It would be great if the Alphas could be a little dumber. Being surrounded by pretty, dumb men sounded so nice right about now.
I took a step away, and his hand dropped from my arm. “It’s handled.”
“And is Bastian handled too?” he asked lightly. “Because he’s been acting odd since the three of you returned as well.”
“He’s a cat.” I shrugged. “They’re all weird assholes.”
Also, he watched Ryker drill me into a tree while I watched him get off to it. Just normal things.
Cade opened his mouth, no doubt to push me more on this, before he snapped it closed and looked to the doorway. I heard it a second later. Footsteps. Not Bastian or Ryker; those two moved silently most of the time, and even when they didn’t, I knew what they sounded like.
My fingers curled, getting ready to summon my axes if I needed to. Although, if someone was attacking us, surely they wouldn’t have made their presence this obvious? We weren’t expecting any visitors though, and Selene wouldn’t be arriving for another couple of days.
A broad back blocked my view as Cade moved to stand in front of me. I rolled my eyes and stepped around him just as a stunning woman strode into the room and stopped, looking wide-eyed at both of us. A dark blue cloak covered most of her, but the hood was down and golden-blonde curls fell past her shoulders, framing a pretty face and light violet eyes with the vertically slit pupils of an ailuran.
“Hello,” she said cautiously.
“Selene?” I guessed.
“Yes.” She nodded and took another step into the room before stopping again and wringing her hands in front of her. “You must be Rynn?” Her violet eyes flicked to Cade, and I saw a hint of wariness enter them. “And you’re Cade?”
“We weren’t expecting you for two days,” he said instead of confirming who he was. “Who brought you here?”
“What he means to say”—I shot Cade a warning look before taking a small step towards Selene—“is that we planned a much more formal greeting for your arrival later in the week.”
Which was partially true, in that everyone knew Selene was scheduled to come then and Cade and I had loosely talked about doing a dinner or something. Normally, Bastian was the one who planned such things, but since he’d apparently decided to give everyone the silent treatment, Cade and I had done our best.
Ryker kept forgetting who Selene was and why he should care about her arrival.
“I know I’m early. Sorry about that.” Selene paused for a moment. “Things . . . changed.”
Fear immediately gripped my heart. Remy was supposed to escort her here along with some other scouts. This whole thing had been his idea, and my friend obviously cared about her. There was only one thing that could have changed Remy’s plans.
“Is Marie alright?” I asked immediately.
For the first time since arriving, Selene smiled, and moonsdamn it all, she was probably tied with Samara for the prettiest woman I’d ever seen. “She’s fine,” Selene assured me. “They just think the baby is going to come early is all. But Marie is far enough along that it’ll be okay. Remy is a nervous wreck though and doesn’t want to leave her side.”
“Good.” Relief flowed through me. “I would’ve punched him in the face if the baby was born when he wasn’t there.”
And then Marie would have strangled him when he returned.
“That doesn’t explain why you came alone,” Cade said, still looking at Selene with a closed-off expression. Apparently, he wasn’t as distracted by her beauty as I was.
Selene raised her chin slightly. “Our scouts are stretched thin at the moment. Alexis volunteered to bring me here, but I thought his time could be spent better elsewhere.”
“Yeah, like in a howler den,” I muttered.
Her eyes sparked in amusement, but she kept the polite expression on her face. “Again, my apologies for not sending word that I was moving up my arrival date. Everything just happened so quickly that I didn’t have the opportunity.”
Silence stretched between the three of us. I kept hoping for Bastian to show up and smooth everything over, but as the seconds ticked by, it became apparent that was a lost cause.
“I don’t mean to impose . . . more than I already am,” Selene said carefully, “but is it possible someone could show me to a room I can rest in? It’s been a long journey.”
“Right,” I said quickly. “Of course. I’m sure you’re tired. We already have everything set up. I don’t know if Remy told you, but the Alphas don’t have any supporting packs around here, so they take care of everything themselves.”
Selene’s gaze flitted to Cade before looking at me again, and I realized I’d spoken as if I wasn’t part of the Alpha pack. Cade didn’t correct me though. I’d need to figure out how to explain the situation to Selene, assuming Remy hadn’t already. Because I wouldn’t let her fall into the same trap I had of thinking she was a legitimate part of this pack. Much like me, she would forever be an outsider.
“That suits me just fine,” she replied smoothly. “I won’t be a bother. You’ll barely notice I’m here.”
