Page 175 of Shadow City: Silver Wolf

The vampire prince had intervened, which meant there had to be a catch. We hadn’t become friendly, and even though there was no vileness coursing off him, I didn’t sense any warm fuzzies, either.

“I’m surprised, too,” a man who had to be at least seven feet tall snapped. His spiked caramel hair put even more of an edge on his stoic face, and his all-black attire added to his commanding presence. His pure honeysuckle scent hit me, and I remembered Griffin informing me that angels smelled like flowers. Haunting winter-gray eyes focused on Griffin as the man’s nose wrinkled in disgust, which told me everything. He had already determined Griffin was guilty of whatever crap Dick had set up.

Forced laughter pulled my gaze to one of the most beautiful women I’d ever seen. Even with the sneer, her full, blood-red lips were alluring, and her forest-green eyes surrounded by long black lashes flashed at the angel with malice. She was my height and wore a long black dress as if it were a second skin. Hersparkling amber hair shined with her goodness. “Azbogah, you aren’t the official judge down here anymore.”

That’s Rosemary’s mother, Griffin linked, keeping me informed.

“Ask the other angels, and see what they say. That is, if you’re brave enough,” Azbogah bit back. “Just because you don’t like my decisions doesn’t mean that I don’t still get to make them.”

Wow. I hadn’t expected to meet Yelahiah so soon, but the formal introduction would have to come later. “What is this all about?” I asked.

“I’ll tell you what this is about!” A short woman pushed through the two glaring angels, her scarlet-streaked black hair bouncing. She squinted her heavily lined, misty gray eyes in accusation at Griffin. Her body shook with rage as she pointed one long black fingernail at my mate. “You scheduled every single Shadow City guard to attend training, and the spell hiding the city from humans almost failed.”

“What?” Griffin asked in shock. “Erin, there has to be a misunder—”

“Not only that,” Dick interjected. “But you brought outsiders into the city without clearance. Your mistakes keep racking up.”

Griffin lifted a hand. “I thought—”

“Oh...youthought.” Matthew cackled, making my skin crawl. “Maybe that was part of the problem.”

My throat prickled with rage, and my wolf slipped close to the surface. If I lost control now, Griffin would look even worse. I took in long, steady breaths, trying to calm the raging storm swirling inside me.

“That’s enough,” Yelahiah snapped. “Erin was able to restore the barrier, and the guards are on their way back. We can discuss it tomorrow at the emergency council meeting.” Authority rolled off her.

Azbogah bristled but remained quiet.

And that put me even more on edge. The hate between the two of them was palpable, and for him not to argue with her made me wonder if he and Dick were planning something together.

That sounded like something they’d do, based on their interactions.

“Well, we can’t let him leave—he might not come back.” Erin cracked her knuckles like she was preparing for a fight. “So what are we going to do with those two?” She gestured at Killian and me.

“I can escort them back to Shadow Ridge.” Dick took a step toward me. “I’d be more than glad to since I need to check on the bar, anyway.”

Dick didn’t want me to be part of the meeting tomorrow. That had to be why he was so eager to take us back…which made me wonder why.

“If she goes, I go.” Griffin’s voice was low, bordering on threatening. “She’s my fated mate, and I’m here declaring her to make it official and present her to the council. I refuse to be separated from her.”

“That’s what I thought.” Yelahiah nodded at me and smiled. “Rosemary has spoken of you often.”

Alex chuckled. “Isn’t it kind of awful to have your fated mate working at the coffee shop? Or is that the kind of kink you two are into?” He waggled his eyebrows as he winked.

“Am I the only one who finds this hard to believe? Yourfated mate?” Azbogah laughed loudly, hurting my ears. He shook his head and gestured at Griffin. “You expect us to believe that you’re settling down after the number of women you’ve run through? I’ve heard enough stories about them over here; I can only imagine what you’ve done in Shadow Ridge.”

A low growl escaped me before I could stop it. I wasn’t stupid. I knew he’d been with other women, but for it to be flaunted in my face like that so maliciously—that was a hard pill to swallow.

Unless that was the point. They wanted me to come off as irrational to prove that not only was Griffin not a good leader, but his fated mate was unhinged. Dad had been right when he’d visited two years ago—corruption was still rampant here.

I had to take control over the situation. I smiled sweetly. “Was it necessary for you to say that?” I’d call his ass out, even though I had a feeling he would take exception. “You’re a supernatural, so you know he didn’t lie…unless your senses aren’t as strong as they once were?”

Azbogah’s smile fell from his face, and his hands fisted. “What did you just say?”

“Your senses might be going.” I lifted a hand and looked wide-eyed at Killian and then Griffin. “Not only can he not smell, but he’s lost his hearing, too.” The best way to take control of a situation was to use the same tactic against them. I moved a couple of feet closer to him and cupped my hands around my mouth. I spoke loudly. “Isaid—”

“Oh, I heard you.” He breathed raggedly, his nostrils flaring. His jaw clenched as he tried to rein in his anger.

“Good.” I patted his shoulder, wanting to push him over the edge. “Dick had such a hard time understanding things the other day at Griffin’s house, so I don’t want to have to worry about another member on the council losing their edge.” I smiled brightly, knowing that the stench of a lie wouldn’t come. Dick thought he could threaten me and make me scared. And I’d tried telling him that it wouldn’t work, but alas, here we were. He truly hadn’t gotten it.

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