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On this, Iris would not be silent.
“I’m going,” she insisted.
That’s when the air grew tense. It was almost as though they had formed some kind of consensus away from Iris’s prying ears.
“I know how passionate you are about this,” Derek interjected.
Iris shook her head. “You’re damn right I’m passionate about this,” she clarified. “They attacked my friend in broad daylight. If you expect me to sit this one out, you’re sadly mistaken.”
Mason coughed.
The group grew quiet.
“What?” she demanded.
Derek tried his best to find the words while the enforcers at the table stayed tight-lipped, playing on their phones or looking idly out the window.
“I know how much you want to make them pay for what they did,” Derek clarified before holding up a hand to quiet her, making her even angrier. “And please let me finish.”
Iris glared in response.
“But there are a lot of reasons for you to stay behind. For one, we can’t just send our two most valuable pieces into enemy hands. If something should go horribly wrong, we need someone to lead the pack.”
Iris blushed at being so valuable before feeling irate at being likened to a game piece.
“Then I can go, and you can stay,” she countered.
Mason laughed at that. “She knows how to shut you down.”
“Okay.” Derek tried to speak over Mason. “But here’s a good second reason. You want to help Ava as much as you can, right? She’s been through a lot.”
Iris nodded, not sure where he was going with this.
“So why would you abandon her here, potentially leaving her vulnerable to attack?”
Iris furrowed her brow, trying to think of a good counter-argument.
“And point three. Not only are you our Luna, but you’re also a damn good pack healer. Why would we want to risk you on the battlefield?”
She hated to admit it, but those were three very solid reasons for her to stay behind. She wanted to see Cyrus’s face as Derek ruined his forces, but she couldn’t live with herself if she left Ava open to attack.
Iris already felt guilty enough that she hadn’t been by Ava’s side to prevent this from happening.
“Fine,” Iris conceded. “I’ll stay. You win.”
She wasn’t happy that he was right about this. It felt as though she had been forced to choose between two bad decisions.
Mason watched Iris in amusement as she folded her arms.
“You’ll be in good hands,” Derek said. “We’re leaving our best enforcer behind with you.”
“I have a name, you know,” the burly enforcer said.
He looked as though he could tear a phone book in half as a fun parlor trick.
Derek smiled. “Sorry, Jost.”
“You’re fine,” Jost said, rubbing the fatigue out of his eyes.
