Noah’s mum, had inadvertently come up with the solution to my problem. ‘Dating gives you both the perfect excuse to hang around with each other even though Ben is new to the pack. Once Ben has found his feet, you can “break up” and tell everyone you’re just friends, but by then people will be used to seeing you together. That way, Noah gets to see Roan and Ben gets to learn about the Other with someone who knows it intimately. No one will look at you twice.’ I regarded them steadily. ‘What do you think?’
Ben looked cautiously towards the younger man, waiting to see his reaction. Noah gave a decisive nod. ‘Yes. I’ll do it. It’s the perfect cover.’
My brother nodded. ‘I’m game,’ he said lightly.
I grinned. ‘Perfect! There’s one last thing. We can’t keep calling Ben’s wolf “Roan”. A little change is needed so let’s make him Rohan. It’s similar enough for Roan to get used to, but different enough that no one will question it.’ I looked at Ben. ‘What do you think, Roan? Are you okay to become Rohan?’
Ben’s eyes glowed gold. ‘I am, my Queen.’ He bowed respectfully low.
I beamed. ‘Wonderful. I suggest you two hammer out the details between you over a beer. Noah, Ben will meet you in the kitchen in a moment.’
Noah recognised a dismissal when he heard one. ‘My Queen.’ He bowed and left.
I looked at Ben; now it was time to sow some seeds. ‘Noah was attacked recently in the mansion by some of the Devon werewolves.’ My lip curled back in a sneer. ‘They thought he was less because he doesn’t have his wolf. I made it clear that he is still pack, wolf or no.’
I met my brother’s warm brown eyes. ‘Please do your best to keep him safe.’ Implying that it was a difficult or even an impossible task made it something my brother couldn’t resist; he loved a challenge. Not just that, but he was a protector to his core.
His shoulders squared and his eyes glowed with righteous anger on Noah’s behalf. ‘Absolutely,’ he promised. ‘I’ll start now.’ He left for the kitchens.
I smiled. No doubt Ben’s heart was still aching from Pollyanna’s cold behaviour, but when he was recovered … perhaps the men could drop the “fake” part of the plan. And perhaps that’s exactly the future the seer had seen for Ben.
I wondered what, if anything, she’d seen for me. Would Fellworth House be my doom or my salvation?
Chapter 23
Are you talking to me yet? Esme asked. There was no trace of annoyance in her tone, just genuine curiosity.
I sighed. Yeah. What’s up?
We are nearly here. I feel … edgy. There is something unusual here. Some magic I don’t know.
