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Seb hesitates. “It's different with Darion. We weren’t there long, but he was, and he has a lot of history that he needs to come to terms with, I think, and I agree with him that he needs to do this and clear his mind, have a blank slate before he comes into this relationship with you properly.”
I bite my lower lip and nod. “Okay, I can understand that.” There’s this sudden surge of fear, and the words tumble out. Had I pushed Lukas before he was ready? “And Lukas didn’t feel like that?”
“No, Lukas doesn’t have the same emotional connection to the events we do. Most of his anger is because of his family and because we got hurt. If he was ready…it was right for him. He told me it was perfect.”
“Perfect?” I squeak.
“Best, most momentous event of his life. He regrets nothing.”
I let the warm, happy feelings chase away the fear and slump back down on Seb’s chest.
Seb grabs my wrist before I can slide off his lap. “I want you to do some basic self-defense classes with Lukas and I.”
I raise my brows. “Really?”
“Yes.”
I search his eyes. This request feels weird. “Okay.”
“Now, go play with Ava, and we’ll come get you when we’re done.”
I almost crash into Ava when I leave the office.
“Ah, just the person I wanted to see. I’m about to do a simulation of the Gala. Would you like to have a look, see if you can spot any errors or areas of concern.”
I nod and follow her to what they call the control room. She sets up the computer with multiple monitors and then presses play on the program. It runs through showing us the car routes, estimated traffic times, even down to the buses and their rough guesstimates.
As soon as the camera pans into the Gala and the Fields estate, I’m shocked. I knew it would be amazing, but the house is incredible. They went to extreme detail, adding in generated details of the nearly two hundred guests. I check the windows, exits, the staircases. With each frame of image, I search for anything that might be a hazard or cause harm.
“So far, it’s accurate to the blueprints.”
I notice a door off to the side and raise a hand. “Wait, go back.”
She reverses the footage and freezes it. The door is blurry, but it’s there, almost out of sight, almost camouflaged. I lean forward and lick my lips.
“That’s not on the blueprints.”
“According to the butler, it’s just a storage room.” Ava says dismissively.
I don’t say anything while we go through the rest of the footage, but that door stays in my mind. There’s something unsettling about an extra room I don’t like.
“Hey, let it go. We spotted it. It’s a good thing we had them go in and get raw footage of the house. It gives us an idea of how to run the simulation.”
“Hypothetically, what happens if there’s a threat, from like a gun or a bomb?”
Ava’s smile widens. “That’s what our job is.”
I stop suddenly, my chest constricting. I forgot, this isn’t just research and planning, this actually is dangerous. My pack might get hurt.
I turn when I catch a scent that I’m beginning to identify with the scent of home and find all three alphas bearing down on me. The panic fades away, leaving me with just a vague feeling of unease.
“Come, baby, let us take you out.” Seb pulls me to my feet.
I lean into him. Today I want to have a good day. I want to enjoy this for myself and for them.
And tomorrow, we need to have a discussion because I can’t sit back and watch them march into that hell without me.
twenty-seven
