Page 41 of Lycan Witch
His chuckle rumbles in his chest, vibrating against my ear, and he reaches around to pull me onto his lap. “For you, I promise I will be more than okay.” He kisses me, sweeping his tongue across my lips, then growls as the doorbell rings.
“Here! In case anyone needs a, uh, heads up!” Frank calls up the stairs, chuckling as his footsteps fade into the house.
“I’ll see you in a few hours, little witch.” He nips at my bottom lip gently before getting up to cross the room.
I watch from the bed until he disappears down the hall, stepping down the stairs, and I listen for the front door to shut behind him. The sound of the lock clicking into place makes tears prick at my eyes. The memory of the maniacal expression on the brown wolf’s face from last night makes me take a shaky breath, and I bite the inside of my cheek, looking at Kaylus.
“I’ll watch him.” He caws once before flying out the open window, soothing my frayed nerves slightly.
Chapter eighteen
Gideon
I tug on the collar of my shirt, hating the formality of these godsforsaken meetings. I push down on the pedal of my truck, choosing to drive instead of shifting to run so I don’t have to get dressed in this suffocating outfit twice. I drove by Aaron’s house, then his garage before making my way toward Vermont. I don’t know exactly what the worm is up to, but I haven’t heard any more rumors about him challenging me for alpha since the night Aramin came to the lake, and both his usual spots were quiet. The road stretches out before me, and a scowl crests across my face. Between those two and this meeting, something isn’t right. Grant refusing to move the meeting outside the lodge just added to the suspicion crawling through me.
“We want to discuss the issues within in your pack that have been brought to our attention. There’s been an exile and a death in less than a month, Disantollo. It’s pack standard to have a meeting immediately for these circumstances,”Grant said.
I shift in the driver’s seat. It is pack standard, but…
But it’s suspicious.
“Exactly,” I mutter, agreeing with my wolf. It’s why I had Frank stay behind with Adara.
It’s a few hours before I reach the dirt road to the lodge, and by then, my teeth begin to ache from the force of me clenching my jaw. After the warning note outside my office window and Rathmann’s follow up visit, I have no doubt that this is a set up, but whether it’s my life or Adara’s they’re after, I’m not sure. I’m confident I can handle myself, though, and knowing Frank is there to protect Adara gives me some peace of mind.
My skin tingles, my wolf itching to come out. I park, straightening my shirt as I step from the truck, and walk into the lodge. The air feels stale here, unsettling when the wind should be blowing and wildlife should be scuttling around the forest. I pass through the large glass doors, nodding at the receptionist sitting at the front desk as I make my way across the polished wood floors to the elevator. Shoving my hand into my pocket, impatience wears my nerves thin, and I storm from the doors before they fully open.
I don’t bother waiting to be called into the meeting, shoving the oversized doors open and gathering the attention of the entire council as their heads snap up to me. “Councilmen, good to see you’re all here on time.”
Grant folds his hands on the table. “We were. You, however, are fifteen minutes late.”
I smirk, lounging back on the chair left for me. “I didn’t have much notice. Couldn’t be helped.”
I lazily look around the table, noting that Rathmann is especially calm today. My wolf paces at the observation.
“What’s on the agenda, boys?” I ask. “I have a bar to run, so I’m afraid this meeting will need to be more of a chat.”
Grant sets his jaw, staring hard at me for a moment before speaking. “There’s been a few complaints recently that we need to discuss. First, Wendell…” he glances down at the paper before him, “Clark.”
Sighing, I cast my gaze out the window, taking in the view of the forest. “What about him? Can’t really cast a complaint if he’s dead.”
“His death is the complaint, Disantollo,” Grant says, slapping the table. “Why would you kill your own pack member?”
I look pointedly at his hand, slowly bringing my gaze to his weathered face. “Because he wasn’t worth keeping alive.”
“The report says helookedat that witch, and you killed him for it.” His eyebrows shoot to his hairline, lips pressed into a firm line. “Is that all it takes now? Just looking at her?”
“You didn’t seem to care much about him before, like when he lost all rights to his house or when he cheated on his wife with achild—”
“She was seventeen—”
My eyes cut to Rathmann, quieting him immediately. “I never released that detail in my report.”
He puts his hands up, smirking. “Heard it through the grapevine.”
My gaze narrows at him, suspicions from earlier swirling through my head before looking back to Grant. “Wendell died because he attacked me. As alpha, any attack on me is an immediate, undisputed challenge, and he lost. Not sure where you’re getting your information from but—”
“And what about Aramin Hayward?” Grant says, leaning back in his chair. “Did she also challenge you?”