Moon Claimed (Werewolf Dens #2) - Kelly St. Clare Page 0,25

far proven to be mostly grief from the loss of Mum’s father. I must have fallen asleep in the early morning.

“You need more sleep,” Cameron said from his other side. “I can bring you some camomile tea, if you like?”

If I chewed on an entire packet, would it solve my problems? “That’d be great.”

Wade nudged Cameron. “Where’ve you been lately, anyway?” He gasped. “You have a lover.”

Snatching her hands, he stared into her eyes. “Forbidden. More real than anything you’ve ever felt.”

Cameron wrenched her hands free. “No lover.”

“Whatever. My power is foolproof.”

I shoved my hands in my pockets, watching stewards assemble for the Tuesday night rundown. “Gotta say, he was bang on about Logan.”

“He’s wrong this time,” Cameron muttered, walking away.

“It isn’t easy to carry so much power,” Wade said. “I better go schmooze. She’s a grudge holder.”

I watched him leave, waving at the Freys. There was a never-ending list of stewards to know—Geralds, Ryans, Trenthams, Lees. I had no idea how I’d remember them all. Pretty sure I’d offend several people tonight by not recalling their names.

“You good to go?” Rhona said, joining me.

I’d rather not.

Turned out, while I had no problem playing my saxophone for crowds, talking wasn’t the same. I forced my thoughts away from the stupid instrument. “Yeah.”

I startled at the harshness of my voice.

“Whoa.” She grinned. “Intense. You sick or something?”

I forced a laugh. “Something caught in my throat.”

“Just saying though, the name Andie works no matter your gender.”

Shoving her, I climbed the stairs.

Channelling Rhona from last week, I tapped the microphone. Things like this were so much easier if I pretended to be her. She didn’t take shit from anyone. Squaring my shoulders, I waited for the tribe to quieten.

Last week, Rhona commanded them, pretending to be me.

I could do this.

“Stewards, welcome to our tribal lands. Welcome.” Totally borrowed that line. “Thank you for your effort in Water last week. It’s never easy to face failure, but I can assure you the next meeting in Water won’t end the same. Next week’s battle is in Iron, and I’ve heard this is a particular strength of ours.”

The crowd exchanged smiles.

“I look forward to seeing the Luthers retreat, tails between their legs.” The harsh darkness returned to my voice. Jesus, maybe I’d come down with something. I cleared my throat. “We’ve always dominated Iron, but the real danger to us in this grid is complacency. Face this grid as you’d face Water. The worst thing we can do is assume a win. I wager that the leader of the Luthers is taking the opportunity with Iron that I took with Water. He wants to seek out our weaknesses. Don’t let him find any.”

I let the seriousness of my words sink in. Their smug smiles were gone. Good. “The strategy teams have outdone themselves in readiness. Soon, Valerie and Nathan will take you through final strategies, and I hope our plan excites you as much as it excites me. Before they do that, I want to take the chance to thank each and every steward for their ongoing effort. Your job, whether in our various businesses, in deliveries or security, or in strategy, is crucial. I will never be unaware of that—and I will never be complacent—even if I don’t know all your names yet.” I slanted them a grin as chuckles arose.

Walking back to Rhona’s side, I fixed my outward attention on Valerie and Nathan on the stage.

I couldn’t wait for sleep tonight; My eyes felt scratchy. My body ached from holding the damn book up for hours on end. Despite that, I’d read the journals tonight until exhaustion claimed me again.

“You okay?” Rhona whispered.

“Might have to see the doctor.”

“It’s not the wound, is it?”

I froze.

Oh.

Fuck.

“It could be infected or something,” she added.

Sascha said werewolves could be made, but not from biting. I forced myself to breathe. “The wound is pretty much gone now. Just stress, I’m sure.”

“You know,” she said hesitantly, “if you need me to take on more responsibilities, I’m here for you.”

She’d already taken on a huge job. “Honestly, once the debt is gone, that will clear a lot of emotional space for me.”

“You spoke to Neve then?”

Neve was a lawyer who’d dealt with a lot of the Thana’s legal matters over the years. She drew up the papers for the transfer of funds yesterday. Another lawyer was working on conveyance for the house, so that would save me over a grand. “Yeah, I’ll transfer the leftover balance from the manor accounts after