‘Kade, can I have a word?’ she asked seductively with a loving gaze. The same gaze she had when she lived here and we were planning a future; and the same gaze that she had when she came back. I hadn’t seen it in a while, and it only seemed to further confirm the fact in the Alphas’ heads that we were still mated.
‘We are,’ my inner voice corrected.
‘And I will fix that.’
‘I’m in the middle of something,’ I said and removed her hand. She warily looked at our guests, and they seemed quizzical over my reaction. A mischievous grin grew on Alpha Tristan’s face, but I was too preoccupied figuring out her game to care.
‘It’ll only be a minute,’ she said softly and batted her lashes.
‘Oh, don’t worry, Alpha Kade, we can manage ourselves for a few minutes while you talk to your mate,’ Alpha Malik said. It was always the men who spoke the most that I watched the closest, and Alpha Malik and Alpha Tristan hadn’t held back since we sat down.
‘Please do,’ I said. Alpha Malik leaned in, his lips turned up in a smile as he looked over Danielle. The others suddenly relaxed back into their seats, as though one big breath was drawn, and they fell at ease.
‘My brother will keep you company until I’m back.’ The smile turned into a snarl of disapproval, and the false state of security they had been lulled into vanished in the blink of an eye. Perfect. I smiled and stepped out with Danielle. The door closed behind us, and I knew that nobody in the conference room could hear us.
‘Why did you come in?’ I asked angrily and leaned over her.
Her facade dropped; the loving gaze was replaced by fierce determination, and she glowered as she raised her head and met my stance.
‘If you tell them that we’re over, they will immediately wonder who your new mate is. What do you think will happen when you tell them about the Emberclaws and then they find out about Layla? You’ll put her in more danger than she already is.’ I was thrown back by her words. Was she right? ‘She won’t be in more danger, I’ll protect her,’ I said.
‘Like you have been so far?’ I clenched my jaw and formed fists by my side.
‘Watch yourself,’ I growled. Danielle sighed and dropped her shoulders. Her hair fell back over her shoulder, and she stepped closer.
‘I mean no harm, Kade. I told you that I was done trying to get you back, but you have to know that I’m right. If you tell them, then the Emberclaws won’t be the only people after her; you’ll send our kind after her as well, and Layla will not stand a chance. We’ll fake it, we’ll fake the love and the joy long enough to get their help and bring Layla back, and then all hell can break loose, and we’ll handle that too.’ She grabbed my hand while speaking and cupped it between hers.
‘You want to pretend that I’m in love with you?’ I asked. Her eyes hooded, and she shrunk from that regal posture.
‘Is that so hard for you to do? Have you already forgotten how it was?’ She asked with a quiet voice that she only ever used when she felt uncomfortable and scared. She smiled when I didn’t answer, her thumb drew circles over my hand, and she looked up through her lashes.
‘Do it for Layla,’ she whispered and pulled back her hands. Danielle was showing a vulnerable side that I hadn’t seen until she cried on the bench and told me about her reason for leaving. She was ready to fall back into old patterns to protect my mate, at least I hoped that was all she was doing.
I reached for the door, and it slid open. My arm circled Danielle’s waist, and I placed my hand on her hip. I felt the shiver that ran through her body from the touch; the feeling caused her eyes to flutter. She gulped and smiled, putting on her mask, and then we walked back into the conference room where the Alphas were waiting. It was clear that they hadn’t spoken much in my absence, and Mason looked to enjoy the restlessness of the Alphas. The Betas were oblivious to what the hell was going on because even if I told them about the Emberclaws, they still had no clue about the meaning. For a werewolf to hear about them was the same as a human hearing about werewolves; it’s something that stories are made up of and nothing that actually exists; as far as they know.
‘Danielle, it sure is nice to see you back at his side,’ Alpha Matthias said.
‘Yes, well, it took some time, but we found each other again,’ she said and looked up at me lovingly. Every fiber of my body was fighting the urge to blurt out Layla’s name; this all felt unnatural, but Danielle wasn’t wrong, I had to protect Layla from my own kind as well.
‘You wanted to know about the Emberclaws, but why?’ Alpha Gabriel asked. It was the first time he had spoken at this meeting; he and my father were close, and I knew I could trust him. Gabriel had sent over mounts of information on the Emberclaw and he knew about my search for information, but he was playing dumb in front of the others. I pulled out a chair for Danielle and then took my seat between her and my brother.
‘I have heard rumors about a pending threat from the Emberclaws’ leader.’ They stiffened, everyone except for Gabriel who knew the story. He stayed calm and collected. The two people that shifted the most were Malik and Tristan, they had a history of gnarly losses and defeats but it never hurt their egos.
‘What is your source for these rumors?’ Malik asked and hunched his brows.
‘My source is mine alone and I will not be revealing the person, but I have it on good authority that they plan on attacking,’ I said. Danielle slid her hand over the table and placed it over mine. She was displaying a united front.
‘Plan on attacking whom?’ He asked.
I stopped and stiffened.
‘Everyone,’ Tristan laughed and shook his head.
‘Let him. What’s one Alpha going to do against some of the strongest packs in the country? He doesn’t stand a chance,’ Tristan said mockingly. He was really this full of himself. How he was considered to be one of the strongest was beyond me, but he was, and his pack had numbers. They had great fighters and strong leadership after his father. By my calculation, however, his pack would be falling within the next three years. I took away my hand from Danielle and leaned forward. I cupped my hands on the table and made sure to have my wolf upfront with me. Tristan coughed and squirmed in his seat.
‘You know as well as I do that that is not the case. If they come up against us and we’re not united, they will run us over and leave behind piles of our dead people,’ I said. His jaw clicked, and his eyes narrowed.
‘You all know the stories, and all I’m here to do is tell you that they are true and they are back. It’s either we do this together, or we all admit defeat before the war has even begun,’ I talked slowly and honestly and hoped they would hear.
‘What do you need from us?’ Alpha Malik asked.
‘What I said earlier, I need to know everything you know about them,’ I said.
How come he still trust Danielle, she’s a spy.