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From the kitchen Emery’s voice snapped, “I have not been hovering. I’m simply…vigilantly present.”
“Same damn thing,” Danny muttered, though warmth flickered under his barb. He met my eyes. “I want to go to that meeting.”
My bear clawed at my restraint. “Absolutely not.” The idea of Danny among those ancient silver-skins terrified me as much as the threat of the revenant.
He looked up. “We promised, and I’m asking, not sneaking around. You’ll be with me.”
“This is different,” I gritted out. “They’re lethal—”
“I want to help,” Danny cut in. “I want to help make our future.”
“Actually,” Phoenix said, “you can’t because you’re pregnant. A silver-skin of Dimitri’s age would sense your pregnancy at once.”
Danny’s jaw dropped. “How do you—”
“I can hear the heartbeat,” Phoenix said calmly. "As soon as I came in."
I closed my eyes, but the rapid staccato was obvious. So fast you couldn't count the beats. In fact, it was so fast it was hard to differentiate, but it had been obvious earlier. I'd just chosen not to mention it. To give Danny his twenty-four hours.
“That’s a lie,” Danny spat. “Fetuses don’t have a heartbeat until five weeks."
Phoenix went very still, and I cringed. Calling an alpha like Phoenix a liar was a huge insult. So much so that Em stood up close to him and put a restraining hand on his arm.
“I do not lie,” Phoenix thundered.
“Shifter pregnancies are different, Danny,” Em rushed out. “You weren’t here, but—”
“I know I wasn’t here,” Danny spat out, and I could see the sudden moisture in his eyes. He whirled on Kaylan. “Where’s my car? And I mean mine. Monday’s a workday.”
Panic hit me so hard I would swear my heart stopped beating. “Danny, you can’t—”
“Can’t what? Run my own life?”
“My point isn’t that—” I started.
“It is.” His laugh is hollow. “I’m apparently carrying a bear cub, mated to some guy who thinks he's the boss of me, and stuck out here while a zombie vampire hunts me. Excuse me if I’m not feeling compliant.”
Phoenix stepped forward. “This is a matter of pack security.”
“My body is not a security issue!” Danny roared.
“Danny—” I lunged, terrified he was getting worked up, but he recoiled so quickly I froze. My mind struggled with the reaction. Had he really thought I was going to hurt him?
“I just need space to think. You all need to step back.”
“The revenant—” I pleaded.
He cut me with a bitter laugh. “He wants you, not me. I’m the bait. Maybe I’d be safer if you disappeared.”
Emery gasped, but I'd heard enough.
“I’ll go,” I whispered, because Danny was right. I’d thought all along I should lead the revenant away from the pack. “I’ll move into the gamma house.” I looked at Danny. “You won’t have to see me again.”
Chapter twenty
Danny
The silence after Bayer’s quiet words hit me like a wall. I watched him turn and walk toward the door, his massive shoulders rigid with hurt and resignation. Phoenix and Kaylan exchanged a look, then slipped out after him, leaving me alone with Emery.
