Page 46 of Virtually Guarded

“You get used to the place,” the Anax said gently. “Kyle, would you show Ren to the small room on the second floor? I think that will be a good place for him.”

“Sure?” Kyle said.

“Yes.” The Anax’s tone hardened. “We might as well put it to use, and Ren, you were comfortable in the room you used at the hunt house, yeah?”

“Yes, Anax.” Ren turned in his seat. “I can sleep wherever, though.”

“I’d rather have you sleep where you want to be, not wherever.” The Anax took a breath. “Come inside with us, please. Kyle will show you where you’ll sleep, and then he can show you around if you like, or you can just wander. The only parts of the house that are off-limits without permission are others’ bedrooms and my office. Davion, if you would please bring our bags in. Xavier, once you put the SUV in the garage, wait for Seth for instructions.”

“Yes, Anax,” Davion and I said together.

Ren looked at me, wide-eyed, as he slid out of his seat. I don’t know about this.

It’s all right, I said. Go with Kyle. He’ll get you settled. I hated the idea. My wolf hated it, to be accurate. Another guy, one who was also attracted to guys, alone with my mate. My human side, though, was fully aware that having his own mate, to whom he was now legally married, Kyle had zero interest in Ren. If you want, you can come find me in a little while. Seth will probably have me checking the house to make sure nothing was disturbed while we were all gone. That was the usual procedure after we returned from the hunt house.

Um, sure. He closed the door. See you later, I guess.

Yes. I hope so.

I didn’t see him again until supper, when he slipped into the empty chair beside me as the Anax was going over his schedule for the week. The Anax raised an eyebrow but didn’t make any comment about Ren being late, and Ren simply reached for the serving platter of mashed sweet potato in front of him.

“The alphas of Berkshires, Connecticut, and Hudson packs will be here on Wednesday,” the Anax said.

Ren jumped. “Connecticut?”

“The Anax is speaking.” Seth didn’t sound as pissed as he would have if one of the guards had interrupted, but his tone left no doubt that Ren had screwed up.

“Sorry.” Head bowed, Ren poked at the sweet potato with his fork.

“You won’t see them, Ren.” The Anax gave Ren a small smile. “They’ll arrive at ten and go straight into my office. If the meeting goes into lunchtime, I’ll have Chloe serve us in there.”

“I apologize for interrupting, Anax,” Ren mumbled. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

The Anax went on with his list, stopping periodically when Kyle nudged him to put food in his mouth. I passed Ren the platter of steak, and he put the smallest piece on his plate. The rest of us continued eating while the Anax talked, as was the usual procedure. Breakfast and supper were time for debriefing and discussion, but the Anax, although he sometimes forgot to eat, made sure the rest of us had our meals.

Ren barely touched his food. He fidgeted with the fork, glancing out of the corner of his eye at me and the Anax, and sometimes at Kyle and the other guards, especially Mandeep, who was sitting on Ren’s other side. Why he was so nervous, I couldn’t guess. He knew all of us.

Then again, I realized as the meal went on, this was the first time he’d sat down to eat with all of us. The first formally organized meal, rather than the buffet-style, eat-where-you-want things we’d had at the gathering. He probably hadn’t had too many sit-down meals prior to that, either.

“That’s all from me.” The Anax took a drink of his iced tea. “Seth, Laurits, any instructions for the guards?”

“Only to keep an eye out, as always,” Seth said. “The day team found nothing during our check of the house and yard. This soon after the gathering, problems are unlikely, but we all know nothing’s impossible. Be alert, and if anything seems amiss, notify me or Laurits immediately.”

“The world needs more lerts,” Ren whispered.

Of course, at a table full of werewolves, everyone heard him. “What was that?” Seth asked, sounding considerably less pleased than earlier.

“Oh, shit.” Ren’s face went deep red, and he bowed his head so far his chin touched his chest. “I’m so sorry. I was just…”

“Whistling in the dark, as a book I once read put it,” Kyle said. “It’s all right, Ren. You were trying to break some tension.”

“Yeah.” He pushed his chair back. “Um, I have to wait to be excused?”

“You’re excused if you need to be,” the Anax said. “I did want to talk to you about what you’ll be doing to help out around here, but let’s wait until morning for that. Give you a little more time to feel settled.”

“Thank you, Anax.” Swiftly, Ren got out of his chair and booked it into the kitchen. After a moment, footsteps thudded on the back stairs.