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Ephraim chuckled and took a seat next to Camus. “I hope she never leaves.”
Barric sat on the smaller couch. “That’s wonderful news.”
The doorbell rang, and Nora sauntered across the living room, smoothing her oversized cream sweater that hung past her hips before opening the door. “Hello, Dorian.” Her voice had definitely lost some of its pleasantness. “Come in.”
Camus’s brows furrowed as his beta marched into the living room. “Is there a problem?”
Dorian clasped his hands behind his back, his navy button-down shirt straining against his shoulders. His pale blond strands were unusually ruffled and cheeks flushed as if he’d sprinted here. “I heard you were meeting with the head alpha and thought you’d like your beta to be in attendance.”
Camus’s annoyed expression said otherwise. “Actually, this is just an informal meeting. Barric wanted to check in with Tate, and he had a request for Fane.” His clipped tone didn’t faze Dorian, and he crossed the hardwoods to Barric, giving a blinding smile.
“Hello, Head Alpha Barric. It’s always a pleasure.” Dorian lifted his hand for the alpha to shake.
Barric took it and offered a cordial smile. “Nice to see you again.”
Ephraim stood and pointed to his seat. “Here you go, Dorian. I’ll get you an iced tea.”
Nora had conveniently disappeared after the beta arrived. Would anyone notice if I did the same?
Camus shot Dorian a glare as he sat next to him. “I thought you were patrolling the west side of the territory for any signs of sub-demons.”
“I left Dominic and Mina to handle it. Mina’s an excellent tracker.” Dorian grabbed a napkin and filled it with snacks from the tray. “How’s your pack in Savannah doing, Head Alpha Barric. I heard Silver Ridge had a few council members step down.”
Barric nodded and sipped his tea before placing the glass back on a coaster on the coffee table. “We’re running trials soon to choose replacements. There are plenty of willing and competent candidates. We’re all excited.”
“Oh, I bet.” Dorian popped a grape into his mouth and chewed. “Perhaps Camus and I could—”
Barric abruptly stood. “Excuse me, but I would like to speak to Tate for a moment.” He jerked his chin toward the back door that led to the deck, sending my stomach plummeting to the bottom of my boots. “Do you mind?”
“Nope.” I had no choice but to follow him and try like hell to regulate my breathing and keep my pulse from soaring.
The brisk autumn air hit me as we stepped outside, tossing my long hair around my face. Trees swayed, and leaves tumbled across the grass.
“I’m glad you’re doing well here, Tate.” Barric rubbed the thick beard covering his chin as he studied me with too much curiosity. “But you have a place in my pack if you want it.”
“Oh, um, thank you.”
He leaned forward, his head dipping closer to mine. “If you joined the Silver Ridge pack in Savannah, you could mend your relationship with the ravens. I know it hurt when they sent you away, but this would allow you to work on a new connection with them. Shifters and the Savannah ravens have always had a special rapport, more so than any other group of nightworlders.”
I fought the urge to step back even when his alpha power intensified as if testing to see if he could force me to bend to his will. Had Captain Coltrane put him up to this? Was she trying to lure me back to Savannah with the promise of restoring my friendships?
Those all burned when she asked Barric to use his alpha power to pluck out my secrets. Every Raven, even Hawk, turned their back on me.
Barric rested his hand on my shoulder, the weight of it mixing with his power. “Just think about it, Tate. It could be—”
The door whipped open, and Fane stormed outside, eviscerating Barric’s alpha power around me. Those mismatched eyes seared into me as he marched in my direction, his face nothing but fury and hard angles.
Barric stood straight and inched back as Fane stepped between us, gently nudging me farther away from the head alpha. “Fane.”
“Barric.” The demon shifter glanced at me.“You good?”
I nodded, unable to form words to even project into his mind. My body hummed in his presence, and I longed to melt into him to hide from the head alpha. But I didn’t want to look like a coward, so I stepped out from behind Fane and flanked his side.
“I heard you wanted to talk to me.” Fane’s voice was low and gravelly, a warning swirling between each word.
He didn’t like Barric in my space. And he wanted the head alpha to know it.
The tension in the air grew so thick I thought a fight would break out, but Barric finally gave a knowing smirk. “I see.”
