Bloodrage - Helen Harper Page 0,67

by the appearance of a tampon that he wouldn’t even begin to twig that anything was amiss. Score one to Alex: he was right.

I took the purse back off him, and smiled, as genuinely as I thought I could manage. “Thank you so much! You’re terribly kind.”

He smiled back at me, and bobbed his head, then moved aside so both Corrigan and I could enter the house properly. My heartbeat drummed a relieved tattoo against my chest, and my bloodfire relaxed back into a more gentle sear in the pit of my stomach. Alex was clearly a bloody genius and phase one of ‘breach the stronghold’ was complete.

Corrigan took my hand again and placed it on his arm. “I have to admit, I’m impressed,” he said in a smooth undertone. “However, you got lucky. My shifters would never have fallen for that.”

I blinked up at him. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Of course you don’t. I am going to find out what it is you’re really after, you know, kitten.”

“Only the pleasure of your company, oh great Lord Alpha of the awe-inspiring Brethren,” I replied without a hint of irony in my voice.

Corrigan choked. I ignored him, and we moved inside to our left. A waiter approached, carefully balancing a tray of drinks, and offered them to us. I delicately picked one up at the stem and sipped from it, surveying the crowd. It was easy to tell who the vampires were. Several stood around in little huddles, discussing what appeared to be weighty matters in low voices. There were a few black-robed mages, including, I noted, His Magnificence himself, the Arch-Mage. For a moment, I panicked, thinking that he must be here because he knew what Alex and I were up to, and he was going to put a stop to it. Then I told myself to breathe. Of course he’d be here. If there was going to be a gathering of the Otherworld’s leaders, then naturally the head of the mages would be present. Telling myself to get a grip, I continued to sweep my gaze over the assembly, attempting to judge where any potential threats might spring from.

Catching sight of one surprisingly familiar face, I grinned. I hadn’t expected my old buddy Tom to be here. He bounded over happily, bowing first to Corrigan. “My Lord Alpha,” he said formally.

Corrigan nodded. “You know Miss Smith, of course.”

Tom beamed at me. “I almost didn’t recognise you without any hair! What the hell happened, Red?”

“It’s a long story,” I muttered.

“It suits you,” he said, probably lying between his teeth. “And that dress is hot! I don’t actually think I’ve seen you wear a dress before. Sexy!”

Corrigan noticeably stiffened at my side. “Where is your fiancée?”

“She’s not feeling very well, my Lord. She decided to stay at home.” He suddenly looked worried. “But she wanted me to thank you for inviting us along.”

I could bet I knew exactly why Corrigan had bothered to do just that. He was trying to throw me off my game by reminding me of my old life. Well, I was stronger than that. Irritated by Tom’s subservient attitude, even though I knew it came part and parcel of the role he’d so eagerly volunteered for, I couldn’t help myself.

“So, Tom, are you enjoying serving the Brethren or do you wish that you were still back in Cornwall?”

He flicked a nervous glance at Corrigan and cleared his throat. “Well, I wouldn’t call it serving the Brethren.”

“Tom here has been promoted,” interrupted the Lord Alpha smoothly. “Because he’s a very helpful and loyal wolf.”

I pulled my arm away from him and spun round to look him in the eye. “And of course you demand abject loyalty from all your subjects, don’t you, my Lord.”

His eyes gleamed. “For someone who spent so much time living with a pack, you seem to have a remarkably weak grasp on how all this works. The hierarchy keeps the system working. It prevents discord. Not only that but it’s in our blood and in our genes. To pretend otherwise would be to deny ourselves our true nature. Without the Way Directives and the chain of command, the pack wouldn’t exist.”

I knew that Corrigan was right. I’d wholeheartedly believed in that hierarchy when I’d been part of it. It was the life-blood of the shifters; it created the sense of family that I’d been missing so much since my departure from it. It helped to prevent rogue shifters from branching out