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Bill clenched his jaw so tightly he was surprised bones didn’t crack. Respect wasn’t his motivation but tact. Staying silent was his best bet. Indulging the bastard would do more harm than good in the long run. Still, he felt the urge to reply. “See what?”
“If our worst fears were true and you really are beyond help.”
Bill scoffed. “And the verdict?”
The man didn’t answer, not that Bill was particularly keen to hear one. Instead, he focused on testing the air, hunting for any sign of another player who might have ventured out to attend this little party. So far, beyond the two trespassers, he couldn’t catch a trace of anyone else.
That meant nothing considering the man closest to him had cloaked himself in deer piss just to go unnoticed. It was an old trick. Something Loren had unintentionally taken advantage of by lurking within the barn. Similarly, the animals’ scents had cloaked hers, obscuring her unique aroma.
Trick or not, he would need to learn how to combat the effect. Right after he dealt with the welcome wagon.
Walking in front of the bastard was a risk, but one he was more than willing to take. It meant he didn’t have to school his expression, and for a few brief seconds, his true emotions could break through.
Fuck.This was bad. Sonia was gone, and with her went the slim chance of settling this diplomatically. Otherwise, he didn’t have a real game plan should this visit turn out hostile.
The only course of action was to go on offense. “Well, you came here to talk,” Bill began, turning to face the man directly. “So, talk.”
He had to admit that he didn’t resemble the bastards who attacked Loren. He was cleaner, for one. He didn’t reek of booze or illicit substances. Just earth and the traces of his home pack beneath the piss.
Unexpected jealousy stabbed at him. He didn’t miss life on Black Mountain—he couldn’t. But there was something in the man’s confidence he envied.
“The girl—”
Bill couldn’t help the part of him that lurched at the unsaid insult. The man had deliberately avoided using the term “your mate.”
“Who is her sire? I’m sure you learned that much, even if you did take her against her will.”
“And why do you care?” Bill countered. “I don’t remember you asking about her family tree when you tried to kill her. Neither did themenwho attacked her on your land. I don’t think you or your Alpha truly give a damn. What do you really want?”
He expected another threat. The man’s raised eyebrow caught him off guard.
“Is that your way of saying you don’t know?” Rather than hostile, the man sounded…concerned. “Your Alpha seemed to think her father was a previous rogue known to the area, but I made some inquiries. The man wasn’t a born lycan. Either your Alpha wasn’t aware of that fact—” the man scoffed, revealing that he didn’t buy that belief. “Or he doesn’t know her true heritage. He didn’t seem too concerned to find out, either.”
Bill frowned, curious despite himself. Was that disgust in the man’s voice? “That doesn’t answer my question,” he countered. “Why are you here?”
“Frankly, this conversation isn’t for your benefit, rogue. I came here as a courtesy but don’t think for a second that anything you’ve done has been condoned by anyone in my pack. Your crimes are too numerous to list. If you want even a shred of mercy, you will relinquish the girl to me now.”
Bill curled his hands into fists, hearing each knuckle crack. “And with that, I’m afraid you’ve worn out your welcome. As for my crimes? Humor me. What proof do you have?”
Besides four dead bodies, of course. Though again, Bill got the sense he was only seeing a small fraction of the actual picture here.Jamal.In his previous tirade, the man had only mentioned one murdered lycan he was supposedly responsible for. He doubted that kind of oversight was by accident.
“Evidence?” With a cold laugh, the man raised his hand. “A knife with your blood on it, drawn by the man you killed. That man’s body, slain by a cowardly act. And your scent on our territory, far from your assigned post, rogue. Then we can touch on the fact that you took an unwilling, innocent female as your mate. You didn’t try to have her integrated into a pack… Some might say that on the surface, your actions could be interpreted as an underhanded way to subvert your status in a desperate bid to regain power.”
“It seems you’ve gotten everything you need from Lukka,” Bill spat, shifting his stance in case of an attack. “So why come here? Unless...”
A sudden suspicion replaced some of his anger with pure confusion.
“Unless you don’t believe him.”
The man disguised his reaction to that statement well. Only a furtive glance toward the house gave him away. He was curious about Loren. Too curious for his own good.
“I’m assuming your Alpha doesn’t know of this little visit?” he guessed.
The man’s cold stare proved it. He had to be high ranking to speak with such authority. Perhaps even as powerful as Eislander’s beta. Someone with that much to lose wouldn’t make the trek out here on a whim.
Against his better judgment, Bill put off retreating a few seconds longer.
“The girl. Do you recognize her? Could she be a descendant of one of your men?”
