Page 20 of Married to the Wolf

“Excuse me?”

She sighed. “His mind will be filled with keeping you safe and not finding a diplomatic way of calming them. Of course he could always make them.”

“Make them what?”

“Obey.”

Sophia frowned. “He gave them orders, didn’t he? And if you’re talking about fighting them as you all seem ready to do at the drop of a hat, I’d say Sebastian is big but so are all those guys—even the women. It’s a muscle convention down there.”

To her surprise, Ava chuckled. Then she coughed and cleared her throat. “You have a lot to learn about the alpha. I’m going out to the hall. I can’t hear them over this conversation.”

She stepped out and shut the door. Resisting an urge to kick it, Sophia huffed instead. “Must be nice to eavesdrop from a mile away.”

She walked over to the window, opened it, and looked out. They were on the second floor, and the roof above the first floor verandah wasn’t so slanted that she couldn’t walk on it. If she kept as quiet as possible, she could escape the room and find out what was going on downstairs. No one would try to attack in broad daylight, so she was safe.

Well, here goes nothing.

Chapter 6

Sophia hid behind the door across the hall from where Sebastian held his meeting. She couldn’t believe her luck. The roof over the verandah led from beneath her bedroom window all the way around the mansion to the other side. She was able to climb into an open window.

I’m so proud of myself. I almost believe I was meant to be a spy.

She suppressed a laugh at the ridiculousness of that idea and tried to pick up any sounds in the hall. Sebastian had apparently ushered his visitors into the big room and was holding discussions there. Too bad she couldn’t hear through the door without leaving the safety of her hiding spot.

She tiptoed out and peeked into the hall. No one seemed to be around. She wondered where all the candidates for Guard had gotten to. Were the ones complaining about her still in the running? She couldn’t remember everyone’s faces, so she wasn’t sure. Doubtful Sebastian would let them get close after the attitude he was getting.

She dared to cross the hall and stand outside the double doors with her ear pressed to the panel. Agitated voices mingled together, but she couldn’t pick out much of what they said. It seemed like no one bothered to listen to anyone else’s opinion. She tried to hold her breath and concentrate.

“What are you doing, Sophia?”

She jumped and spun around. “Sebastian, what are you doing out here? I thought you were in that meeting.”

“What I want to know is what are you doing out of your room.”

“First of all, I’m not your servant, and you don’t tell me what to do.”

“And Ava?”

“Yes, Sebastian?”

Sophia jumped at hearing the woman’s voice behind him. They both looked around. Ava leaned in the doorframe of the room Sophia had just snuck out of. Behind her was the open window where she climbed into the house after shimmying down a trellis. Ava must have silently followed her the whole way. How embarrassing. She’d thought she was being clever, but it was a huge fail. The situation reminded her of the time she tiptoed through a friend’s house, trying not to let the friend’s dog hear her, who was outside in the yard at the time. She’d thought she outsmarted him only to peek through the blinds to see him standing at the window looking directly at her. Maybe to the dog she was stomping, or he followed her scent somehow. Human hunters thought they were going to kill all shifters? She began to wonder if it were possible.

“I thought I told you to keep her in her room,” Sebastian said.

“I’m sorry. She climbed out the window.”

“What?” His eyes widened in alarm. “She could have fallen.”

“I would have caught her.” Ava’s smug gaze switched from Sebastian to Sophia. “She had no idea how close I was the entire time. I promise you I wouldn’t have let anything happen to her.”

Sophia rolled her eyes because there wasn’t much more she could do. She focused on Sebastian. “Are you finished with your meeting? I hope everything got resolved. You know if you let me talk to them, I can straighten all this out in a jiffy.”

He chuckled. “You’re that confident in your negotiation skills?”

She shrugged. “Just saying.”

“How about we visit some people first?” he suggested.

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