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Spiral, our bartender, had a drink ready for him by the time he made it to me. “She’s in the apartment?”
“Yep. Imprinted on the wards too.”
I nodded. “She still pissed?”
He laughed. “Yes. Yes, she is. Especially pissed that we’re imprinted on the locks and there’s no way to keep us out.”
Scrubbing a hand over my face, I sighed before knocking back the last of my drink. “Comet.”
“Pres,” he said, coming over from one of the pool tables in the back. “What’s up?”
“How are our numbers here?” He kept tabs on who was in the compound and who was elsewhere, either on jobs or at home for those who didn’t live here.
He shrugged. “We’ve got a good percentage. Why?”
“Church in thirty minutes. That enough time to get all the stragglers?”
“Should be.”
I slid my glass back across the bar to Spiral. “Get it done.”
The guys who accompanied us to Crimson Petal knew what happened, but not everyone did. And we needed to address the Legion and the possibility we were facing. War could be on our hands, and that changed everything.
I strode out of the clubhouse and across the plaza to the church. When we first moved to this place, it entertained us to hold church in an actual church. But all jokes aside, the building was a godsend, no pun intended. Old and made of brick, it had hiding places for days. Not to mention the basement and catacombs attached to it, which were central to our business.
Before I went inside I glanced over at our apartment building. The lights in Skyla’s apartment were on, and something in my chest eased. For the last three years, it had been like a nagging stab in my chest knowing she wasn’t here or under our protection.
Hybrid.
How the fuck hadn’t I seen that? Any of us? It made so much sense. I wanted to punch myself in the face for being naïve. Skyla could captivate a room like no one I’d ever seen, and it was more than her being fucking stunning and an incredibly talented dancer. Now I knew why.
It wasn’t the way I’d wanted to claim her.
None of us.
When we knew she was ready, we wanted to explain the truth and fall into things more naturally. Now I had to figure out a way to explain what she was to us, and how it wasn’t going to change.
I wouldn’t pretend I was a good man. I wasn’t. If the treaty wasn’t in place, I would have slit Fang’s throat without a second thought and been happy to wear his blood until it faded.
But with Skyla?
For her, I would be as good as I could. I couldn’t harm her or force her. But she was it.
Âmmelune.
Mate.
I should have borrowed a bottle of whiskey from the bar and brought it with me. Drinking myself into a stupor wasn’t the best idea, but it would be better than what little remained of this day.
Members started coming in and sitting. I leaned against the altar, watching. This wasn’t a scheduled church session, so everyone was curious. Most of them knew at least a little.
Delta came in and jumped on the back of one of the pews, walking casually along the tops until he reached the front and hopped up to crouch on the altar next to me.
“You’re like a goddamn cat,” I muttered.
“You say that like it’s an insult. Cats are some of the greatest predators in the world.”
I rolled my eyes.
