Page 18 of No Honor Amongst Shifters
Chapter Seven
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ALCOTT WAS BEING LETout of his room, and he wasn’t sure it was a good idea.He stared at the open door, then back at Roslin, who stood next to it, waiting.
Alcott had thought they’d have the next few meetings in his room like the first one.It had been a tight fit, but it was better than letting a traitor out, right?
Apparently, wrong.Roslin had arrived a few minutes ago, and he’d left the door open when he’d walked in.Alcott had been surprised, but he hadn’t said anything about it.It wasn’t like he was planning on running.
Then Roslin had said that Elijah was waiting for them, and Alcott had been staring at him since then.It didn’t make sense.“Are you sure you heard that right?”he asked.
“I am,” Roslin confirmed.“Elijah’s exact words werego pick up Alcott.We’ll see you in the conference room.”
“But we’d have to walk through half the house to go to the conference room.”It was near Elijah’s office, while Alcott’s bedroom was with all the other bedrooms on the other side of the house.
“It’s not that far.”Roslin looked Alcott up and down.“I guess I could carry you if you don’t feel like walking.”
Alcott felt his cheeks flush and glared.“That’s not what I was talking about.I can walk.”
“Then we should go.”
“I meant that people will see me.They’ll probably start freaking out because I’m out of my room, and I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“Nothing will happen to me.”Roslin crossed his arms over his chest.“And if they try anything withyou, they won’t be pleased with the outcome.”
Roslin was intimidating, but he was human, and Alcott didn’t want him to fight with anyone.
He was touched by the fact that Roslin was apparently ready to do just that, though.“You’d fight a dragon for me?”
“I’d fight more than a dragon.I’m not saying I would win, but I’d give you time to run.”Roslin relaxed slightly.“You don’t have anything to worry about.Elijah gave his orders, and everyone will comply with them.If they don’t want to, they know where the door is.”
The clan couldn’t afford to lose more members right before a fight.They needed all the fighters they could get, and Alcott wouldn’t be responsible for sending people away.At the same time, Elijah was still his leader, and he’d given an order.If he wanted Alcott to go to the conference room, that was where Alcott was supposed to go.
He got up from the window seat and rubbed his palms over his thighs.He was nervous.He’d expected that the next time he’d see the outside of his bedroom would be when he was leaving the clan for the last time.He was sure that Elijah knew what he was doing, but at the same time, he couldn’t help but wonder if the leader might have underestimated how much the clan members hated Alcott.
Alcott supposed he was about to find out.
Wasting time wouldn’t help, so he moved toward Roslin.Roslin nodded at him as if satisfied, but Alcott’s gaze drifted to the open door.How long had he been locked in his bedroom?It had to have been a couple of weeks, if not more.He hadn’t counted the days because they didn’t matter.Nothing did beyond what he’d done, but his bruises had started to change color and heal.
Alcott had promised Elijah that he’d help the clan, and that was what he was doing.He’d known he’d have to leave the bedroom to do that, but he’d thought he’d be quickly walked outside to a car, not that he’d have to walk through the house and have so many people see him.
He curled in on himself.He wouldn’t like what was about to happen, but he deserved it.He might as well get it out of the way.
“Everything will be fine,” Roslin promised.
Alcott wasn’t sure he believed him, but he forced himself to put one foot in front of the other and leave the bedroom.
Nothing happened when he stepped into the hallway.There was no one there to yell at him that he was a traitor or threaten him.It was just him and Roslin, who gently put a hand on the small of his back and guided him to one end of the hallway.
“I’m on your side,” Roslin murmured as they walked.“And I’m not the only one.You have more allies than you think.”
Alcott wasn’t sure that was true, but it didn’t matter.
He wasn’t sure how they managed, but they reached the conference room without anyone saying anything to him.They crossed paths with several people, and even though one of the women looked like she wanted to kill Alcott herself, she stayed silent.Everyone did, which was odd because the house was usually noisy.
The noise Alcott had expected was present when they stepped into the conference room.Several people were sitting around the table, talking.Elijah and Terrence both looked up when they heard Alcott and, to Alcott’s surprise, they smiled.
“Terrence and I were talking about the cockatrices the two of you will approach,” Elijah said as he gestured at one of the empty chairs.“He had a few ideas about who to talk to, but he wants your opinion on it.”
