If he tries anything, it’ll be the last breath he takes, Rourke replied.
What exactly do you think he’s going to do? I asked. My father’s on his way. I can’t believe Julian would be stupid enough to jeopardize his life by crossing us. He already brought up Redman. He’s well aware of what happened. In a wolf-to-wolf Alpha challenge, my father had Julian, and they both knew it. That’s why they didn’t come in contact very often. It was risky. If Julian’s wolves felt that my father was the superior Alpha, it could cause more chaos than it was worth.
I have no idea what he’ll do, Rourke said as he opened the door, ushering me inside. But my guess is he’ll do whatever serves his own needs. And if that means selling you to the highest bidder, he wouldn’t blink twice. Plus, he has to feel your power. It’s off the charts. A guy like that will be threatened by it.
You may be right, I said. But I’d like to believe that wolves have some loyalty to each other. We are a common race, after all.
Well, he’s no cat. I owe him no loyalty.
Nick climbed in after Rourke. Tyler and Kayla were already in the backseat. Marcy, James, and Eudoxia had entered the other SUV. Julian walked up to our door, and Nick rolled down the window. “The Compound is only a short distance from here,” he told us. “You will be safe there, and we can talk more. I will ride with the others.”
I nodded as Nick brought the window up. I was a little puzzled as to why he thought I was in danger. I’d mentioned nothing of the sort, but I let it go. My father might’ve said something to him when they talked.
As the SUVs pulled out, my wolf sent power out ahead of us to see if anything was amiss, which had become second nature to us both.
After a mile on the road, it pinged back with something strange.
“Stop the car,” I ordered the driver, one of Julian’s wolves we hadn’t been introduced to. He glanced in the rearview mirror, a questioning look on his face.
Rourke didn’t need me to explain anything. He already had his window down, his nose angled out the window.
The wolf sitting in the passenger side turned. “We haven’t arrived at our destination yet. It’s a few more miles down the road. It won’t be long.”
“No, stop the car right now,” I insisted, this time more firmly. “Pull over here.” Once the driver complied, I looked out the back window. Our vehicle had been in the lead, and as it’d pulled over, the other had pulled in line behind us.
Tyler sat up, using his nose along with Rourke’s to see what they could identify from the air. My brother had awesome scenting capabilities. “I know you picked up on something, but I don’t scent anything, Jess,” he said. “Nothing’s coming back as a red flag.”
“It’s not a threat,” I assured him. “The power signature was aimed specifically at me. It’s odd, almost cloaked, yet not. Just enough to let me know it’s there.” My wolf barked and then flashed me a picture. I smiled. “I know who it is.”
“Who?” my brother asked.
“Jebediah Amel, High Ambassador of the Coalition,” I said. “He must have some news for me.” I reached for the door handle.
Rourke growled, “I’m coming with you.”
6
Rourke and I stepped out of the SUV. Julian was already out of the second vehicle, coming toward us. “Why did you stop? This is my land, and it’s well protected. You are safe here. If there was a threat in my inner sanctum, I would know about it.” He made a show of scenting the air to prove his point.
“This isn’t a threat,” I assured him. “Someone has come to see me. If it’s okay with you, Rourke and I will meet him, and then we’ll head to the Compound.”
“I don’t understand,” Julian said. “I just told you that no one can access this land without me knowing about it.” He narrowed his gaze, consternation on his face.
“This is no ordinary someone,” I replied, trying for a casual tone. “He’s a very powerful warlock and very old. He’s my assistant, of sorts, and he can cloak himself really well. If he didn’t want anybody to detect him, they wouldn’t be able to.” I didn’t want to divulge too much. This wasn’t the time or the place to talk about the Coalition with Julian. To put his mind further at ease, I added, “He likely just arrived. He can materialize at will.” I said it like it was commonplace that everybody could pop in and out of time and space. In reality, very few supes could achieve such a feat. I actually knew of no other.
Rourke crossed his arms. He had nothing to add, but was showing the Alpha of the Mediterranean Pack that if he didn’t grant us our wish for a private meeting with Jeb, there would be a fight.
Julian’s gaze was intense as he looked between us. Finally, he bowed his head. “Very well,” he said. “I will send a car back to pick you up. I will instruct them to stay on the road and wait for your arrival.”
“Thank you,” I said. “We appreciate your willingness to help. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. Like I said, this is no ordinary supe. And please don’t blame any of your wolves for the intrusion. There’s no way to guard against someone who can beam themselves into the middle of a forest.”
Julian’s grin faded. “I see we have much to discuss. I’ll leave you to your meeting, and we will talk later.” He turned back to his waiting SUV. Once he was inside, the vehicle pulled forward, stopping beside us.
Marcy rolled down her window. “You got this? Or do you want us to stay? You know, because mayhem follows you like a vulture to roadkill.”
“No, we’re good. We’ll handle this ourselves,” I told her. “You guys go on to the Compound and get settled. We shouldn’t be too long.” I had no idea how long Jeb would keep us, but I couldn’t imagine he’d stick around for any length of time.
Eudoxia sniffed from inside, “We’ve been on Italian soil for less than ten minutes. Leave it to you to find something wrong.” I hadn’t told the Vampire Queen about Jeb yet. I wondered for a moment if he would want us to bring her along. He was the High Ambassador of the Coalition, after all, and Eudoxia had a place on it.