Page 33 of Brandt's Rule

Brandt didn’t bother to turn his head toward Maverik, he refused to look away from Tempest and allow her to believe that he was intimidated. He wasn’t intimidated, he was fucking terrified, but that was beside the point. His eyes cut toward his uncle, and he released a wave of Alpha intimidation right along with the side eye he threw Maverik’s way.

Maverik’s brows rose, he replaced his joking moue with an ‘oh shit’ one and quickly got to his feet. “Think maybe I’ll get back to work.”

The rest followed until it was just Tempest and Brandt left sitting in the spot they’d chosen to eat lunch together.

He still hadn’t moved his head toward his clan as they went back to work, leaving himself angled toward Tempest. His gaze was steady on her, and he didn’t move a muscle, waiting for her to say the first word.

“You don’t care for me very much, do you, Alpha?” she asked, putting particular emphasis on ‘Alpha’.

“I don’t know you well enough to determine if I like you or not.”

“Then what is the issue you seem to have with me. I can’t possibly have wronged you in the short time I’ve been here.”

“It’s not an issue so much as suspicion. I know nothing about you. And even if I did, your little displays of power would unnerve most Alphas.”

“They unnerve more than just Alphas. It’s part of the reason I wanted to make a new start away from all I knew.”

“And why you tracked down Maverik.”

“Yes. He made a huge difference in my life when I was a little girl.”

“Apparently.”

Tempest tilted her head to mimic the angle Brandt held his as he stared her down and she returned his stare. “Why follow me home the first day I came by here?”

“It’s my duty to determine whether or not you’re a threat to my people.”

“I see. Have you ever considered simply asking?”

Brandt was totally unamused. She was not put off by him. The waves of Alpha prowess he was sending at her were not even noticed by her. Either that or she was intentionally ignoring them, which was impressive. Most shifters had to hunch in on themselves, or at the very least squint and try to evade them. She didn’t move, not at all, and seemed completely at ease. He decided to call her bluff. “Have it your way, Tempest.” He enunciated every nuance of her name. “Are you a threat to my people?”

“Not in the least.”

“Why are you here?”

“To make a new start.”

“What was that shit with standing here one second, then on the roof the next?”

Tempest grinned and shrugged like it was no big deal. “I was feeling rather irritated that you thought to punish me for simply wanting a job so I could take care of myself. It was little more than an I just want you to know I’m playing your game at will. Not because I have to.”

Brandt still hadn’t moved. He didn’t nod. He didn’t change his expression. And honestly he respected what she’d just said. He completely understood having to accept a situation in order to achieve your end goal, though you knew you were stronger than those imposing those situations on you. That had been the case most of his life. It was a matter of respect in some cases. He just barely managed to hide a slight smile when he realized that she had to respect him, to some degree at least, in order to contain her natural abilities and defer to him too in some way at least, in her job. That knowledge eased him a bit.

“What are you?” he finally asked.

“Nothing pure-blood.”

He looked away from her just for a second and pressed his lips into a flat line. “Then what are the blood lines?”

“I’m Dragon. My father, Carrik, is one of the original clan of Dragons that all of those living today are descended from. And I’m part human. My grandmother is human.”

“Neither the Dragon blood or the human blood transported you from one spot to another in the blink of an eye,” Brandt said.

She smirked. “No, it didn’t.”

“I’m not asking you again,” he said.

“My grandfather is Carnage.”

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