word.
Gregory, shaking like a leaf, lifted the phone back to his ear and said as calmly as possible, “We are very regretful for this crime against you and your pack. I would like to offer something in return—”
“He can have them for a snack!” the alpha snarled, his words starting to get garbled as he clamped down on the urge to shift.
“My alpha would like to offer Christoph and Ashi to you, formally. I can probably work out a deal with imported goods between you and Farhad, head of Attenwald Corp.”
The alpha was shrinking. “They have endangered the pack. I am not only talking about the structure or our strength. I am also talking about our families. Our cubs. Damn it, Ashi was the worst addition to the pack I have ever encountered.”
“I would like to apologize on behalf of my alpha and the entire pack. We did not send them out. We do not want relations between our pack and yours to worsen.” Gregory was still shaking. This could go very, very badly.
The alpha threw a bookshelf across the room.
Gregory pulled the phone away from his ear and pleaded with the alpha. “Please don’t tell Gavin! You know what will happen.” Into the phone he begged, “I hope you understand, this is something that has never happened before. We do not condone this sort of behavior.”
Royce had covered his eyes with one hand while he spoke into the phone, ignoring Christoph, Ashi and Mouse. He was trying hard not to laugh, and couldn’t hide the smirk that curved his lips at the sounds of destruction coming from the other end. Apparently, their alpha was peeved. Whether it was because the two had acted without his knowledge or because they had failed their mission didn’t matter. Royce would revel in the leverage it gave him for as long as he could.
“They destroyed part of my home. I’ll accept their servitude, and the deal with Attenwald, but I also want reimbursement for the repair of any damages they caused while breaking into my property.”
He was careful not to mention having magically neutered the pair. The Goliaths may not have known that it was possible for magi to do such a thing. It could start them on a path to indiscriminately kill magic users for the potential to create such objects of power.
The only reason Arnold had been able to pull it off was thanks to Royce and Mouse keeping the two still long enough to get some of their blood and put the focus on them. Most magi would’ve been dead long before they got close enough to take the blood, let alone actually put a piece of jewelry or something on them to claim them. As irritating as the magi could be, they occasionally had their uses, and Royce would not be responsible for wholesale genocide.
“I’ll forward the bill from the contractors once the repairs are done. I’ll take into consideration that these two were acting of their own will, and not under orders by their alpha. However—” and here his voice went from dry and mildly irritated to low, dangerous, and deadly, “—know this. If I catch another Goliath anywhere near any of my properties, setting so much as a single talon across the New York state line, I will personally come to California to express my displeasure to your alpha by whatever means I see fit.”
He didn’t wait for a reply. It was terribly satisfying to hang up on Gregory.
He even smiled at Ashi as he tossed the phone on a low table, rising back to his feet. “I do believe you’ve done me quite the favor.”
As Ashi scrambled back, Royce paced him, reaching down to snag his collar and heft him to his feet, ignoring his struggles.
“A few words of advice before you get yourself killed. First, don’t try to run away. We live for the hunt and any of my number tracking you down may be unable to resist the urge to take more than their fill when they catch you.
“Second, don’t pick fights with the other donors in the building. Show them respect, or the gentleman or lady who claimed them might take offense and punish you. I won’t stop them, either. In fact, I’d recommend you ingratiate yourself to someone as quickly as possible, because otherwise anybody in the building can grab a taste of you right now. I can assure you that most of my people will be quite interested in finding out