A rippled passed over my skin. No, I wanted him to sink his fangs into me and drink my blood. Shit! Where had that come from?
He’d stilled again. “I don’t need to feed as often as the others. Once a month is enough for me.”
“Because you’re older than them?”
“Because—”
The door slammed open, and a beast of a man strode in. He was dressed in a suit, some kind of designer shit, but there was no disguising the monster inside. Loup. He was Loup. No doubt about it. His menacing dark eyes skimmed over me and then latched onto Azazel.
“He’s not here.” He sniffed the air. “Coward.”
“I’m no coward,” a familiar sexy voice said.
A bolt of electricity shot up my spine, forcing it straighter.
Grayson walked into the room, casual in dark denim, cream shirt, and a dark jacket that looked like it was made of soft leather.
“Hello, Monty,” Grayson said.
“Larson to you, you bastard,” the angry-looking Loup snapped back.
“The alpha was supposed to come,” Azazel said. “That was the arrangement.”
I was confused.
“Hunter has better things to do with his time,” Larson sneered. “Now, let’s get on with the negotiations.”
But Grayson’s gaze was on me, drinking me in. “Seraphina …”
My mouth was stupidly dry, so I raised a hand in greeting.
“This is the bitch that caused all the trouble.” Larson’s lip curled, and he took a step toward me.
My muscles tensed, ready to react, but I didn’t get a chance before lightning flashed and Larson was flat on his arse. Shit, what was that? And then it hit me. This place was warded to be a no-aggression zone.
Azazel crossed his arms over his broad chest and looked down on the Loup. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”
Larson spat a few choice curses and slowly pulled himself to his feet.
The fact that the wards had attacked him told me he’d meant to harm me. Anger rose up my throat. Forgetting Azazel’s warning to keep my mouth shut, I pulled myself to my feet.
“You want to fight me, then we can go outside right now, hair bag.” I shrugged. “I need a workout anyway, and your face will do just as well as a punch bag.”
Larson’s eyes narrowed, and then he smiled. “Maybe some other time, reaper.”
“Dominus,” Azazel reminded him. “And aggression against one Dominus is an aggression against us all. Now, sit down.”
Larson tore his gaze from me and took a seat. Grayson did the same.
“You have your terms?” Azazel asked Larson.
At first glance, Grayson looked relaxed, but on closer inspection, I noted the tension around his eyes and mouth as he waited for Larson to speak.
“We’ll take your two females,” Larson said.
Grayson let out a sharp breath. “They’re only fourteen.”
“If they can bleed, they can breed.”
Was he implying what I thought he was? What the fuck was happening here?
“One month of miasma,” Grayson said.
“No,” Larson said. “Why should we settle for rations when we can have two batteries?”
Azazel’s jaw was tight, telling me he was pissed and that he found this whole thing distasteful, but he looked to Grayson for a response.
“Do you accept the terms?” Azazel asked.
Grayson closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I can’t hand over our children to you. I won’t.”
Larson looked genuinely surprised. “Then your men will die.”
Grayson nodded. “Faced with the alternative, I know Dean and Maddox would choose death.”
Larson’s aggression seemed to peter out a little. “You’d let them die?”
“The Regency Pack protects its young,” Grayson said.
Larson stood. “One moment.” He strode out of the room and closed the door.
“What’s happening?” I looked from Azazel to Grayson.
“The final negotiations after the museum raid,” Azazel said.
“I thought you said that was sorted.”
“It was.” Azazel pressed his lips together. “Two of Grayson’s pack offered themselves up to the Rising Pack as payment for the breach.”
Grayson ran a hand over his face. “Hunter accepted the partial payment. Now, he wants our only two full-blooded Loup females for breeding purposes, or he’ll reinstate the law of blood recompense.”
“But they’re just kids.” I stared at him, horrified.
“Full-blood Loup females are rare,” Azazel explained.
“A wolf needs miasma to shift,” Grayson said. “That miasma is like red blood cells, but instead of being produced in the marrow, it is produced by a chemical reaction in our brains. A reaction that only occurs when we have regular proximity to Loup females. But there are fewer and fewer Loup females being born, and we’ve been forced into an arrangement with covens to