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"You're not what I expected," Devlin said.
What the fuck did that mean?
I shrugged and smiled. "You're pretty much what I expected. Except the bit about you guys being brothers." Did that mean Knox would be Alpha if anything happened to Devlin? I frowned. Some of the residents of the Vault wanted Dex in charge.
I could see things getting ugly really fast. Long live the Alpha then. Or else Hades let him have an heir really soon. I suspected there were no plans to give people the vote any time in the near future .
Devlin laughed, but the sound held an edge, like I'd overstepped half a toe.
I smiled sweetly and lied, "It was all good."
That seemed to appease his ego. "Of course it was." He offered me his arm. "Come, let's sit and chat."
I glanced at Knox, whose face was as stony as Bain's, and took Devlin's arm. He led me behind the screen.
Dex sat back in a chair, wine glass in hand, with a guarded expression on his face.
Beside him sat a woman who looked as miserable as she was beautiful. Calista sat on the other side of her.
"Viva," Calista greeted. Of everyone present, she was the only one who looked relaxed. "This is Gwendolyn." She nodded toward Mrs Alpha.
"It's nice to meet you," I said nicely.
Gwendolyn looked at me like she wished I would crawl back into the hole I crawled out of.
Well, isn't this going to be fun?I said to myself. I wouldn't be offering her any support then.
"Sit down." Devlin waved me toward the chair next to Dex, and flopped down opposite.
Knox sat beside his brother, but forward, arms resting across his knees. He looked about as comfortable as I was.
Bain remained standing, body stiff as if he expected an attack at any moment. Considering who gathered here, he might expect just that. If anyone wanted to cause turmoil in the Vault, killing three of the four men here would do that. Presumably they wouldn't spare the rest of us.
"Isn't this pleasant?" Devlin said sarcastically.
Calista passed me a glass of wine.
I accepted, smiled my thanks and took a sip. I didn't know a good wine from a bad one, but it tasted nice enough. Sweet, with floral notes.
Was that a coincidence?
If Devlin wanted a display of my power, he wouldn't get it, not from wine. Something about alcohol dampened the scent.
Between the perfume and the testosterone, I could wipe out a city block. Did he know that? I had a feeling he at least suspected it.
"It's like having the family home for the holidays," Dex said lightly. "Even if we are a little bit dysfunctional."
Gwendolyn snorted, but her gaze was focused somewhere around her knees.
"Gwendolyn would have preferred to stay home," Devlin said. He didn't sound as though he gave a crap. No, that wasn't right. He sounded like he enjoyed the fact she was pissed off.
What a guy.
Gwendolyn's mouth twisted, but she said nothing.
"I decided she would be safer with me," the Alpha added. "Where I can keep an eye on her."
"There's nowhere in the Vault safer than here," Dex said. His expression was guarded, like he knew he was stepping on the thinnest of ice.
