Page 52 of Heartless

I smirked and picked up the drawing she’s propped on the dresser. “You brought your wolf?”

She gave me a tired smile, crawling to the middle of the bed and flopping back on the pillow. “Like you said, maybe it’s time to move on.”

She pulled the blankets back, inviting me into the bed I’d always thought of as my parents’. But it was easy to push them out of my mind as I climbed in and wrapped her in my arms, humming a little at the way she instantly buried her nose in my chest. “Can we stay?” she asked, a catch in her throat. “Just until the whole Cold Moon thing is over?”

Something vicious pounded through my blood. Instead of looking forward to her birthday, like every other every coming-of-age wolf, she was counting down the days until she off her grandfather’s radar. Until she was safe. “We can stay here as long as you want,” I promised, my voice gruff. “I love you, Vail.”

She dropped a sleepy kiss over my heart. “Mutual, pretty wolf.”

And damn, if that didn’t convince my wolf, he was a lost cause.

But as soon as she fell asleep, I slipped out of bed. Liam met me right outside the door, which maybe explained why he looked so wiped out. Not that I was one to talk. “You’re meant to be resting, Clan Alpha.”

I just shrugged and headed for the war room. “Any word on Cal?”

“Not yet, but if Theo’s not back by morning, I’ll send a team. There’s only so many places he can go.”

“Okay. But I also want Baron and Felix here. And any other alphas you think we can trust.”

Liam’s scowl deepened. “You sure that’s a good idea? We can only keep this contained if the circle stays small.”

By ‘this’, he clearly meant news of my shaky ass, but I gave him a grim nod. “Holland could just be trying his luck, or it might have leaked already. Either way, I’m going to need an alpha circle. Without the boost, I might as well just hand him the clan on a platter.” The admission was a sign of how much I trusted my enforcer, since it was the wolf equivalent of showing him my neck. Not that he couldn’t tell how fucked up I was, since I had to put a hand on the wall to stay upright.

But before I could embarrass myself by falling on my ass, Reed appeared in the doorway. “This just got sent over from the academy.” He handed me a thick black envelope with a gold crest burned into the front. I knew what it was before I pulled out the invitation. A black-tie affair at the Marrow Estate, requesting the presence of Jasper Arras and Vail Marrow on the night of the Cold Moon.

“Turn it over,” he said grimly, and when I flipped the invitation, I immediately recognized my mom’s looping scrawl.

Jay,

I hope you won’t be foolish enough to ignore this invitation. Jonathan has extended the hand of friendship, and I believe this is an opportunity for both our families to forge a new, far more powerful alliance.

A formal acceptance would be the polite thing to do, but if that’s beyond you, contact me at the Marrow Estate. Jonathan has been kind enough to let me and your brothers stay for a while. I don’t need to remind you how your actions reflect on us all. Jonathan asked me to relay this personal note, so you would understand the depth of his commitment to the future of our families.

Yours with devotion.

I stared at her familiar signature for a long moment, before reading it a second time. In one way I wasn’t surprised. My mom had been pushing me towards some sort of alliance with Jonathan Marrow since I became Clan Alpha. She was Old Pack, and ruthless, but she also believed in family above all else. I’d admired that about her, especially since it wasn’t like my dad had been careful with his kin. I’d grown up watching them fight like blood enemies, before he turned his formidable rage my way. Vail might have been the catalyst that drove me to put him in the ground, but it wasn’t like I hadn’t already planned it in my head a million times before.

But to put my younger brothers in harm’s way…

“Fuck, Jay.” Reed had clearly read the invitation before he delivered it – he was his father’s son, after all – and a calculating light now burned in his eyes. “What do you need us to do, Clan Alpha?”

I tried to picture it, this long night under a Cold Moon. Vail in a sweeping gown, drawing every eye, her panther sizzling under her perfect skin. Her grandfather, the smiling host, with every wolf in his clan just waiting for the signal to attack. And me, the crippled Clan Alpha, caught between keeping my mate safe, and rescuing my brothers from my mom’s ambition.

I looked at my friend. “What you do best, Alphason. Plan for a party, but prepare for war.”

TO BE CONCLUDED…