Lucien nodded and looked at Anais. “You’re exempt from the gathering—and from any other work you have for the rest of the day. If anyone asks, tell them you’re under direct orders from me. If they have issues with that, tell them to book an appointment with my secretary.”
Anais’s spine straightened, and she said determinedly, “Yes, Alpha.”
Next to me, Thayer snorted mockingly, and Anais shot him a fiery glare that would’ve flayed him alive if it could.
The exchange wasn’t lost on Lucien, who glanced between my brother and Anais with a little furrow between his brows before he rested his gaze on Thayer. “You can stay here and rest. We’ll be back later.” He paused. “There’s food and drinks in the fridge.”
“We?” Thayer and I asked together, and we glanced at each other with a frown.
Lucien smiled. It was a genuine smile I didn’t think I’d seen from him before. It made his eyes sparkle with warmth, and in return, my heart skipped a beat and butterflies fluttered in my stomach. “Drew’s coming with me.”
Blushing for a whole different reason now, I glanced at Thayer again and saw him frowning. “Can’t I come, too, then?”
“I’m afraid that’s not possible,” Lucien replied apologetically, his smile disappearing as his gaze turned thoughtful. He glanced at Anais for a moment before he seemed to reach a decision. “If staying here isn’t what you want, you can accompany Enoch and Anaïs to the Ward.”
Anais whipped her head toward Lucien and snapped, “No!”
Lucien’s lips twitched, his eyes almost wicked, while Enoch frowned, looking at Anais disapprovingly. “This is not very hospitable of you, Anais.”
She glowered at Thayer. “He’s only going to slow us down.”
And again, she knew exactly which buttons to push, because Thayer suddenly straightened and shot her a strained smile as he retaliated. “You know what? I wouldlovejoining you. Maybe I’ll even learn a thing or two. Unlikesomepeople, I’m not afraid of a little intellectual challenge.”
The provocation was obvious. The gauntlet was thrown. And Anais, whose face reddened with fury, couldn’t help but pick it right up. “Fine,” she spat venomously. “I wouldloveseeing you eat your words.” She paused, glaring. “You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into,Colter.”
Thayer put his hands in the pockets of his jeans, gray eyes flashing silver as he stared at her, grinning wickedly, and drawled, “It’sDr. Colterto you.”
She was so livid, her curly hair seemed to slither around her head like Medusa’s snakes. But Lucien put an end to the best show I’d seen in a while, especially from my normally cool-as-a-cucumber big brother. “We have to go. Thayer, go with them. Anaïs, be nice.”
Anais growled deep in her chest, the sound rumbling like thunder. “Yes, Alpha,” she grated out almost too menacingly.
As the three left the cabin, with Enoch standing between my brother and Anais like a human shield, I wondered how and why the hell these two hated each other so much.
The site of the Montrevere werewolf pack was absolutely, heart-wrenchingly beautiful.
From the narrow river trickling through the residential wooden cabins to the majestic vines covering the sole brick building of the pack’s library, everywhere I looked, nature flourished.
I was so used to the Californian dry colors that the vivid green grass and healthy brown earth were like feasts to the eye.
Whipping my head from side to side, I took it all in as Lucien drove us deeper into the pack territory. Other than the residential cabins, there were a bunch of others that belonged to certain pack establishments: the school classroom, restaurants, and even local designer clothing shops. They were all surrounded by tall, bushy trees that gave the place a fairy-tale feel and made my heart ache with strange nostalgia.
But none of it compared to when Lucien came to a stop, with me right next to him, in front of a round plaza surrounded by five large wooden cabins. The trees around the plaza curved inward, toward the circle created by the cabin entrances, and cast shade over everything, with only hints of sunlight in between the leaves. But there was one beacon of sunlight that cut through the circular space between the tops of the trees, and it hit right smack in the middle of the plaza, over a flower garden.
It was hands down the most beautiful sight I’d ever seen.
Lucien’s chuckle snapped me out of my temporary daze, and I slowly turned to look at him. He watched me, his lips curved into a warm smile that made my heart flutter. “Like what you see?”
I couldn’t help but smile back. “Yes,” I said softly, “a lot.”
Our gazes caught and held as he said, “This is the pack’s Heart, the middle of the territory, where all the official offices that run the pack are placed.” His smile disappeared. “Since the pack has lost one of its Betas, I now have to address the members. It’s my job as an Alpha.”
The loaded tone of his voice made me want to reach out to him, but his face, which turned darkly grim, seemed to be telling me any sort of consolation or encouragement right now would be ill-timed.
So instead, I looked at the plaza, the Heart, and asked, “Is it okay for me to be here?” before I returned my gaze to him.
He stared at me with an inscrutable glimmer in his eyes before he suddenly confessed, “I find it hard to leave you out of my sight.”
I blinked rapidly, trying to process his words and failing. “You had no problem planning to send me back home with bodyguards,” I said slowly, scowling at the memory. “What the hell has changed?”
