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“Since yesterday?” It had been only a day since he’d rudely woken me up, and he was already asking for a status report.
“I wanted to be sure you were taking my request seriously. Obviously I was right to check. ”
Now it was my turn to be mad again. “Thank you,” I snapped.
He didn’t know what to do with that. “Thank you?”
“Yes. Thank you. For a split fucking second I almost felt like you could be redeemed. That I could forgive you for ruining my life. ” I spat each word at him, inching closer with every inhalation until I was out of Holden’s grip and in Lucas’s personal bubble. “But you’re doing a bang-up job of reminding me how goddamn easy it is to hate you, you stupid, selfish, son of a bitch. ”
Lucas didn’t reply, but our faces were barely an inch apart, and we were both breathing hard, glaring at each other.
“For your information,” I continued, “I have been looking for Kellen, and I have Keaty looking for her too. The reason I’m with him…” I wheeled around to point at Holden, as if I could mean anyone else, “…is because I was attacked by four werewolves on my way home. ”
“What?” Now Lucas’s rage was for someone other than me. I was right to think the rogue wolves were going to be in a heap of trouble when the two kings got hold of them.
I took a step backwards, out of his space now that the initial anger had simmered down.
“They claim to be loyalists. To Mercy. ”
“Mercy McQueen?” Lucas looked as taken aback by this development as I had been. “What claim could your mother possibly have to my throne?”
“From what I gather, she believes she cannot reclaim her rightful place in the south. We both know Callum would sooner eat a pound of his own flesh than to let someone steal his crown. So she’s come looking for someone else’s. That’s the party line, at least. ”
The wolf king frowned. “You don’t believe it. ”
I shook my head and settled into the space on the loveseat where I’d cuddled with Rio the night before. I was ready for this day to end and climb into my own bed, preferably alone.
“Mercy can only have one reason to be here. The throne is a way for her to get muscle. Tell people she has rights to being queen—she has the right name, after all—and promise them power when she gets her crown? Power is the easiest way to motivate someone. It has more appeal than sex. More importance than love. ” I made sure he was looking at me when I said the last sentence.
Lucas managed to ignore it. I’d thrown enough jabs at him since he’d been here, what was one more? “You think she’s here for you. ”
“I know she’s here for me. ”
“But she’s trying to stake a claim on my throne. ”
Holden slipped out of the room, leaving me with the wolf king. There weren’t a lot of places he could hide in the apartment, which meant he was probably in my bedroom. After that showy kiss, I wondered if I’d be spending the night alone after all.
“We’re constantly trying to prove you’re not a weak king, but since Tuesday you’ve been rolling over and showing your belly all because you’re worried about a human. ” I wasn’t trying to be cruel now, and we both knew I didn’t think of Kellen as just a human, but he had to see what he was doing. “If ever there was a time outside sources would think your throne was theirs for the taking, it’s now. ”
Lucas sat, not next to me, but in the armchair nearby. He looked as worn down and tired as I felt. I didn’t want to empathize with him, but our bond made it impossible to ignore his emotional state. The worse he felt, my emotions mirrored his misery. Awesome.
“Do
you think they took Kellen?”
“It crossed my mind, but it doesn’t feel right. ”
“Your mother is batshit crazy. I once watched her try to shred your face with her bare hands. Do you think what’s right applies here?”
My head slumped back, and I propped my feet up on the coffee table. From this point I could see my sword collection mounted above the fireplace. A medieval broadsword; my go-to katana; and recently added, the silver katana I’d kept as a grim reminder of how often I was at the wrong end of a sword. For a while I’d kept the second sword stashed in my closet, but after Desmond left, I decided to put it up.
Actually, I’d had my friend Nolan hang it since I couldn’t touch silver.
“I still don’t think Kellen is missing the way you think she is. I wouldn’t put anything past Mercy, but kidnapping isn’t her style. If she wanted to make a point of using Kellen, she’d have cut off assorted body parts and had them delivered to you. She doesn’t do anything half-assed. In my experience, anyway. ”
I might not be an expert on my mother, but she had never been what I would call wishy-washy, and kidnapping was a lazy villain’s game. Mercy didn’t take the easy route for anything.
“Let me worry about Kellen,” I said when he didn’t speak again. “You need to talk to Callum and figure out what to do about Mercy. One of her little henchmen was that bigoted asshole, Hank, who we met in St. Francisville. ”
