Page 58 of An Uncertain Claim

Her mouth pursed for a moment, then she pushed her hair back from her forehead, her hands tangling in the thick tresses. “I’m not ready,” she admitted.

Then she pushed past me and hurried to the elevator. I wanted to go after her, but I needed to find out why Lucien and Phillipé were here. And Peyton would be there when I got home. She’d convinced me that she wouldn’t put herself or our pup in danger again. I didn’t trust easily, so it said a lot about the depth of my feelings that I’d given it to her.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Nathan

Irritated as hell, I stomped back to my office and sat in the leather chair behind my desk, wanting to be in a power position.

“What is so important that you’ve come all the way out to Silver Lake?”

Lucien’s face darkened, his eyes snapping with rage, a look that I was sure had most people shaking in their boots. “We require a meeting with a royal from each race of Fae and we were hoping you’d facilitate it as the third party.”

“Details.” These French vamps rarely included others in their plans or offered their help. Their priority was always themselves. So it wasn’t surprising that they only shared as much as they felt was necessary. But if they wanted my help, I refused to be kept in the dark.

Phillipé smoothed out his flawless tie and straightened his perfect cuffs. He was fidgeting, something I didn’t think I’d ever seen him do. “A Light Fae was discovered at The CrimsonCalicetwo nights ago. Drained of all their blood.” He paused and I was about to demand more when he continued, “Last night, a Dark Fae was found in the same condition in a guest room of thepalaisin Paris.”

“And the others?” I asked, referring to the Blood Fae and Elemental Fae.

“Not yet, but we are confident that a Blood and Elemental Fae will be discovered on one of our properties in the coming days,” Lucien answered.

“Fuck,” I muttered. “This is bad.” The Fae were unstable and easily riled. They had a habit of being offended over the smallest slights.

“Oui. Which is why we’d like to get ahead of it.”

I ran a hand over my beard and exhaled harshly. “You’re asking a lot of me. My authority is only over North and South America. If I facilitate a meeting with you and one of my Council members, it could be seen as stepping on the toes of the European ISC. Plus, we are in negotiations with Rogan about materials for a KBO product. To make matters worse, Fenn was Dark Fae and Aubrey is pissed at me because he has no-one else to blame.” The king had called to bitch at me several times, but the Fae hadn’t exactly given us any help, whereas Lucien and Phillipé had unexpectedly come to our aid several times recently.

Phillipé withdrew a folded sheet of paper from the pocket of his suit coat and handed it to me. I unfolded it to see an address written in elegant script.

“And this is?”

“The address where you’ll find your missing member of the Shifter Council.”

“Alive?”

He stared at me.

“Son of a bitch,” I swore. This meant the likelihood of finding Fenn alive was slim. “Thank you,” I said as I pocketed the note.

“In addition to our gift for you, we have an olive branch to extend to the Fae, and it sounds like it will be an aid to you as well, which serves our purposes.”

The Monarchie du Sang didn’t do anything unless it served their purposes. “What is it?

Phillipé produced another paper and held it up between two fingers. “The location of Fenn Bidbury.”

I rolled my eyes and reached for the paper. “Were the theatrics really necessary?” I grunted as I opened the paper.

“Oui.”

“Why?”

“Because it amuses me,” Phillipé replied with a smirk. “You might also be interested to know that his situation is quite different from Beau’s.”

My gaze jumped to Phillipé’s face. “Different?”

“Oui,”Lucien responded. “He is alive. Though I doubt it will stay that way for long if you don’t act quickly.”

Fuck.The address was in Queens, which meant not only being apart from Peyton for much longer than we’d been since she showed up on my land, but being several hundred miles apart. My wolf had already sensed the impending separation and he was restless and frustrated over it. But this wasn’t something I could leave in someone else’s hands. He was just going to have to make his peace with it. I needed to make sure nothing went wrong and we rescued Fenn alive.

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