Page 43 of The Wolf Queen’s Curse

“My cousin will ride with us,” Bishop says. “Rufus and Kenric? If you would go with Angus and Dennis, please.”

There might be no named heir, but there is an eldest. I think Edwin is staking his claim, positioning himself as the one to escort the Albion Alpha, but the middle son—Angus—seems perfectly fine with it, and the youngest—Dennis—just continues to look bored by this whole excursion. Edwin speaks to his brothers before they leave, and it’s all very relaxed, Angus giving Edwin an affectionate slap on the shoulder as he leaves and then chatting with Dennis as they walk to where Rufus and Kenric wait.

Interesting.

If there’s sibling rivalry here, they’re doing a very good job of hiding it.

We take our places in the coach. Julius tries for polite conversation, but Edwin’s responses are cool and don’t encourage chatter.

“You will dine with my father tonight,” Edwin says as the coach leaves the city. “He will likely be occupied until then, but I’ll ensure you have what you need.”

Bishop’s pause before responding is so brief that Edwin doesn’t seem to notice it. I do—and I know he’s inwardly growling. Hamish might very well be busy, but to not grant us an audience until dinner suggests the sort of grandstanding Bishop hoped to avoid. His Pack is in danger, their home destroyed, his business urgent.

But he only says “Thank you.”

“To expedite matters, I’ll ask you to explain the entirety of the situation to me, so I might consult with my father before dinner.”

“Will he have time for that?” I ask, my expression mild curiosity only, but—sitting beside Edwin—Julius still passes me a smirk.

“My father and I have other matters to discuss,” Edwin says. “I will include that.”

“Did your father request that we tell you first?” Bishop says, his tone and expression unreadable. “Or is that your own initiative?”

I expect a pause, but to Edwin’s credit, he doesn’t bluster or prevaricate. “It is my suggestion. My father knows only what your message said. That Silas is dead, you are Alpha, and the Albion Pack has been attacked by outside forces. I can tell—particularly with you bringing a mate—that the situation is complicated. My father…” Edwin clears his throat. “My father is a very busy man. An excellent Alpha, who remains as strong and capable as ever. But he has grown accustomed to an order of operations. When problems are brought to him, they are delivered efficiently so that he might obtain the information he needs concisely, make his decision, and move on to the next problem.”

“I might suggest,” Bishop says, so smoothly, “that the destruction of Trevelyan and the possible annihilation of the Albion Pack is a larger problem than he might usually see. The only way to deal with this swiftly is to murder my entire envoy, eliminate the rest of our Pack, and expand his territory to include London. If that is his plan, we can skip the formality of dinner.”

Edwin blinks before saying, “That is a joke, I presume?”

“Not a joke but a hypothetical. I’m sure it’s not Hamish’s plan, because he is wise enough to know that if an outside force can do this to the Albion Pack, they might not stop with us.”

“We have no intention of murdering you,” Edwin says coldly. “The Caledonian Pack is honorable.”

“So why does Hamish consider this a minor issue, quickly resolved?”

Emotions flicker across Edwin’s face, too fast to follow. Then he says, “As I said, telling me first is my suggestion. My father will respond better to a concise accounting. I have a feeling this story is not best told over dinner, and yet that is his plan.”

“He is, as you say, busy and accustomed to his reports being delivered concisely.”

“Yes.”

“You are offering to do that for us.”

“Yes.”

“Which also means you will have the ability to reshape the narrative as you see fit.” Bishop lifts a hand as Edwin’s eyes darken. “Take no offense. I do not know you.”

“If you did, you would know that my reputation is one of both honor and honesty. I say what I mean, sometimes to my detriment, as I did to your mate.” He nods my way. “My father values my honesty, and if he discovered that I gave him an untrue accounting, it would not go well for me.”

Bishop looks out the window, thinking this through and weighing his options. He can’t ask my opinion but if I were to give it, I’d say that Edwin might pride himself on honesty, but he’s dancing around a truth here.

I don’t think he plans to “reshape the narrative.” It’d be too easy a lie to unravel. No, the truth he’s obfuscating is about his father.

He fears Hamish will not give this matter the attention it requires.

Edwin wants to hear our story and decide how best to put it to his father because his father’s attention wanders easily and Edwin recognizes that our situation could also represent a threat to his Pack.

Is this a method Hamish has long used? Having others pass on concise reports? Or is it a more recent issue of age? Or not an issue at all, but a failing—a man who needs his meat cut into little pieces because he can’t bother to chew properly?