Like Callum dreamed last night of his betraying his queen with a wolf, the first of his kind to ever f**k around on his mate.
“No,” he answered his mother. “Right now I need to find my f**king wife.”
As he stalked to the entryway, he heard more trucks were arriving and there were voices on the steps. He could hear Caleb, Ryon, both sounding irate and Lucien’s voice, cooler, controlled but cautiously so. And another, a voice he knew, it was familiar, but Callum didn’t take a moment to process it.
Because none of the voices were Sonia.
However he smelled her there and he was going to have a word, or likely several of them, with his queen.
He threw open the door, his mother on his heels and he stopped and stared at the scene.
Ryon, Caleb and Lucien were standing shoulder-to-shoulder at the top of the steps and there were eight of Callum’s guard, four flanking each of the sides.
At a quick glance from Callum, there were in the drive seventy wolves, not his wolves, not his Guard, lined at the bottom facing off, clearly on the offensive, in attack formation against them.
Automatically, Callum assessed the six to one ratio and the fact that this, for his wolves, was not a problem.
Titium, Desdemona’s father, was standing three steps up wearing a face like thunder.
The distant sounds of town still locked in drunken carousing could be heard through the utter silence.
Fucking hell.
Callum noticed Sonia and Leah, both standing close together to the side of the top landing, eyes riveted to the men and Regan moved toward them.
“Nice you could join us,” Ryon remarked dryly.
Callum ignored his cousin and speared Sonia with a glance. Her already pale face grew paler when she caught it and he slid his hand into the pocket of his cords, depositing his mate’s wedding rings there.
Rings he never expected her to take off because first, she f**king shouldn’t and knew she shouldn’t and second, because of how she behaved when he did.
Rings he never expected her to throw in the fire and he couldn’t bloody well imagine why she did.
It was like she’d taken off her claiming chain and thrown it in the fire.
An act which was unforgivable.
He walked between Ryon and Lucien and down three steps toward Titium.
At his bold advance, the entire assemblage tensed and several wolves started to crouch.
He heard Sonia’s intake of breath.
It was only that which made him stop.
“What’s the meaning of this?” he asked Titium.
“I’m challenging you,” Titium replied idiotically and Callum fought back a frustrated sigh.
“Fuck me,” Caleb muttered in annoyance and Titium’s infuriated eyes flashed to Callum’s brother.
“Look at me!” Callum’s voice whipped out like a lash and the tense group tensed further and at once he sensed fear from some of Titium’s wolves.
The smart ones.
However belatedly so as Callum would punish them all for their insurrection.
Titium’s eyes sliced back to him.