hand and he thankfully let it go.
“The mage is here,” he stated, calmly. “We need all of the pack back at the keep.”
“So you came to get me yourself? Couldn’t the Lord of all the Brethren find someone to run his petty errands for him?”
“Oh, believe me, kitten, I enjoyed doing this one on my own.” His eyes continued to gleam and I was suddenly all too aware of his proximity. I scrambled to my feet.
“I thank you for your diligence,” I said formally. “I’ll see you back at the keep then.”
I walked out of the pub, hoping that he wasn’t going to follow. No such luck, however, as before I’d gone barely ten steps he was by my side. If he called me kitten again I was pretty sure that I’d have hands wrapped around his throat. Just as it seemed that I was getting somewhere with finding out more about who, or what, had killed John, the last person in the world I wanted to notice me had decided to make new friends. And I was definitely no-one’s kitten.
“You’re a rather prickly person, aren’t you, Mack?”
I ignored him and tried to walk faster. At the very least I could do my best to get to the keep in double speed so that this couldn’t be prolonged for any length of time.
“In fact you’re the least pack-like shifter I’ve come across in some time. You appear to have a stubborn streak of independence that is – unusual - for our kind.”
I stiffened. Was he going to suddenly dramatically reveal that he knew I wasn’t a shifter after all?
“The thing is,” he continued, “not only do you appear to be absolutely terrified every time I come near you, there appear to be some anomalies in your story.”
Uh-oh. “What do you mean?” I could feel my heart suddenly beating louder and hoped that he couldn’t hear it.
“You told me, very clearly I might add, that your nickname is Red because you wear red clothes.”
“Yeah? What of it?” Go for nonchalant, I thought, that’ll work.
“Your boyfriend, well the pack one at least, not the human, told me quite categorically that it was because it was a private joke between the two of you. That when you are, er, how shall I put this delicately? Intimate with him, you blush a particularly attractive pink colour.”
Forget killing the Brethren alpha, I was going to kill Tom.
“And then, your charming little friend who fought first told me that it was because you have a fiery temper. Which doesn’t surprise me in the least, I have to say. What does surprise me is that at the very least two members of this pack have lied to me. And I will not condone that sort of attitude. Now I could compel them – and you – to tell me the truth, but I’d rather have it voluntarily from you.”
Now that all else had failed, I figured the truth was about all I had left. It might work, I supposed. “My hair is red. I dyed it. That’s it.”
“I see,” he said slowly. “And why would you do that?”
I shrugged. “I wanted a change. Girl’s prerogative.”
“That still doesn’t explain why your friends – and you – lied about it.”
“It’s, uh, a sore point, to be honest. I’d rather not talk about it.”
I was tying myself up into circles. I was pretty sure I’d lied more in the last two days than I had in my entire life up till now. I couldn’t think of any good reason as to why I’d dye my hair then lie about it.
“You can trust me,” he murmured, voice silky smooth.
Think, Mack, think. “I’ve, um, always hated the colour.” Sooo not true. “I was teased about it mercilessly when I was a kid and I’ve been trying to forget that I’m ginger. My friends understand that.”
“To the point where they would lie to the Lord Alpha about it to protect your delicate sensibilities?”
“They’re good friends,” I replied shortly.
“So, let me see if I can get this straight. You’ve lied about your hair, you’ve lied about the wolf to the human, and the human to the wolf. Can anything that you say be trusted?”
I walked on stiffly. I was starting to get very scared indeed. “I’ve been under a lot of pressure lately. John was…he was…dear to me. If I’ve lied to anyone, it’s only so I can find out what happened to him.”
“I could compel you to tell me everything.”
No you couldn’t. “I