by Petra Landon
“For now, Anderson is convinced that you’re not the wizard he searches for” he pointed out. “We make sure that he continues to believe that while we work on finding the source of his leak about you. Once we discover the leak, we plug it.”
“Always remember that you have one big advantage over Anderson.”
“What?” Tasia looked startled.
“Me” it was stated simply without even a hint of arrogance. “Like the leeches, I tend to be rather obsessive about revenge. And I’ve a bone to pick with Anderson.”
That I understand. But why are you so willing to take care of the Guardian for me?
Tasia glanced down at the book in her hands absently. Yes, she did have some powerful allies on her side for now - temporary ones but very powerful allies, nonetheless.
The Alpha contemplated her bent head thoughtfully.
“You’ve been raiding Duncan’s library, I see.”
Tasia’s head shot up. “I hope he won’t mind.”
“Duncan! He’ll be pleased as punch to know that someone’s enjoying his precious library. We Shifters tend to have less intellectual pursuits.”
“The library is Duncan’s?” she was amazed, having assumed that the collection had been built up over decades. If it was Duncan’s, then he seemed to have amassed a whole roomful of books in short order.
“Yeah. You’ve been introduced to Jerome Carter. Does he seem like the kind of guy who’d encourage building a library in the Pack Lair?”
A picture of the psychotic barely-in-control Alpha rose up in her mind.
“No” she shook her head emphatically.
“Exactly. Duncan built up the library after he joined the Pack.”
“He joined this Pack at the same time as you?”
“Yes.”
“You’ve known each other a long time, I think” she stated.
“What gave us away?” he asked, a little amused by the query.
“Well …” she hesitated.
“Please” he invited with a sweeping gesture. “Don’t mince words on my behalf.”
“For one, he’s the only one who calls you by your name.”
“Yes, strict adherence to the chain of command is what makes a Pack” he acknowledged.
“You pay attention when he says something. And you talk to him” Tasia added.
“Perhaps he just knows how to handle me, like you with your Tiger” he said blandly in response.
Tasia gaped at him. “Tiger!”
“Tiger, the cat” he explained.
Tasia looked even more flabbergasted. “You mean my Tiger? My pet - Tiger?”
“I have it on good authority that you knew just how to get him to purr for you.”
“What …. But … How?” she shook her head in confusion, completely gobsmacked by his comment.
“You told me that yourself.”
“I told you” she exclaimed incredulously. “When?”
“After I rescued you from the leeches in Chicago” the gold eyes held a trace of amusement. “In a moment of weakness, when you were feeling particularly grateful to me for buying you the time to Mfector the scene.”
Tasia studied him uncertainly. “This can’t be true. You’re making this up.”
“Nope, I lack the imagination. You also told me that I remind you of Tiger – handsome and supremely arrogant.”
Color surged up her neck at his words. Words that also served to abruptly recall snatches of their conversation that evening. How could she have been so indiscreet, Tasia wondered in consternation. And with this particular man. Had she been that light-headed from blood loss and the encounter with the vampires, she wondered bemusedly.
“I … I was in shock” she stuttered, attempting to mount a defense. “Light-headed from the blood loss.”
“Cannot discount that, of course” his voice was suspiciously pious, an unholy glint of amusement in his eyes that Tasia failed to observe in her chagrin. “But those are precisely the circumstances when we tend towards veracity.”
“Oh my God” she muttered, closing her eyes in embarrassment.
“Not at all” he was polite. “I must admit that it was quite a novelty for me. No one has ever compared me to a cat before, you see.”
“Or any other pet” he added as an afterthought.
After that masterpiece, he seemed content to sit silently and sip from his glass. She was not to know that he was making a herculean effort to restrain his laughter. Tasia dared a peek at him after a few minutes of silence. This would not do – she needed to change the subject.
“What happened to the second chair?” she inquired abruptly.
The question seemed to startle him. “What chair?”
“The one across from your desk” she gestured behind him. “There used to be a second one.”
He stared at her for a moment. “Are you sure?”
As if I’m likely to forget that. I did spend considerable time in those chairs being raked over the coals.
“Um hmm” she was confident. “There were two of them before.”
The gold eyes stared down into the depths of his glass for a long moment. “I smashed it up. Duncan got rid of the remains.”
That … that was the crash I heard on my way out when … and Duncan rushed in.
He glanced up to meet her eyes. “Yes, that was the crash. I’ve quite a temper. Fortunately, I don’t lose it very often.”
“You seem to lose it around me often enough” she countered softly. For Tasia, this whole experience here tonight with this man had a certain dream-like quality to it. The effect was to loosen her tongue. Plus, they’d already gone enough rounds by now. If their burgeoning association had even a chance in hell of lasting three months, more candor between them was imperative.
“It was never my intention to intimidate you in any form that day. For that, I apologize, Big Eyes.” For once those remarkable gold eyes were completely transparent, his regret and remorse clear.
“Is that why you came to the Registry for me?”
“You were Pack. I would never have left you there.”
“I warn you, witchling. I will not offer Pack protection for a third time.”
“Even after I’d already walked away from the Pack?” she had to ask.
“You had been pushed into rejecting the Pack, in part by my behavior” he confessed brusquely.
Tasia stared at him, nonplussed by his words. He wasn’t entirely correct. Her own insecurities had also played a huge part in her decision to sever her association with the Pack.
“I was furious with you that day” he admitted. “What you did was unforgiveable for a Shifter who owed me allegiance. In my fury, I forgot that you’re not a Shifter and that you might not interpret your transgression the same way I did.”
He paused, his face impassive as usual but those gold eyes were laid bare for once. Tasia met his gaze, unable to look away from the cauldron of emotions palpable in the gold-colored eyes.
“Once you were gone, I had time to calm down and reflect on it. I realized that I was not entirely blameless in the fiasco. So, when your friend summoned up the grit to walk in here and ask for assistance, I took action.”
“I meant no disrespect to you” she spoke up hesitatingly. They both knew what she meant – her warning Caro about the rogue Shifters without informing the Alpha.
“I know” he acknowledged “But you’re not entirely blameless in this. You knew what you were doing, sneaking around behind my back. You had plenty of opportunity to tell me about it, even after the fact. Yet you chose not to do so.”
Tasia sighed softly. He was right, she knew. She had always suspected that he would be furious if he ever found out about the warning she’d shared with Caro.
“You’re not the easiest person in the world to have a fireside chat with” Tasia pointed out.
“I see” he responded quietly. “I shall have to work on that.”
There was a short silence – a comfortable one, unusual bet
ween them.
“I’m going to ask LaRue to dig into Anderson tomorrow” he announced abruptly.
“Jason?” she was a tad confused by the sudden change of subject.
“He’s in the best position to get us information. The other Guardians will talk to him.”
“I like Jason” she said slowly. “But why would he agree to dig up dirt on a fellow Guardian?”
“He owes me” Raoul said uncompromisingly. “That locket hanging around Sienna’s neck is a liability for her. He knows that it paints a bullseye on Sienna’s forehead. I’ve asked LaRue to take that information to the First Wizard.”
Tasia stared at him, taken aback by his words. She had been present in the room when he had informed Jason of his decision to give up all claims on the locket, yet it had not quite registered with Tasia.
“You’re not going to inform Faoladh about the locket?” she asked tentatively.
“No.”
“That’s … very nice of you” Tasia stated softly. So many layers to this man, as she’d always suspected. Not many Chosen would have been sensitive to the potential implications for Sienna or given a damn about the danger that Sienna had been thoughtlessly placed in by her mother.
“The wizards have first right to that information” he shrugged. “I trust LaRue to do the right thing by Sienna. Until that locket is off her neck, it leaves her vulnerable.”
The gold eyes that met her gaze were, for once, not enigmatic. He seemed very serious.
“I sense a big wave coming” he was direct and un-ambivalent. “Unless we’re able to stop her in time, Lady Bethesda will unleash a tsunami the likes of which our world has never seen” Raoul was unaware of how prescient his words would one day turn out to be. “If that happens, you will be left vulnerable, Big Eyes, more so than other Chosen because of who you are. Whatever else you may think of us; the Pack does not abandon its friends. And I always keep my promises, no matter what” he emphasized quietly.
“Tasia.”
Tasia’s eyes fluttered open to see Hawk looming over her.
“Wake up, sleepyhead” he said with a smile.
She glanced groggily around the unfamiliar room, confused and puzzled by her surroundings. She lay on a couch, with a pillow under her head and her blanket tucked around her. Tasia sat up slowly to look down at the pillow with a frown - it looked vaguely familiar.
“What happened?” she blinked up at Hawk.
“Alph said that you came up here last night to borrow a book.”
Nightmare! The night came rushing back. There had been a surprisingly pleasant and easy conversation in here with a man she went out of her way to avoid under normal circumstances. Tasia straightened abruptly as snatches of the conversation came back to her. He had been different last night, a diverting and easy-going companion. She had come to the Pack Room for a book to distract her. Pride and Prejudice had helped but in the end, it had been his company that had successfully banished the last echoes of the nightmare she had been attempting to flee. Tasia glanced around, a puzzled frown on her forehead. A copy of Pride and Prejudice lay placed neatly on the chair that he’d been sprawled in last night.
Had she fallen asleep in here, she wondered. And how had the pillow made it here? She now recognized it as one of the plump ones scattered on the couches in the Pack Room. This room was too stark to have a pillow.
“Umm” she muttered, all at sea. Who had tucked her into the couch? The last thing she remembered was being engrossed in her book while the Alpha sprawled across from her with a drink in his hand.
“Come on, we need to get you out of here” Hawk said, helping her off the couch. He grabbed her blanket to bundle it haphazardly under his arm.
“This is yours, right?”
Tasia nodded mutely.
“Did you look in on me before, Hawk?” she asked tentatively. Perhaps Hawk had discovered her dozing on the couch and attempted to make her more comfortable. It would be very like him to be thoughtful of her comfort.
He shook his head. “I just got here, Tas. It’s early, a little after six. Alph sent me in to get you. He’s offered this room to Sienna and Jason. They’ll be here in ten minutes.”
A groggy and confused Tasia remembered to grab her book before following Hawk out into the Pack Room. Three men glanced up at their exit from the Alpha’s Room. Duncan didn’t bat an eyelid, merely calling out a greeting. Luis looked a little taken aback but sent her a smile. Tasia had noticed that the usually taciturn Shifter had been thawing towards her recently. Atsá, on the other hand, was clearly surprised. He greeted her with a polite nod and directed a speculative glance at both Hawk and her. His eyes took in the blanket rolled up under Hawk’s arm. Hawk stiffened up imperceptibly as was his usual wont when confronted by his grandfather.
“I hope it’s okay to borrow one of your books, Duncan?” she asked.
“Absolutely! It gives me great pleasure to have someone enjoy my library.”
As they approached the stairs, they met Sienna and Jason on their way up.
“Tasia” Sienna exclaimed, taking in the sight of her in her pajamas and the blanket bunched up under Hawk’s arm. “Is everything alright?”
“Tasia was up late reading in the Pack Room and fell asleep” Hawk answered easily after a quick glance at Tasia’s dazed expression.
“Sorry, I guess we woke you up, huh? Jason’s heading to San Diego in a bit, so just need to have a quick chat with him. Want to get some breakfast after I’m done?”
Tasia nodded.
“I’ll be about forty minutes” Sienna said after a quick glance at Jason.
Tasia followed Hawk down the stairs and into her room, all the while attempting to puzzle through the events of the night before.
“You’re not going to believe what Merceau has done, Sienna” Jason exclaimed the moment they were alone in the Alpha’s Room.
Sienna, who’d made for the nearest chair to sprawl in, looked up with a smile. His chocolate brown eyes shone with a mix of excitement and astonishment. She’d rarely seen Jason this ebullient over anything. He was a hard guy to ruffle and she loved that about him.
“What?” she smiled. “Nothing bad, I hope. The Alpha has been kinda growing on me.”
“On the contrary” Jason shook his head. “He’s not going to inform Faoladh about your locket.”
“Why not?” she inquired, genuinely puzzled. The information would be a huge coup for the Shifters and Faoladh. She might have been absent from their world for a few years but she knew very well how the game was played. Having been born into it, she had been exposed to cut-throat wizard politics first hand. Sienna had assumed that the Shifters and their Faoladh would use this information to get some concessions from the wizards. The prospect didn’t worry her much for the Shifters deserved to get their reward for their hard work on this. There was no danger to her, in either case. She trusted the Alpha enough by now to be confident that her personal safety had been guaranteed the moment he had invited her to stay at the Lair. She also knew that Jason had been quietly hoping for that very invitation for her. Ever since the fiasco with Bianchi, he seemed leery of trusting her safety to the GCW.
“He believes that the wizards have first right to this information since the locket hangs around your neck. He’s going to let me take it to the First Wizard” Jason informed her, not entirely successful in hiding his astonishment and shock at the Alpha’s generosity.
This time, his words rendered Sienna speechless. The Alpha was being surprisingly generous to them. She’d gotten to know him and the other Shifters a little better. Nothing like a pack of Shifters rushing to your rescue when you need them the most to get a different perspective on them and their qualities! Decent and steadfast to those that they considered their own, fanatically loyal to their Pack, uncomplicated and unsubtle about their needs and wants, and relentless and singularly focused in going after anything they wanted. That was the impression she’d come away with. From what she knew of them, neither comp
assion nor understanding existed in their kitty of qualities. And the uber macho Shifter Alphas were not known for being sensitive to the needs of anyone, except a Pack member on the rare occasion.
“Why?” she asked baldly.
“I don’t know” Jason confessed, his own bewilderment at the Alpha’s tactics clear. “But I wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.”
One thing she was sure of. Sienna had no doubt that, in a similar situation, the wizards would have milked it for their own advantage instead of doing the right thing.
“You think he wants something in return” she said shrewdly. That was the only thing that made sense. Raoul Merceau was a very smart man – a wily wizard’s brain beat in that Shifter’s powerful body. Perhaps a consequence of his unique parentage.
“Of course, he wants something in return. I was fully prepared to be asked to sacrifice something big like my future firstborn.”
Hmm, he’s got quite an imagination. Something she’d never realized before, Sienna mused in silent amusement.
“And does he want this not-as-yet-born child?” she asked with a grin.
Jason flashed her a singularly attractive grin in response. “Nope! He wants something fairly trivial, on the face of it anyway. He wants me to dig up dirt on Anderson.”
“Who’s Anderson?” she looked bewildered.
“Sorry, Sienna! Sometimes I forget that until ten days ago, you were living a life far away from all this intrigue and mystery.”
They’d fallen so naturally into such an easy partnership, instinctively trusting each other while attempting to navigate the minefield that working with a Shifter Pack could be that sometimes it was easy to forget that he’d not seen Sienna since high school.
“If I’d known what an exciting life you led, I might’ve changed my mind before” Sienna teased lightly.
“It has been good, hasn’t it? Working together” he asked, the chocolate eyes clear and serious.
“Yes” Sienna acknowledged. “It has been the only bright spot in an otherwise dark period.”
