Page 115 of Red

“Stark, we’ll see you in the forum in five. It’s been cleared out,” Otis says, clapping him on the back.

Lirea and Nikki come up to us. Stark hovers as Nikki looks between the two of us and doesn’t say a word.

Lirea hugs me. “Don’t worry about her. Kiya told me all about it.”

I glance over her shoulder as Nikki glowers at me. Great. Who knows what Kiya said, considering I didn’t tell her anything.

“Sorry to break up the moment but we have a meeting to attend.” Stark grabs my hand, and sensations crawl up my arm.

“Can I meet you in there? I need to run to the bathroom.”

“I’ll wait for you.”

He follows me to his bedroom, and I slip into the ensuite, closing the door behind me.

I pull off the baseball cap I threw on this morning and set it on the counter before washing my hands. The red roots are starting to show again, bright against the dark dye. No one can see that. I was out of color at home and had to wait to come here, which means I’ll have to find a decent amount of time away from Stark to fix it—and scrub every trace from the sink after.

When I come out, he takes my hand again and leads me through the main space to the opposite side of the house. A lot of eyes float to us, more than what I’m used to. He holds open the large door to the forum, and I accept the silent request to enter.

Inside, every man looks up at once. I recognize most of the Elders, but there are some I still don’t know by name. Each of the Alphas have also taken a seat—Merik, Oliver, and Hendin, whose arm is in a sling.

I don’t think I should be in here.

“My mate. My house. My rules.” He leads me down to the front, and I take a seat to the side opposite from the Alphas.

“Stark, Aloka should be with everyone else. We have important things to discuss,” Darwin says.

“Let’s remind you all that you are currently guests in my home. If you haven’t heard, Aloka and I are mates. So she will be where I am.”

A few gasp.

He mated with a human?

What type of Alpha is he?

I’m jealous.

I look around and see Merik give me a wink.

Stark’s gaze presses to the side of my face.

I’m used to it. Ignore it, please.

Watch the disrespect. We’re not in a war anymore and I have no problem making enemies inside the pack. Stark’s thoughts boom, and a few sit up straighter.

I shift against the hard bench. Some watch Stark, while the others stare at me. And to think, he told me not to provoke them.

“Now, let’s get started. Hendin, you’re up first.”

“Thank you.” Hendin stands up and walks to the center of the room. “We have now done a thorough walkthrough of the camp. A large portion of the camp buildings have been removed. The other portion is abandoned or burned. I’d say a job well done.”

A few men clap, and I join in.

“Otis has spoken with Faira for the incident report.”

Otis takes his time walking down from the top and stands beside Hendin, “We have been organizing the ceremonies for the four members we lost.”

My chest fires. Lost?