nights a week reading through them over and over, but I had no idea how much he was learning. He didn’t ask me many questions, and I knew better than to pry.
I stomped into the gym and got to work, hoping physical exhaustion would chase away the remainder of the hangover and my attitude.
Never in my life have I ever bitten my tongue so fucking much, yet he’s got me biting my tongue and toning myself down every fucking second of the day.
I was halfway through my planned three-hour workout when my phone rang. I slammed the stop button on the treadmill, hissing as it interrupted the music I had been listening to. The caller ID showed a private number with no other information for me to glean. Whoever was calling could have been anyone, and that pissed me off more.
“Kaliya Sahni speaking. Who’s this?” I demanded, leaning on the front of the treadmill, wondering who was dumb enough to call me. The Tribunal, my bosses, had made it a point to leave me alone since the Sinclair and Mygi incident that left me living with Raphael. I actively avoided the vampires in Phoenix because their Mistress was furious with me and would be for a long time. I didn’t talk much with the local werewolf pack or anyone else, so I was left annoyed and confused by the sudden unknown caller.
“It’s Tarak, from the prison,” a smooth, accented voice answered. “I called my contact with the Tribunal to get your number.”
I sighed. Tarak was one of the head honchos of the prison down in the Sonoran Desert. Specifically, he was one of the three Wardens, and even more specifically, he was the werewolf Alpha who kept the other furry moon-cursed in line. He was a beautiful and very dangerous Apache who had been a werewolf longer than I had even been alive. He was a werewolf before the War even started. My little slice of desert had more ancient werewolves than any other place in the world. Most wolves just didn’t live that long.
If he was calling me, he wanted something.
“Is there trouble?” I asked, getting off the treadmill as I realized my night was probably ruined.
“Actually, no. We’re late on a Tribunal review. They’ve told me, in no uncertain terms, you need to get here and get it done. They left it to me to call you.”
“Oh, are you fucking serious?” I asked, snappy as I jumped off the treadmill. “Is it really time for a review?”
“They want one, and they’re going to have it. They’re my bosses as much as yours, so yes, it’s time for a review. I’m going to need you to do a walkthrough and verify we’re doing everything they want.” Tarak didn’t sound pleased, either, but he had a point. The Tribunal called the shots.
“How late are we with this?” I couldn’t remember the last time I’d walked through the prison just to have a look. It wasn’t recently, which meant we probably were behind, but I wanted to verify. Half the time, I forgot it was even a duty I had.
“The last time we sent in a report about the status of my prison was six years ago,” he answered. “You’ve visited since, but for…other duties. Technically, we’re nearly a year late.”
“Damn it, I knew I should have written those visits up. This is by far the stupidest duty I have. Fucking hate this stupid paperwork shit.”
“I also find it foolish. I can easily write reports with the other Wardens, but they really want someone to walk through who reports closer to them. Is Cassius in town again? I heard he was, but I was told to reach out to you, not him.” Tarak sounded disappointed. I couldn’t blame him. Cassius was better at this than I ever was. My region never had a permanently stationed investigator aside from Cassius, and he had bolted from my region when we ended our terribly thought-out relationship.
“He has moved back to Arizona with his wife, Lady Sorcha,” I answered, leaning on the wall of the gym. I looked out for anyone, but I knew the gym didn’t have audio surveillance, so I was comfortable talking as long as I was alone. “But they were just called back to the fae lands. If they haven’t left yet, they will soon. The timing of this sucks, Tarak. I have someone under my protection right now.”
“I heard, but you know how people get when I need to call