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“Well, it’s unfortunate that they lost you,” Camus said. “But it looks like others have won fortune’s favor with you.”
Still avoiding my gaze, Fane finally gave a tiny, noncommittal shrug.“It’s true. You know it.”
Knowing it and hearing him say it were two completely different things.
A clank echoed as Camus set his glass back on the table. “I’ve called a meeting with the pack council members this evening. I’d like you two to join as guests.”
Fane arched an eyebrow. “Do you think that’s wise?”
Camus scoffed. “Not everyone will be happy about it, but I’m the alpha. They don’t have a choice.
ChapterTwenty-Four
Fane leanedtoward me to whisper in my ear as a burly man with a shock of silver hair and a dark, flawless complexion marched into the meeting room at Camus’s house. “That’s Torrance. He took the position of beta after Everette died.” His jaw flexed every time he mentioned his father. “Dorian now holds the position.”
Dorian—another touchy subject for Fane—would be in the meeting tonight. Would the demon shifter keep his composure, or would I need to calm him down like I had when his family brought up the beta during dinner on my first night at their house?
I drummed my fingertips on the long mahogany table as the room filled with more members. Glossy maple wainscoting wrapped the lower half of the walls, the warm lights from copper fixtures reflecting in them. A fire roared in the large fireplace where another massive deer head hung above the mantel. Leather, fire, and wood filled the air, mixing with the scents of shifters as they trickled in.
Fane and I arrived before everyone else, and Camus directed us to the seats at the end of the table with Ephraim, sandwiching me in between Fane and his uncle. Constance loaded the refreshments table on the other side of the room. Without asking, she’d brought us each a glass of lemonade, flashing a wary smile.
“That’s Julia.” Fane’s lips brushed my ear as he pointed out a tall, sturdy woman with auburn waves flowing to her waist. “She’s one of our healers. Most prefer to stay out of pack business, but she comes as their voice.”
Her soft, tawny eyes landed on me and then Fane, and one tiny arch of her eyebrow was all the surprise she showed.
Fane introduced a few more council members who took seats at the table and some who meandered around the edges of the room, finally sitting in the chairs along the walls. Whispers floated through the room as they questioned our presence, but Fane didn’t seem bothered by the attention.
He wasn’t bothered until a guy with pale blond hair, sharp blue eyes, and a cocky smirk strolled into the room. Dominic swaggered in behind him, the pair reminding me of entitled frat boys.
“I’m going to go out on a limb and say the Goldilocks prick is Dorian.” I ran my finger over the condensation on my glass of lemonade.
A low growl rumbled through Fane, catching Dorian’s focus, and the smugness in his expression vanished. The color drained from Dominic’s cheeks even as he kept the grin in place. His last encounter with Fane had clearly left an impression.
Dorian sneered and marched toward Camus as he grabbed a drink from the refreshments table. The beta’s hands flailed in the air, and he jerked his chin in our direction, scarlet spilling into his face.
Camus remained calm and shrugged off his beta’s concern.
The air sharply expelled from Fane’s lungs, and he turned to granite beside me as a stunning woman with perfect coils of ebony hair flounced into the room. Her creamy, peach skin was almost luminescent under the lights, and the black jeans and blue sweater hugged her curves in a way that would make most men stare.
A flood of envy and jealousy hit me, and I hoped like hell Fane couldn’t feel it. This was the mysterious Marissa. I already hated her with a fiery passion.
“Marissa.”Her voice in my mind came out dripping with venom.
“I didn’t think she’d be here.”
When her green gaze settled on Fane, she flinched. And then a cruel smile twisted her lips, and she slinked through the room toward the refreshments table. Fane followed her movements until she reached Dorian, threw her arms around him, and delivered a dramatic, sloppy kiss that even made Camus look queasy.
“I just can’t get enough of my mate.” Her saccharine voice reached my ears, activating my gag reflexes.
So that was why Fane hated Dorian so much. Clearly, Marissa was Fane’s ex. My stomach roiled at the thought of her hands all over him.
The beta gave a wolfish grin and kissed Marissa harder.
My chest ripped open as a flood of pain and agony slammed into me so hard that I hit the back of the chair. No air could infiltrate my lungs, and searing tore every muscle apart like someone had doused me in gasoline and struck a match.
I was alone, utterly and eternally alone, without a single soul that could or would pull me out of the darkness.
Rejection and heartbreak swallowed me whole.
