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A giant oak table takes up the space with high-back chairs all around it. We bypass it and head into a formal sitting room.
Joka is sitting in a wingback chair, also red, and sipping from his whiskey glass. He doesn’t acknowledge us as we come in. Is he the only one here?
Aksel perches on a couch. I wait until Felix decides to sit next to him to join. As far as anyone is concerned I am only Felix’s mate tonight.
“Glad you could make it,” Joka says dryly.
Aksel doesn’t retort like I’m expecting, instead formally saying, “Father, thank you for having us for dinner. May I ask the occasion?”
Joka’s eyes sweep the room, lingering on me for a moment before moving on.
“Do I need an occasion to invite my son and his friends over?” He asks.
I barely refrain from rolling my eyes.
“I wouldn’t say friends, they’re teammates,” Aksel responds hostilely.
The rest of us follow his warning and stay quiet.
“I would like to hear your progress on the case you’ve been assigned.”
“We’ve infiltrated two of his homes and found captives,” Aksel says carefully.
I breathe out slowly in relief when he doesn’t mention Rion.
“Seems like slow progress for you.” Joka eyes his son with a raised brow.
“Most of the case notes have been redacted so it’s been difficult.” Aksel keeps his eyes on his dad the entire time he says it and I realize this is a test. To see if he’s behind not wanting the case to be solved.
A small bell chimes.
Aksel and his father both stand and move toward the dining room. The rest of us share a look and follow.
Joka takes his seat at the head of the table.
We sit down around him, Felix and Griffyn on either side of me. Blaze is across and Aksel sitting next to him, as far from me as possible.
Each of us has a glass of wine in front of us. I’m dying to grab the thing and chug it. Everything is so damn tense. I feel like I might breathe wrong and Joka will know all our secrets.
I scan the room, but it’s empty outside our group. I expected him to at least have bodyguards around him.
“So, the two of you decided to mate outside your species,” Joka says with a pointed look, and Felix and I.
“We are fated mates,” Felix says as an explanation.
“A toast, to mates.” Joka raises his glass and looks around the table expectantly.
I slowly reach out and grab the glass of wine, following the guys’ lead. Blaze and Felix both sniff the glass and meet each other’s eyes.
“Are you insulting me by insinuating I would poison you? I am a councilman,” Joka roars.
His inky darkness swells up and writhes behind him in his anger. He looks like a beast. It’s a stark reminder of how powerful he must be to hold his position and how powerful Aksel is as his son.
“I’m sure it’s not an insult to you father. As agents, they’re always on edge. They don’t know how to relax and enjoy a night off,” Aksel says, pointedly taking a sip of his wine.
The rest of us follow suit. Blaze and Felix would have scented if the glasses were poisoned. I trust their judgment.
Slowly, the darkness recedes until the well-dressed councilman is left sitting there smirking.
