can be reborn, maybe I am a phoenix, I don't know, but why trust me and them in this room with you?”
“His majesty isn’t just working with humans,” interjected a voice.
I turned to see a man of average height stride into the room. He was handsome in a geeky kind of way, and strangely familiar.
I blinked, trying to place him, my struggle obvious.
“Miss Rawson.” The man nodded a greeting, his smile easy and charming.
It hit me. “Mr Blaze?” I tried not to gape and forced my mouth to close. This geeky teacher had been there the day Shannon had gone into full queen bitch mode on my last day of high school.
He gave a disarming smile, his eyes sparkling. “That’s me. Though I think it’s appropriate for you to call me Alex now.”
“I see you’ve already met,” Walker said.
“Er, yeah.” I couldn’t pull my gaze from this hot version of the man I’d always thought was a geeky teacher.
“We met a few years ago,” Alex explained. “I helped Miss Rawson out with a slight problem she had on her last day of school.” He shrugged shoulders that were toned and bigger than they used to be.
My brows dipped. Was he a fae who could glamour? If so, which had been the glamour, the skinny, hard faced geek, or this confident, charming version with buff shoulders and a tight ass?
His brows lifted and he grinned. “Are you checking me out, Miss Rawson?”
I flushed, anger running through me from both me and Connor’s wolf. “No! I’m not interested in you other than to know what you are and what you’re doing here.”
“Oh, you were so checking out my fine ass.”
His arrogance sparked Fire, and along with Connor’s wolf, she rose again. I didn’t have time for this idiot. Connor needed help. “Yeah, so I can kick it right back out of this room.” I snarled and took a step toward my ex-school teacher.
“Enough! He is part of the team I assembled to battle the evil that is trying to gain access to your world, mine, and every other that I know of. There are other team members that you will meet as time goes on, but for now, these are the people you will work with. Lance and Ava look after the weapons training. B’nar, which, by the way, means ‘heir’, heads any physical combat training, and Blue looks after all of our technology and research along with Alex.”
“What about Connor and Zander, the half-breeds as you so nicely call them? Where do they fit into this operation you’ve got going on here?”
“They are undercover, and only Zander knows who he works for. Connor has never been told,” he confirmed, his arms crossed over his chest. That posture accentuated his toned chest and arms and made him seem even more imposing.
I got the feeling that was one of his favourite poses. My brow lifted and I tried to keep my anger in check, forcing Connor’s wolf back again. “You’ve kept Connor in that shit hole for four years working for you? Without telling him?”
He shrugged elegantly and fixed me with a hard stare. “He didn’t need to know. We both know he may very well have refused to do anything to help, especially when he believed you were dead. And Zander has worked undercover for far longer than Connor. This whole situation is bigger than either of them, whether Connor is your mate, or not. You work for me now, Ember, and you don’t need to know everything about this operation. As you said, trust is a two way street. For now, you will get to know your new colleagues and new weapons. And while B’nar works to ensure you are proficient with our weapons and your fighting skills, I will tell you more about your phoenix.”
“Why, what more can she do?”
“Far more than just die and be reborn. Keep her in check for now. When my son says you’re ready, I’ll show you.”
I wanted to punch his stoic face in and force him to take me back to Connor, but I knew that approach would be useless on someone as powerful as Walker. Instead, I called upon my wolf, vaulted over the table and grabbed a round of arrows. I knocked the clip into the chamber and fired it in the space of seconds. I’d used this kind of weapon before. Blue had designed one just like it. The short, deadly arrow thudded into the wall behind Alex. His eyes widened,