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Anything would be better than being here.
I hadno idea how late I stayed out with Maya, but it was way,waytoo late. In my defense, the drinks were good, and once we’d gotten away from the rest of the family, she seemed more willing to divulge some of the family drama. Apparently, Uncle Sam and Uncle Gage had been arguing quite a bit in the past few months, but if Aunt Louise knew why, she refused to tell her daughter. It wasn’t much, but at least Maya had confirmed for me that somethingwashappening, and it wasn’t just my father’s imagination.
Most of the party had died down by the time we returned to the Archer family home, and we each slunk into one of the guest rooms to sleep off the booze. Unfortunately, some of the older members of the family started to rise far earlier than I would have liked. Normally, I would have ignored the sound of feet and clinking of dishes, but there was a council meeting today. I didn’t have that luxury.
Fortunately, most of what we drank wasn’t shifter-grade, so my head only thumped when I got out of bed — it wasn’t an outright migraine. When I made my way to the kitchen, my father offered me the briefest of greetings before disappearing down a hall. I sighed, rubbing my face.
“You look like you need a coffee. Or three,” Myles remarked from the kitchen table.
I snorted and raised a brow. “Is that an offer?”
“You’re a big boy,” my cousin teased. “Besides, the pot is mostly full. Your dad only made it a few minutes ago. Better get some before the horde descends, though.”
No kidding.
I grunted quietly, and turned to get a mug and make myself a cup. Thankfully, Myles waited to speak until I’d had a few sips after sitting down next to him.
I heard the front door open and more voices emerge — my father greeting some members of the council.Ugh.My sense of dread only grew.
I leaned in a little closer to my cousin. “How long has Brock been on the council?”
He grimaced. “Ah, three days, I think. Brock expressed his interest and my father supported him. The final vote was three days ago.”
I scowled. “Three days ago? Are you kidding me?”
“No?” Myles made a face. “Why would I lie about that?”
“Why the hell couldn’t the council have waited until we got back to London? Your father must have known that we were on our way back.”
Myles just shrugged. “You know I don’t get involved with my dad’s bullshit, Eli. The moment I do, he’s down my throat with ‘when will you quit that pretend job and join the firm?’ or ‘when will you find aproperwoman and settled down?’ Besides, Brock’s mated to Viola, and your father invites Viola to everything. They probably figured that he would be fine with it.”
I scowled. Once again, my father’s misguided sense of family was messing everything up. People probablydidthink he and my mother were still friendly. The very idea made my skin crawl.
My cousin offered me a small smile and nudged my elbow. “Don’t look like that, bud. Where’s that beautiful wolf of yours, anyway? I didn’t really get a chance to talk to her last night.”
I frowned. “She’s probably upstairs with Bella still.” I hadn’t been in the room since the argument, not even to get a change of clothes. I was glad Myles hadn’t mentioned that, at least.
Myles just nodded. “Bella seemed sweet. Real quiet, though.”
“She’s been through a lot,” I grumbled, having no interest in explaining the details. It wasn’t my story to tell.
“What’s going on, Eli?” Myles asked, leaning back. “I thought you’d be a bit, I don’t know, lessgrumpynow that you were back home — and with Iris, no less!”
“I’m fine,” I said, doing my best not to snap. Myles wasn’t trying to get on my nerves, but…
“I just want to get this pack business over with so we can get back to Texas and get back to work.”
Myles’s brows knit together. “Pack business? You mean this council meeting our dads were bickering about last night?”
I gave him an incredulous look. “Shit, I know you don’t like talking about pack business with your dad, Myles, but he’s trying to challenge my father as the alpha of Longbow.”
Myles’s jaw dropped open for half a second before he shook himself. “But he’s a beta.”
“I know!” The entire situation was preposterous. I had no idea who Gage thought he’d be putting forward in my father’s stead, but…I shook my head. “He seems to think my father has known about Remus all this time, and that he’s, I don’t know, trying to merge Longbow and Silverstreak. Which isinsane. No one runs a transcontinental pack.”
Myles just looked at me for several quiet moments. “You’re serious,” he finally said, sounding absolutely flabbergasted.
I fixed him with a dark look. “Deadly, I’m afraid. How could you not know, Myles? How could you not see what Gage was up to?”
