by Anne Malcom
“Conall, you’re standing with a witch, and a vampire,” he spat with venom I hadn’t even known he was capable of. “Oh, how the mighty have fallen.”
I scowled, mostly to make sure he didn’t shoot any more insults the wolf’s way. I sensed that Sophie was gonna get touchy if he started with death threats. “Hey, I feel like your tone is coming off bad on the two awesome people in that sentence and in this gathering—the witch and the vampire,” I said, folding my arms.
He ignored me and Thorne stepped closer, his breath hot on my neck. I assumed it was in warning, but it only made me think of him bending me over and roughly entering me from behind. My thighs twitched and desire yanked at my stomach, the need for him overwhelming everything else that was going on.
I wouldn’t have even cared if the whole wolf pack watched. It probably would’ve been the hottest thing they’d ever be involved in in their pathetic lives.
“You know why,” Sophie’s werewolf hissed, something tangy filtering through the air, taking away my sex fantasies, or at the very least moving them sideways. “You know what this pack has done. You are not worthy of what Jupiter bestowed upon us,” he snarled.
It was the most emotion I’d seen on the wolf regarding things not pertaining to Sophie.
It was rather interesting.
The air rippled as something seemed to seep from the wolf and into the air, something I guessed was only really understood by those who turned into dogs. I was curious, but not curious enough to brave fleas and furballs to find out.
Whatever it was apparently made quite an impact when coupled with his words. The wolves around us jostled, their hackles rising, the air flickering around some of them as if they were going to change.
Thorne’s hands settled on my hips as he readied for a battle that might very well start before talks of peace began. So awesome. But lame that I wasn’t the one starting it.
Liake was struck dumb for a couple of moments, his face taut with exertion. Then he calmed his features. Which was a feat. Werewolves were notorious for their lack of control over their emotions—it was something in the blood—but Liake was one of the few who had a handle over his anger. He could even stop the change if he so wished. I’d seen it happen. I guessed that was why he was the one in charge of the meeting. At least someone was being smart, employing one level head on this treaty talk.
Rick sure as shit wasn’t. Then again, he was kind of distracted with more and more noise from prominent Vein Lines, just as my father had said—though I hadn’t heard from him since our meeting—and probably scouring for the human. I knew she was in San Francisco. Again, I didn’t tell him that.
“That is not a matter to discuss at this moment,” Liake said loudly, to the wolves around him more than to Sophie’s pet. “The next full moon,” he promised, eyes moving to Conall in obvious threat. Sophie and the wolf both narrowed their eyes at him.
There was a grumbling from the wolves surrounding us, but the atmosphere cooled slightly.
Liake focused on me, his face blank and no longer containing that teasing glint to his eye. Obviously bringing the wolf had pissed him off, despite the fact that we had only been allowed in with the presence of said wolf. They clearly hadn’t known the identity of this one.
“Please, come inside. We’ve got a lot to talk about, it seems.”
I smiled, tilting my head and falling into step with him. “Weird, isn’t it? Us meeting up to chat, no blood or anything,” I said, my voice light and cheerful.
He glanced to Scott, and the crimson spattered over his ripped shirt.
I followed his gaze and shrugged in a ‘what can you do’ gesture. “Well, of course there has to be a little blood,” I amended. “I haven’t completely evolved. That would be positively horrific.”
Liake chuckled as we entered the large foyer. “No, that’s when I’d worry that the world really was coming to an end,” he replied, his tone warming slightly but still holding a bite.
I glanced around at the foyer, the dual staircases leading upward and the chandelier above our heads. My heels clicked on the marble floors. “It’s still early. We can never rule out the end of the world, especially if my mood is dependent on it,” I retorted.
That was met with silence, and Thorne took the opportunity to yank my back into his front while we walked through opulently decorated rooms. Color me surprised—I was expecting to find fur and plaid everywhere, maybe a rogue chew toy.
“You know him?” Thorne asked, voice thick and rough.
“I’m immortal, and awesome. I know everyone,” I hissed back.
He squeezed my arm to the point of pain, but he held back and that annoyed me. I knew he was restraining himself because even though he was obviously pissed—what else was new?—he was worried about my seemingly fragile state.
“How well do you know him?” he demanded, injecting whatever fury he had left over—which was a lot—into his almost-guttural growl.
I scowled at his overreaction as we walked into a dining room with a long table and an older, attractive, and weathered-looking wolf sitting at the head of it.
Interesting. Either he’d turned late or he was old as fuck. There was a point where some breeds of immortals began to age. Despite whatever magic kept us enduring throughout the centuries, time still took its dues. It just took longer.
Not to vampires, though. To the best of my knowledge, we stayed young and beautiful forever.
Not all, something whispered to me.
My mind went to Ambrogio and called up the images of his chalky and papery skin. My skin crawled with dread at the mere memory of him. Of his skin crumbling to dust. Of that ancient liquid pouring into me. I had given everyone a lowdown of what had happened, but I omitted that detail.
“Put it this way—he knows every single one of my moves,” I shot at Thorne as we sat down. Thorne didn’t have a chance to get all jealous, but his rage hit me physically.
I grinned. He was so fricking easy to wind up. He was also going to pay for the little assumption that my words meant I’d gotten horizontal with a werewolf. I had taste.
The George Clooney-type werewolf glared at me as I sat down. I guessed he was the king. Why else would he be sitting at the head of the table and have enough knowledge to know that I was the one to be glared at amongst our group?
I smiled, only a little bit because of the way Thorne cracked the wood of the chair he was sitting in as he treated Liake to a glare strong enough to melt steel.
“I’m Isla,” I said cheerfully to the man I assumed to be the king. “I’m here to talk peace. If you’ve heard anything about me, which I’m sure you have, it’ll likely surprise you, but it’s the unfortunate truth. We need some wolves to beef up the numbers to make sure humankind isn’t enslaved and all that jazz.”
I paused to savor the glare that had yet to soften even a smidgeon. I liked this guy. “I’m sure you’ve seen the news anyway, and no one tried to kill us when we arrived, so you likely know all this.” I glanced at Scott and decided he didn’t count. “So this is all just a formality, really.” I patted at my clothes. “I’m afraid I don’t have some kind of contract to sign, so I’m guessing this is a verbal agreement?” I leaned forward and the king flinched back as if vampirism was catching.
We all knew you needed a crazy witch and my ex-husband to make it so, and even then, those things that came of that dark magic were nowhere near cool enough to be called vampires, or compared to me. He surely knew that. Otherwise he was a pretty fucking crappy king. Still, he didn’t seem to like me being closer than absolutely necessary.
“My king is pretty unorganized, if I’m honest,” I stage-whispered. “He only sprang this meeting on me yesterday, would you believe it?” I shook my head. “What he lacks in organizational skills, I swear he makes up for in bloodthirsty rage. I can tell you that for certain, since said bloodthirsty rage has been directed at me many a time.” I regarded him. “Much like what you’re directing at me right now.” I grinned sw
eetly, giving him the thumbs-up. “Might I say, you’re rather excellent at it.”
Sophie and Duncan were both smirking by the end. Even Liake had the shadow of a grin, though he was the only wolf who did because he was the only wolf I’d met with even a sliver of a sense of humor—and the only wolf I didn’t want to kill on principle.
That included Sophie’s mutt, who was ignoring all the murderous glares to sit as close to Sophie as possible and dart his intense gaze between her and his king.
Thorne, of course, was glaring, because he was Thorne and it wasn’t a party unless my fate was scrunching his beautiful face up in fury for one reason or another.
The silence in the room hung loudly. For a long while. I wasn’t bothered by it, taking my time to happily inspect my nails that were, at that stage, unchipped.
Doubtful it would stay that way.
The wolf told me as much when he finally decided to speak.
“You’re the daughter of Satan,” he spat with a sneer. “We do not align with the children of Hades.”
I rolled my eyes. “Satan’s daughter, Satan’s mistress, Satan’s mother.” I raised a brow. “The one who thought me old enough for that died slowly. But seriously, all these positions are patriarchal and so Old Testament. Why do I have to be Satan’s accessory just because I have a great rack and a vagina? Who says a woman can’t be Satan? Should she feel the urge, of course. Hell’s not for me. Like the company, hate the weather.” I pointed to my smooth and shiny head. “Doesn’t do well in humidity.”
The wolf clenched his fists, which quickly erupted with sharpened claws as his anger morphed his face into sharper, animal features.
Liake fastened his human hand over top of his—father’s? I’d totally blanked at introductions—paw. “Easy,” he murmured, voice calming, like Xanax.
Fuck, I wished I could have some Xanax. I wondered if Thorne would consider chewing on a handful and then letting me gorge on his blood so I could get a nice buzz.
I glanced at his iron jaw, taut body, ready for a battle.
Probably not.
“We’re not here to fight,” I said with a very real sigh. “Contrary to my reputation, I do other stuff with werewolves, not just embarrass them in a battle.”
I winked at the scruffy man in the corner who’d been glaring at me since I’d come in. He was missing two fingers on his left hand. My handiwork. He might’ve held a grudge, based on the looks he was treating me to.
“And I’m not here for the sexual stuff either.” I scrunched up my nose in disgust, moving my attention back to the head of the table. “I don’t swing that way. Plus”—I nodded to Thorne—“the old ball and chain frowns on that type of thing. I’m actually here as an ambassador of sorts, as I said before, though I don’t know if that actually sank in on account of everyone thinking I was the Devil’s spawn. Not the first time it’s happened.” I shrugged. “Easy mistake to make.”
Liake glanced up, his eyes hard. “That’s why you came with a witch, two vampires, one of our fallen pack members, and your human lover?” he snapped, losing his good humor. “Because it seems like you’re bringing in a fight.”
“One and a half vampires, if you really want to get technical.” I winked at Scott, who was too stupid to realize he was getting insulted, so he just smiled at me. Then I moved my attention to Liake’s glare and rolled my eyes. “Like I’d need their help if I wanted to bring you all to heel.”
A resounding growl through the room at that one.
Thorne widened his eyes at me and squeezed my thigh hard in warning under the table. “Fuck, Isla,” he muttered.
Duncan cracked his knuckles and grinned.
Sophie shook her head, but her face was tight, too busy concentrating on how her boyfriend’s buddies kept treating him to homicidal glances.
They weren’t too happy having a traitor in their midst. Not that I’d known he was a traitor until now. Didn’t Sophie say he was the only reason we’d been let on wolf soil?
I idly hoped they’d execute him here and now for the breaking of some pack law, but I wasn’t so lucky.
“We’re not looking to lose family in a war that isn’t ours to fight,” Liake said tightly. “This is headed by vampires. It was vampires who almost exposed our world to the humans. They’re the cold and calculated, evil creatures bent on destruction and slavery of the human race.”
I grinned. “Aw, isn’t that a nice thing to say. Could you put that on a card?” I asked sweetly.
“You know as well as I do, Liake, that your pack is a lot thinner than it used to be. You have members all over the continent running away to join this rebellion,” Thorne interrupted, voice iron. His face was much the same, and he hadn’t released his grip on my thigh. “This isn’t a vampire war. This is the war. You know it better than most. You’ve got your lore, your own magic people. You know what this is.” There was familiarity in Thorne’s tone, betraying knowledge not only about wolves but of Liake himself.
Liake gave Thorne a long look. A familiar look. “I don’t know anything anymore, Thorne. Because I thought I knew, respected and looked up to a man whose sole purpose was to eliminate bloodsuckers. To save humans.” His eyes glanced to me with pure hatred, which actually stung. I thought we’d been on great terms as enemies. “And now you’re fucking vampires?”
“Vampire,” I clarified. “He’s just fucking one vampire. Me, in case you didn’t get that. I’d rip his balls off and make him eat them if there was anyone else in the picture.” I blew a kiss to Thorne. “But I do love you dearly, honey.”
Duncan winced. “It’s true, she’s done it before. I had the displeasure of watching it happen. Hence the reason I’ve never bedded her.”
I snorted. “Yeah, that’s the reason,” I shot back. “My countless rejections and a little thing called self-respect had nothing to do with it.”
The table cracked under the weight of a fisted claw hitting it.
“Enough!” the George Clooney wolf roared.
Thorne’s hand flexed on my thigh.
“Little higher,” I murmured, winking at him.
“I have been appointed—” His eyes were weirdly on Conall when he said that, stopping for a long while before bringing the full power of his distaste to me. “—by our clan to lead our race into peace. To safety. To rebuild what another leader had almost ruined.”
Another pointed look at Conall. Hmmm, he must’ve really fucked up. Sophie was even chewing on her lip while glancing at him. Seemed like wolfy had been leaving something out of their heart-to-hearts.
“I merely agreed to this meeting because I have to look past old blood feuds, no matter how big, to see what is going on.” His eyes touched Thorne. “And the Praestes is right. We are losing brothers and sisters to this so-called resistance.” He shook his head. “Times are getting darker, and I am old enough to feel it in the wind, taste the moon’s warning.”
I squinted at his words and subtly did the universal crazy gesture at Sophie.
She shrugged, then continued to glare at Conall.
“Does that mean you’re in?” I asked.
He settled his icy glare on me. “I will not take orders from a vampire, if that is what this is.”
“Dude, I totally get it,” I said. “I’m not hot on orders at the best of times. And considering I’m sitting in a mansion full of werewolves, it’s pretty obvious it’s not the best of times, but we’ve gotta do what we’ve gotta do to save the world. No one said it was easy. No wonder Superman retired.”
“Superman didn’t retire,” Scott chimed in. “He got killed.”
I gaped at him. “No one can kill Superman. He’s Superman.” I shook my head at the werewolves, looking for some agreement. Obviously I found none.
“Uh, yeah, did you not watch Batman vs Superman?” Scott asked. “He sacrifices himself for the greater good.”
I rolled my eyes. “Of course he did, the self-righteous asshole.” I paused. “And in what world would Batman beat Superma
n? Superman is literally an alien. Batman is just a rich guy with a grudge and a weird butler.”
Scott opened his mouth to answer.
Thorne cleared his throat and squeezed my thigh. “Isla,” he warned. “Not the time or place to fucking discuss Superman.”
“It’s always the time and the place to discuss Superman,” I hissed. But I did hate that he was kind of right. I focused on the wolves. “Unlike Superman, we’re not asking you to sacrifice yourselves for the greater good. I, of all people, would never ask that. For the greater evil?” I shrugged in a ‘maybe’ gesture. “All we’re talking about here is a temporary alliance until we squash this rebellion and execute everyone responsible. Then we can go back to hating each other afterward. And you did sign some sort of peace treaty with my king a while back, right?”
I didn’t wait for an answer because I was on a roll. “So obviously that means you’re not as completely against all this as you’re pretending to be. Sure you hate us ’cause we’re children of Satan, but there’s big-picture stuff going on, as we talked about.” I leaned forward. “I’m not asking you to like me, because I never ask people to do that—I like me, and that’s enough really. I’m asking you to pool your resources, pony the fuck up and fight the proverbial bad guys. I’m gonna be honest. You’ll look like total dicks if you say no, considering it’s the fate of the world riding on the size of your egos.”
There was a long silence after I finished speaking. I reasoned it would either be broken by someone trying to punch or kill me, or with some kind of grumbling agreement.
“You have some nerve,” the old guy seethed.
I beamed. “I know, right? Guessing that’s why our great and fearless leader appointed me.”
Liake shook his head. “He’s obviously fucking insane to appoint you. You’re likely to start another war rather than form an alliance.”
I shrugged. “It’s fifty-fifty, though I get to have fun either way. I’m not hugely worried. But you’re more self-righteous than me, and maybe even Superman, so what do you say we try to save this miserable, godforsaken world?” I paused. “I’m just going to warn you, I’m likely going to be doing most of the work anyway, ’cause I’m awesome and I want the glory.”