I huffed. “Obviously, or did you think everything we were doing today was just for shits and giggles?” He smiled, a wide grin that made small lines form at the corners of his blue-grey eyes.
I ignored the way his smile made me feel and grabbed my own keys to leave. “By the way, pay is based on performance. Don’t fuck up.”
The Pack conference room was reminiscent of an auditorium. The center was flat, and surrounded by circular rows of seating to accommodate most of the Pack that lived within the Compound should they ever need to be briefed on anything en masse. Today, though, the conference room only had ten people in it. James stood to the side, a dark figure by the door, while the Alphas all stood surrounding the table as though they’d been waiting for me, and given that I was the reason this little meeting had been called together, they had been. Declan was at the head of the table. The seat to his right was vacant, so I made my way towards him. He nodded when I reached for the seat, and then he took his own. Everyone else followed suit.
The Alphas for each pack were present. Declan represented the entire Pacific Northwest, though he also led Clan Cat, which was based here in Spokane within the Compound. Yvonne was the Alpha for Clan Muroidea; Derek and Tegan were twin brothers who represented Clan Wolf; Robert was the Alpha of Clan Canidae; Eva and Mathias were the mated Alphas of Clan Feloidea; and Isla was present as the Alpha for Clan Big. Her mate, Caynen, was not in attendance, though.
I stared around the table; everyone’s eyes were on me, and I sat frozen. What the hell was I supposed to say to them? I opened my mouth, but when nothing came out, Declan took the lead.
“My mate has been asked for assistance by the Evergreen witches. You’ve been called here today to discuss how this can affect the Pack, and whether we should lend our support.”
Seven sets of eyes narrowed at me as Declan announced to them all that I was his mate. That one statement told them that I already had his full support, and I could see their calculation as they wondered whether or not I would abuse it.
I felt Declan’s hand squeeze my knee beneath the table in comfort and released a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. I lifted my chin. “I was approached today by Olivia Fields.” Soft murmurs reached my ears, but I couldn’t make out their words. “A witchling child has gone missing and the witches are asking for our assistance. She’s been gone almost twenty-four hours now, and the witches have no clues as to who may have taken her.”
“Why would we help the witches?” Eva asked, strumming her blood-red nails on the surface of the table.
“Because a child is missing. The Pack protects the innocent. She is an innocent.” Eva was shaking her head.
“The witches have no love for the Pack. If one of our cubs were missing, they wouldn’t move a finger to help us. Why should we help them?” Several heads nodded in agreement, and already I could see the tide turning against me.
“This isn’t just about whether they would help us or not if roles were reversed.” I could see that a child’s life hanging in the balance wasn’t going to be enough. My mind worked through possible scenarios. What reason could I give them to step in?
“The Pack has its enemies, does it not?” I asked.
Robert spoke up. “We’re strong and we are feared. The weak don’t like feeling afraid. It has always been that way. Of course we have enemies.”
“What happens if war ever comes? Whether it be with the Coven or the humans, or any other faction, for that matter, who are your allies? Who will stand beside you in your time of need?”
“We don’t need allies.” There were several grumbles of agreement through the room. I laughed, the sound mocking even to my own ears.
“The Pack is not all-powerful. Yes, you are strong, and yes, your numbers are greater than the witches and higher than the vampires, but they are nothing compared to the humans. Humans outnumber the Pack ten thousand to one.”
“The humans are weak,” Yvonne growled.
“I’m human. Am I weak?” I challenged. No one said anything. All eyes were now on Declan, waiting to see if he had taken offense. My gaze followed theirs and I saw what everyone else did. Declan’s jaw was clenched, his eyes emerald filled with flecks of gold.
“My mate is not weak,” he said in a guttural voice.
“She’s also not a regular human,” Eva said.
“You’re right. I could burn this building to the ground with everyone in it. There are others like me. There are other psykers with abilities beyond my own. Those who have power over water, air, earth, and those who can bend matter with their minds, as Inarus did when he lifted several shifters from the ground on your very rooftop last fall.” Snarls filled the air, but I continued, “What happens if a war is waged with people like me against the Pack? Psykers work with the humans, who you seem to think are weak and beneath your concern, and you’re only fooling yourselves if you really believe that. The Pack needs allies. This is an opportunity to create them. If we help the witches, we can gain an ally that is sorely needed should war ever come, all while saving the life of an innocent child. What downside is there to this?” I waited a moment, letting my words sink in.
“We know a war is coming. Tensions have been on the rise. The HAC kidnapped your children,” I said, my voice rising. “A vampire killed one of your own,” I reminded them. Irina had helped the HAC stage a murder that would point the Pack at the Coven. They’d wanted to incite a war, and only level heads and careful consideration had prevented one. “You all chose not to go to battle before because you knew what the result would be. You’d wage war against your enemies and lose thousands of your own in process. Whether you win or not is a moot point, because you would be weakened, and at that point the Pack could be eliminated once and for all by another faction. By the humans you believe to be weak. You need allies.”
Declan nodded at me with approval, his eyes filled with pride. Many of the Alphas looked to one another, and just like that, I’d thrown myself in with the Pack. It was the very thing I had been avoiding. I didn’t want anyone else to control me, but when I looked at each Alpha who was seated at the table, I realized that they weren’t looking at me like I was some weapon that they could point and shoot at their enemies. They were looking at me with respect. My voice carried weight. My opinion mattered, and that I’d said ‘we’ and ‘us’ meant that I was one of them.
Maybe I’d been looking at things all wrong. Maybe I wasn’t trapped within a glass cage. I was an equal member in this club. The Pack was strong, but I could help them become stronger, safer.
“If we do this,” Robert said, “what assurances do we have that the witches will ally with us?”
“They’ve already offered a favor to repay the debt. We’ll make the terms more long-lasting. They face the same threats we do; this will benefit both of our groups,” I said. I wasn’t a politician, but I was one hell of a negotiator, and I wouldn’t put the Pack in harm’s way without them seeing some sort of return. Olivia wasn’t an idiot. She likely knew what would come out of this, and I had a feeling that an alliance between the witches and the Pack was exactly what she’d wanted to begin with.
If the remaining factions didn’t come together, the HAC would pick us off one by one or turn us against one another until there were no longer any obstacles in their way. Viola Reynolds assumed that the deep-rooted hatred between the factions was enough to blind them. I smiled. She had no idea what she would face when war finally did come, but we would be ready.
We spent two hours going over every detail and possible downside to aligning with the witches, and in the end, the decision was unanimous that we would lend our aid in return for their support. I’d already spoken with Olivia Fields and offered her our terms. She intended to discuss the matter with the other Evergreen leaders and would give me their decision shortly.
Since the Pack Alphas were already assembled, Declan took the opportunity to discuss further Pack business while we waited on the witches to respond.
“As many of you kno
w, the South Atlantic Pack wants entry into our territory to conduct business with an agricultural company in Kennewick. I’ve decided to grant their request.”
No one looked overly pleased by the announcement. “Noah Thorne will be permitted to enter our lands with three of his people. He will come to the Compound for introductions, and will remain for one night before going to Kennewick to conduct his business. He will be given two days to do so, at which point he will return to his Pack in Florida. It will be a short visit, and I won’t tolerate any issues.”
“You know he’ll stir the pot,” Derek said, commenting aloud for the first time aside from casting his vote since we’d all assembled. I’d almost forgotten he was there. “He doesn’t like or respect your authority.” Derek was the silent and thoughtful type. Sometimes I wondered if he counted his words and gave himself a daily allowance.
Declan nodded. “I know. That’s why I’m trusting you all to keep level heads and to remind your Clans that there will be no dominance challenges while our guests are here, or they will answer to me directly.” Everyone nodded. “Isla, Kennewick is your home. I trust that you’ll make sure everything goes smoothly until Thorne leaves.” His statement was an order. Isla’s face became harder before she gave a curt nod.
“I’ll take responsibility for him,” she agreed.
“Good. He’ll be here in four days, so make whatever preparations you need to.”
My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I answered when Olivia’s name flashed across the screen. Everyone was quiet as I spoke to Olivia, their hearing picking up on every word. The witches had agreed to the alliance terms.
We’d officially formed an alliance between the witches and the Pack. It was fragile, but if we found Marcella, it would be one step closer to building stronger bonds between our factions.
Declan walked with me to my room but didn’t speak until I closed the door.
“You did well,” he said. I turned to face him, sucking in a breath at his proximity. He was mere inches away, so close that I could smell the wild forest and evergreen trees that was Declan’s scent.
“I hadn’t really realized what I was doing until it happened,” I admitted. Declan took a step forward, crowding me further. I had to fight the urge to step back. Declan looked down at me, towering over my five-foot seven-inch frame. My heart pounded in my chest until the sound became a deafening roar in my ears.
“You were amazing.”
“You’re not angry with me?” I asked, quirking my brow.
He cocked his head to the side. “Why would I be?”
“I brought this to you all without speaking with you about it in private. I used my position as your mate, something I haven’t even accepted, to get what I wanted, and I didn’t give you the opportunity to shut it down if you didn’t think it was the right move for the Pack.”
He smiled, and my heart did stupid fluttery things. “Aria, I could have shut it down in the room. It wouldn’t have mattered what you said or how hard you fought to sway them. If I’d said no, it would have been final.” I knew that. On a fundamental level, I knew, as did everyone else within the Compound, that Declan’s word was law. He ruled here. It didn’t matter that there were other Alphas. They were all beneath him, and Declan could push forward or veto any decision he wanted.
I wondered what it must feel like to have that much power, and then realized that the flip side was that he also carried an insurmountable weight of responsibility.
“And you should be using your position. You are my mate. You’ll come to accept that soon enough.”
I rolled my eyes but smiled up at him. “You stood up for me. In front of all of them. Why did you do that?”
Declan reached out, cupping my cheek in the palm of his hand, and I had to fight the urge to lean into the caress.
“You are my mate.” His words were spoken with conviction. “And you’re stronger than even you realize. The rest of the Pack needs to get their heads out of their asses and recognize in you, what I see.” My heart swelled, and before I knew what I was doing, I leaned up on tiptoes, my mouth pressing against his. Declan froze for a split second beneath my touch and I kicked myself. Why the hell did I just do that? Then he growled, a primal sound deep in his throat, before he wrapped his arm around my waist, crushing my body against his, while his other hand tangled in my hair before I could realize my mistake and pull away.
I gasped, my senses overwhelmed by a flood of emotions. Waves of desire crashed into me, and I couldn’t tell if it came from me or him, but when his tongue pressed, passing the seam of my lips to tangle with my own, I suddenly didn’t care.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer.
Declan boldly slid his hands down my shoulders, then down my back, to cup my backside before lifting me up. Instinctively, I wrapped my legs around his waist, his palms cupping my ass firmly as he took several steps further into the room.
I found my back pressed against the wall, his body crushed against mine, and something very large and firm pressing against my abdomen. I froze. What the hell was I doing? I wasn’t ready for this!
As if sensing my anxiety, Declan stopped. He pulled away but didn’t release me, instead choosing to rest his head against mine as we both fought to catch our breaths.
“I don’t—”
“We don’t have to do anything you aren’t ready for. We can stop right here, right now, if that’s what you want.”
I fought for control over my breathing as his words sank in. He wouldn’t force me, but I’d known that already. Instinctively, I knew Declan would never hurt me.
I didn’t want this to stop. I may not have been ready, but I didn’t know if I’d ever be. What I did know was that I didn’t want things to stop, either. I—
Declan seemed to take my silence as a decision and slowly lowered my legs to the floor. My booted feet touched the ground and I swayed. My legs felt like rubber, and Declan rested a hand on my waist to steady me. I looked up into eyes of the most beautiful green, and for a moment I found myself getting lost in them. Without thought to the repercussions, I kissed Declan again—fiercely, and with everything I’d been holding back these past few weeks.
The mate bond was powerful, and I’d been fighting its pull for what seemed like ages. Right now, I didn’t want to fight it. Declan kissed me back, though his mouth was questioning, his hands cautious.
I didn’t want cautious. I wanted wild. I wanted the tiger, not the tamed man. If I was going to be his mate, I needed to know what I was dealing with. I needed to know that I could handle Declan when he wasn’t holding back.
My fingers fumbled with the hem of his shirt before slipping beneath the fabric and running up along his abdomen. His skin was heated and I molded my body closer to his, craving the contact.
I pulled at his shirt, pulling it over his head, our lips only separating for the briefest of moments before finding each other again. My hands explored the curves of his chest, the ridges of his abdomen. Declan pulled his lips away from mine to trace a path down my neck, his tongue like fire along my sensitive skin.
He reached the spot where the curve of my neck met my shoulder, his tongue tracing over the imprint his bite had left behind when he’d claimed me as his. My body shuddered as I felt his teeth scrape over that spot before his mouth closed over the sensitive flesh and he sucked, hard.
Liquid heat pooled between my legs. God, that felt good.
My pulse was pounding in my ears. Declan’s hands came up to cup my breasts, his thumb brushing over one taut nub through the fabric of my shirt. My back arched into his caress, and once again, his lips found mine.
My hands fumbled with the belt at his waist, a sense of urgency driving me. I wanted to feel him against me without any barriers. His hands pushed my shirt over my head, tossing it aside. The sound of fabric being torn reached my ears just as my bra fell in strips around me. Declan’s claws press against my skin but didn’t break the surface.
I shoved his
jeans down as he worked them off, taking his underwear with them, without breaking our kiss.
Declan’s kiss moved lower, his mouth on a quest down my body. I writhed against the wall as he kissed and sucked and laved at my skin. When his mouth reached my bare breast, I found myself tangling my hands in his white-blond hair, pulling at the short strands as I arched into him.
Declan took my breast into his mouth, and I fought the scream of pleasure that threatened to escape me. The sound of fabric being shredded once more reached my ears, and the next thing I knew, he scooped me into his arms and laid me on the bed, briefly realizing that the mattress was new and soft beneath my back. We knocked over a lamp on our way. The glass shattered, but I didn’t care. The only thing I could think of was how the only thing separating us now was a thin piece of lace, and God did I hate that stupid scrap of fabric right now.
Declan’s skin felt hot, and a fine sheen of sweat covered his skin. My breath was coming out in gasps as I shuddered beneath him. His hands were possessive as he moved lower towards the scrap of fabric covering my intimate flesh. His gaze was locked on mine, giving me every opportunity to tell him to stop. I opened my mouth, to say what, I didn’t know, when the door swung open, slamming into the wall with a deafening thwack.
I froze with Declan naked on top of me, inches away from shoving the lace aside and sliding between my legs. James stood in the doorway. His eyes were wide and his mouth was hanging open. I panicked, and instinctively fire spouted beside me. Declan shifted to hide my body behind his as I frantically smacked at the budding flames with a pillow.
“What the hell are you doing in here?” Declan all but roared.
“I—uh, I…” James visibly shook himself. “I heard crashing sounds, and—”
The flame finally doused, I peered over Declan’s shoulder. “And you thought I was in trouble?” James nodded, still dumbfounded at what he’d just walked in on. “Well, I’m not. You might want to go before he loses it.” Without another word, James whirled away, closing the door behind him. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about James pushing me towards Declan anymore.
Burned by Fire (Blood & Magic Book 3) Page 7