The Wolf's Surrender - By Kendra Leigh Castle Page 0,51
You don’t know much about our world yet, either. You’ll have to entrust this to those of us who know how to deal with these things.”
Mia saw Jenner’s eyes begin to glow, and even Kenyon looked displeased. If Tomas was deliberately trying to incite a fight by being an arrogant asshole, he was doing a fine job of it.
“I agree with Mia, Tomas,” Jenner growled. “She should stay. Jeff Gaines wants her. Only her. He tried to open her up with a ritual knife once already.”
The other wolves looked startled. Jenner nodded.
“Yeah, that’s the kind of pertinent information you get when you move forward on the assumption that the victim is not an idiot. She needs to know what’s going on. All of it. Because she’s the one who’s ultimately going to draw him here.”
Mia looked at him gratefully. She wasn’t interested in sitting here and getting steamrolled much longer. It was nice to have some backup, because it was obvious Tomas had no interest in listening to her.
“I already know what the Shadowkin are,” she explained. “And why they want me. Jenner told me when he started to piece together what Jeff was trying to do. I know he thinks he can use me to pull them here, physically. I’ll do whatever I can to stop him—it’s my life—but I insist on being kept in the loop. I can handle it.”
Tomas slid his gaze to Jenner, letting all of his displeasure show. “Nick Jenner. Still fixing cars and chasing shadows, huh? I hear that mechanic gave you his shop and skipped town after you killed his daughter. I’m going to guess it wasn’t your charm that convinced him.” He turned to Bane, jerking his head back at Jenner. “We haven’t kept a Lunari in over a hundred years. The brute strength required for the position came with too little sense most of the time. You might want to think about how wise it is to share power with a man who’d tell a human he’s just met about the Shadowkin.” He eyed Mia with a look she didn’t like at all. “Well, mostly human. Though dark fae blood isn’t something I’d go bragging about.”
Mia sucked in a breath. She saw Bane, his eyes flashing, give Jenner a nearly imperceptible head shake. Jenner, rather than punching Tomas in the face—which Mia thought he would have deserved—came to stand right behind her. He rested his hands lightly on her shoulders, a subtle sign of support...or was it possession?
It was designed to irritate Tomas, she supposed, and from the way his nostrils flared, it did the trick.
Happy to participate, Mia slid a hand up to cover one of Jenner’s.
“Mia didn’t ask for any of this, and she’s worth as much as any Silverback. More. I stand by my decision,” Jenner growled. “You’re on very thin ice, Tomas. This is not your territory. And here, whether you like it or not, I’m your equal.”
Jenner’s words went a long way toward making up for the blow he’d unwittingly dealt her earlier. And she felt a faint glimmer of hope, foolish though it might be, that he’d say the same even if he knew all of it. How she could hear the songs that blood carried, how she could draw power from the night and hold it in her hands. How she’d be able to do a lot more, if she wasn’t always trying to tuck it all away.
She’d felt a lot of things, but never dangerous. She just worried that if she was exposed, those around her would never see her as anything but. And after what Jenner had said about the Unseelie today, she was never going to risk finding out.
Tomas opened his mouth to reply, and Mia caught the ominous flash of sharp, white teeth before Bane interrupted the brewing fight.
“Blackpaw ways are different than Silverback ways,” Bane said sharply. “Don’t insult my Lunari again, or I’ll have you run out of here with your tails between your legs, the lot of you. I trust Jenner with my life, not that it’s any concern of the Silverbacks’. You said you came to help. So help.”
There was a soft but very audible growl as Tomas collected himself, and Mia wondered whether he’d be able to hold it together. Finally, though, he took a deep breath, straightened and spoke in a surprisingly even tone. Only his eyes showed his still-roiling anger.
“I never thought Jeff was a good fit for the pack,” Tomas began. “He