Page 47 of Seduced By Moonlight

“What’s on your mind?” Ward asked, taking a seat behind his desk.

Tank inclined his head, eyes fixed on the doorway. Ward understood Tank was listening intently for any heartbeat lingering in the corridor.

Finally Tank spoke. “All right, everyone’s gone. It’s about Joel. I’m concerned he might stir up trouble. If he makes one wrong move, it could damage our relationships with the other groups. Or end in a death, namely his.”

“I know, and you’re correct,” Ward replied. “However, we must trust him to behave himself. He understands the consequences. He’s not stupid.”

“Hope you’re right,” Tank conceded, running a hand over his bald head.

“He wouldn’t put his king in such a position. Still, keep an eye on him during the meeting. I don’t want us caught off guard.”

Tank nodded in agreement before changing the subject. “And you? How do you feel about telling everyone we have a powerful witch who has the Power of Three?”

Ward pursed his lips. He knew that revealing the truth about Rihanna and her powers could cause a stir among the other supernatural groups. It was a risk they had to take, but he couldn’t help but feel uneasy about it.

“Uncomfortable,” Ward finally replied to Tank. “Although not for the reasons you might be thinking. I trust Kage and Hudson. I don’t know Axel, the leader of the Crimson Fangs, but Kage seems to be fine with him as one of the San DeLain leaders.”

“That’s a weird situation.”

Ward shrugged. “A situation that they seemed to have worked out to their satisfaction. The other werewolf pack currently doesn’t have a leader. The mer usually keep to themselves, much like we do. Plus, to my knowledge, Rihanna can’t breathe underwater, so the mer have no use for her.”

“Well, we don’t know for sure she can’t breathe underwater,” Tank remarked.

“Hell. You’re right. I suppose that’s something we need to discover, or rather, she does,” Ward admitted.

“What about the vampires?”

“Again, I don’t see Raven suddenly trying to kidnap her or something, even though she has vampire DNA. And again, we need to know if she desires blood like a vampire.”

“Surely she would’ve said something by now,” Tank said.

“Unless she’s scaredto say anything.” Ward pinched the bridge of his nose. “She also has werewolf DNA. Guess we need to talk about the possibility of her shifting.”

“I kind of feel sorry for her,” Tank admitted.

“I don’t think she’d want that,” Ward said. “But I do sympathize with her situation. What was done to her was wrong. Wrong in every way possible.”

“True, but she has our clan now. If she wants us.”

“There is that.”

Their conversation dwindled, and finally, Tank stood. “I’ll check in with you later. Are we taking one vehicle to this shindig or two?”

“Two. We’re going to need the room, even in our human forms.”

“Ugh. I forgot about that. I’m going to go. If you need anything, holler.”

“Thanks. I will.”

After Tank left, Ward leaned back in his chair, feeling the weight of his decision pressing down on him. He had much to consider about the risks of revealing Rihanna’s powers, not to mention the broader implications for their community.

Chapter Fourteen – Ward

TUESDAY WAS yet another beautiful day in San DeLain, the night sky cloudless as they gathered in the grand hall at eight o’clock sharp. It threw him to see everybody in their human form, since they so rarely donned that façade.

“I have to say that we clean up nicely,” Tank said, fiddling with a set of keys.

“We do look rather put together,” Ward remarked, glancing at himself and his companions.

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