Page 33 of Nightshade

“What’s going on?” the dark-haired man asked, looking first at Aleks before his eyes landed on me. “Who’s this?”

Aleks took a deep breath, and his shoulders slumped. I couldn’t tell if it was in relief or defeat. The way he looked at this newcomer was like a parched wanderer in the desert, and the man was full to the brim of cool, crystal-clear water.

“This is Altair, um—” he said.

“Altair ibn Asif,” I supplied with what I hoped was a patient, likable smile. Even if I was still smeared with dirt and unable to make a truly good impression on any of them, I wanted to at least try.

“Right,” Aleks said. “And Altair, this is Cash Roberts, my mate.”

Evie bounced in her seat, biting the tip of her tongue. “Altair’s a vampire.”

Cash gasped softly. “Come here, Evie,” he said, holding out his arm for her.

Her brow puckered, but she leapt onto the balls of her feet and tucked herself under his arm. He could’ve been her father, though he looked a little young for it. I didn’t have any idea how werewolves aged though, so maybe he was older than he looked.

They had the same dark brown hair and green eyes, and he squeezed her close against her side and tucked her head beneath his chin. If I had to guess, that was a scenting thing for werewolves, satisfying them both that she belonged with him and was safe.

“Pa’s looking for you,” he said. “He didn’t know if you were eating supper over there or here. You should go tell him.”

Evie’s lips screwed to the side, clearly disappointed when she looked back at me.

I . . . liked her. My life would probably be easier if I didn’t, if I kept my distance, but she seemed to enjoy talking to me and it was nice. Normal. Lovely.

“Okay,” she said, sticking out her bottom lip for a second. “I’ll see you later, Altair.”

I nodded, hoping that she did. “I want to hear more about sparkling.”

Aleks snorted as she hopped out the door. Outside, I heard her say to Viktor, “Don’t be a dick.”

Then she was gone, and Aleks crossed the room to wrap his arms around Cash’s waist while Cash continued to stare at me.

“We should go to bed early tonight,” Aleks said. “Can our cabin be ready . . . tomorrow?” He smiled toothily, like he was asking a grand favor.

Cash bit his lip and finally drew his eyes away from me to look at him. “We can make that work, yeah.”

“Great. I thought we could wake up early and move our stuff. Altair needs a place to stay and this—this is safest for everyone. Our room. If you’re . . . okay with that.”

Cash rubbed his lips together, looking over at Leo and me before he looked up at Aleks again and nodded. “If you’re okay with it, I’m okay with it.”

I sighed and turned to Katya. “I’m sorry for the hassle.”

She shook her head. “Nothing to apologize for. I’ve got three boys. It’s a miracle there’s not more scuffling than there is.”

I nodded, my stomach clenching hard in a way that felt a little like hunger pangs, but I thought had more to do with the tension gripping every inch of me. I wrapped my arms around my middle and slumped forward until my forehead pressed on the table.

The chair beside me moved out, and Leo sat there. His hand smoothed down my spine, and I shut my eyes, knowing all the while that the closer he got, the angrier Viktor would be.

CHAPTER 17

Leo

Conflict wasn’t even a strong enough word for what was happening in my head.

Viktor was my brother, and I loved him more than anything. It had nearly killed me when we’d lost him, and getting him back had been one of the most important things that had ever happened to me. Helping him come back to us, slowly, relearning that we were his family, had been the hardest, most rewarding work I’d ever done, surpassing even building new homes for the pack.

I loved my family, dammit, and I would live or die for them.

But also, Viktor was being an asshole.