AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He arches a brow as he crosses to the bar. “Why is that good?”
“Just…because,” I say, not ready to admit that this room hints at his soft side, the one I really like. At least what I’ve glimpsed of it so far. I cover by crossing my arms and picking up where we left off. “You could be right about the calling card, but my gut says Victor would want at least plausible deniability. He’d want a shot at getting in, getting me out, and getting away with it. I’m sure he’s pissed about what I did to Pax, but I seriously doubt he wants to start a war over a lower-level pack member, and a woman, no less.”
“Not much respect for the fairer sex in your pack, is there?” He motions toward the row of crystal decanters. “Bourbon? Whiskey? Port?”
“Water?” I ask, not missing the way his lips twitch in response. “What? I’m a lightweight. More than one drink and I won’t be able to focus on solving this mystery.”
“No, I agree. Water is the best choice. I’ll join you. On the rocks, then?”
“Yes, please,” I say. “And no, there isn’t much respect for women in my pack. We don’t have a single female alpha. Victor says a woman being an alpha is like a man giving birth—impossible. It’s pretty much the dark ages over there.”
“You should talk to my sister. Tell her how evolved we are.” He clinks ice into two glasses and fills them with water from the small sink at the wet bar. “She’s always going on about how shameful it is that we’ve never had a female leader. I’m pretty sure she’s planning to challenge me for pack Alpha as soon as she turns twenty-one.”
I huff. “Doubtful.”
He shrugs. “I agree, but she is frustrated by the pace of progress.” He crosses the space between us and extends a glass my way.
“Thank you,” I say, lifting the water to my lips and gulping, mostly to cover the thoughts suddenly racing through my head regarding his sister.
Diana is dating a cat shifter. Secretly. Without her brother’s knowledge.
Could that have something to do with tonight’s attack?
Is it possible I wasn’t the target?
I suppose Diana and I might look enough alike if you were following us out of the Alpha’s private box from behind. We both have dark hair and the heels I was wearing would have brought me nearly up to her height. I’m far curvier that the slender teen, but in all the chaos the man sent to do the kidnapping might not have noticed.
I’m tempted to say something to Maxim, but force the words back down my throat.
Diana told me that secret in strict confidence and made it clear there would be serious fall-out if her brother found out she’s dating a cat. Until I check with her or have more than a hunch to confirm she’s the one in danger, I should keep my mouth shut.
Especially now that Maxim’s cracking this window. “So, you’re open to allowing me to speak to your sister?” I ask, arching a brow. “I thought I was supposed to keep my mouth shut if she showed up unannounced in my rooms again.”
He nods. “You are. But if I arrange for you two to meet, you can speak freely.”
“And might you arrange that?” I ask, trying not to sound too eager. “Because I would like to talk to her again. She seems like a great kid, who could maybe use a woman to talk to.”
“She has Hermione and her tutors. And her friends,” he says, but I catch the hint of doubt in his tone.
“Hermione is great, but Diana’s probably known her all her life, right?” When he gives a slight nod to confirm, I continue, “And tutors are paid to help her, and her friends are probably as confused about life and love and growing up as she is. Trust me, talking to a woman who’s a little older and wiser can really help keep a girl’s feet on the ground. I had a girlfriend who was in grad school while I was in undergrad; she kept me sane. And out of trouble.”
“Were you the sort to go looking for trouble, Willow?” he asks in that soft, husky voice of his, the one that makes me want to confess all my secrets.
No matter how stupid that would be.
I shake my head as I spin my water glass slowly in my hands. “No, I wasn’t. I was just…stubborn, I guess. I wanted to do things my way, even if that way was against the rules.”
“And why’s that?”
I shrug. “I just felt like I knew things sometimes. That I knew what was true and right. It was like a voice in my head, demanding I do what it said to do. My conscience, I guess. Going against it was hard.”
“I believe that.” He reaches out, brushing a stray hair from my forehead. “Speaking of breaking the rules… I told you to stay put in the box. Since you were attacked in the lower lobby, I’m assuming you chose to ignore that order?”
I swallow. “I was going down to check on the wounded. To see if I could help. I have first aid training and a fair bit of medical knowledge I picked up from helping my friends in pre-med study. I thought maybe I could save someone, or at least make them more comfortable while they waited for a real doctor.”
“But you were told to stay put,” he insists. “You disobeyed an order from your Alpha. If you want to be a member of this pack someday, you need to learn that my command trumps everything else. My instincts are your instincts.”
I know I should quit while I’m ahead, but I can’t seem to stop my lips from moving. “But what if they’re not? What if the voice inside is screaming for me to go help people, even if I know it will make you mad? What if it insists I take action? How am I supposed to ignore that?”
