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I walked to the tent. When I was a few feet from it, I could make out the figures inside, and Lord Drake, who stood in front of the desk, saw me coming.
I walked inside the tent and lowered my head a little. “Sorry for the interruption, but—”
Drake frowned. “Prince Dorian told me you were coming with an important message. What is it?”
I looked around the table—Hadrian, Rey, and Erin were here along with Keeran, Luana, Ariella, Wyatt, Farrah, and a couple of others I didn’t know.
I cleared my throat and lifted my chin. “I have a plan to draw Paimon out.”
23
SHANE
I researched for a couple of hours—and became increasingly frustrated with the lack of answers. I talked to Elisa, who had been supervising research at the Silverblood estate and the Silver Moon Academy, and she said they had found nothing.
“I have also reached out to other covens,” she said. “And last night they sent reports with the same.”
Though I expected that, a pang cut through my core at the news.
I wanted to spy on Raika’s training with Kaz, but I decided to be a good partner and organize the barbecue she had asked for. I had been the one grilling her about spending more time with family, hadn’t I? Now I had to deliver.
I went back to the village, checked on a few things at the town hall, and made sure all the big problems were either solved or being dealt with. I texted Dom and Lucille and asked them to make sure we had all the supplies—patties, wieners, buns, drinks, and whatnot.
At the house, I took a shower, put on dark jeans and a green Henley, and then greeted Minsi and Rue as they arrived.
“I thought this was a barbecue,” Rue teased me. I had sent her and the others a text officially inviting them for dinner. “Not a ball.”
I groaned. “A ball? Seriously?” I wasn’t even wearing slacks or a polo shirt!
She chuckled, glad to rile me up.
Quiet as ever, Minsi went to her bedroom, picked up a pile of books, and then set them beside a chair on the back porch. Well, at least she would be around us. I made a mental note to invite her to dance with me at least once later tonight.
Tyren arrived with Hugh and the two of them promptly plopped down on Tyren’s bed and started playing video games. “Call me when the party starts,” Tyren said absently, twisting the controller in his hand as his fingers deftly worked the buttons.
I stared at Rue. Seriously? This was my beta? This was what I got for recruiting a fifteen-year-old. With time, I knew it would be better. He needed to learn to be a better alpha than I was.
Dom and Lucille came over with lots of bags. Rue and I helped them preparing the buns, the hot dogs, plastic plates and cups, and the drinks.
Not long after, Killian and Lavinia showed up. I asked about Raika, but Lavinia said she wasn’t back from practice yet. I glanced at the clock—it read seven in the evening—and then out the window. The sun still hadn’t disappeared behind the trees.
It was okay; there was no reason to panic.
Raika was with Thea, Almae, and Kaz. They were all capable and powerful.
Still, apprehension built up inside. She never trained this late. Was this because she had started late?
We took everything outside. Lucille put on some music on her phone and hooked it up to wireless speakers she had brought over from her house. Dom prepared the grill and nursed a beer, a constant scowl on his face now.
“Have you talked to Anne?” I asked.
He shook his head. “I got her number from Eike, but she didn’t answer my calls or reply to my texts.” He grunted. “I’m going insane. Isn’t she? Doesn’t she feel the same?”
I frowned. She should feel the same, but some people were better at self-control than others. “I bet this is hard for her too.”
“What about this is hard? She’s my mate. She should be with me.”
“Dom, you live thousands of miles away, at least for now, and she probably has family and responsibilities,” Lucille said, joining the conversation. “And she now has a new alpha and her pack doubled in size. I bet everything is a mess there and she can’t deal with it all at the same time.” She grabbed a beer from the cooler. “I want to find my mate, but if he lives too far away and shit is still blowing up around us, I don’t know. I’m not changing anything about me, my ways, and my home to please my mate.”
