He carries no weapons that I can see.
His gaze lands on me first. Skips past Celeste, comes back to her, lingers. Then back to me.
“You’re Lord Maximus.”
“And you’re not Erik.”
“I’m Kael. Erik’s Beta. He sent me because if you say no to this proposal, it’s not a direct insult.”
“What does he want?” Celeste asks.
Kael’s gaze shifts to her. His nostrils flare again. “You’re the one who told Erik you’d be better than three vampires.”
“I was.”
Kael’s mouth twitches. He turns back to me. “A meeting. But first, the formal part.” He straightens. “The Alpha says it’s time to invoke the Hidden Accords. He says to tell Lord Maximus that wolves don’t ask twice.”
The Hidden Accords. Every supernatural species is bound by one rule above all others. Humans do not discover us. The compact has held without formal invocation. If Erik is invoking it now, the crisis has crossed the line that no single species can handle alone.
“How bad?” I ask.
“Three feral incidents in pack territory in the last two weeks. Our wolves had to put them down before they hit a hiking trail.” Kael’s nostrils flare. “The last one was fifty yards from a campground. With families. Kids.” He rolls his shoulders. “Erik’s been cleaning up after your kind quietly because the alternative is worse. But the frequency’s picking up, and the next one his trackers don’t catch in time may make the evening news. Humans have cameras. You know how that ends.”
“Your people are putting down ferals,” Celeste says. “How long has Erik been handling this without telling us?”
Kael looks at her again. Longer this time. “Long enough to be done asking nicely.”
I study him.
“Where does he want to meet?”
“The Wax and Wane. Tomorrow night. Neutral ground.” He glances around the courtyard. The breach. The fractured stone. “Looks like you could use friends.”
“We’ll be there,” Celeste says.
“Tomorrow. Don’t be late. He hates late.”
Kael pulls his shirt over his head and drops it on the ground. Kicks off his boots. His hands go to his waistband, and he pauses, glancing at Celeste. “You can watch if you want. I’ve been told the shift is impressive.”
My hand is around his throat before the last word lands.
I don’t squeeze. I don’t need to. Five fingers resting against a pulse point. Kael’s eyes widen, but he stills. His pulse ticks up under my palm.
“That was a joke,” Kael says. His eyes very carefully on mine.
“I know,” I say. “This is my sense of humor.”
“Maximus,” Celeste says. “We need him breathing.”
I hold for one more second. Then release. Kael’s hand goes to his throat, rubbing once. The grin comes back, smaller now.
“Fair enough.” He strips off the rest without commentary. The shift takes him, bones cracking, body reforming, until a brown wolf stands where the man was. He turns without a gesture and runs, clearing the ward line in two bounds and disappearing into the tree line. His clothes in a pile on the courtyard stone.
Celeste looks at me. “Sense of humor?”
“He’ll remember it.”
“He’ll tell Erik.”
