Page 17 of Feral

His lips twisted into a little grin.

“How impertinent.”

I sucked in a breath.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry—”

He chuckled.

“Yes. The females lay them and the males sit on them.”

“What do the different colors of your scales mean, if anything?”

“They indicate family groups generally.”

With that answer, his carefree expression darkened and I could guess why.

“There aren’t many of you left, are there?” I asked, sadness gripping my heart.

“No. There are not.”

The elevator stopped and I glanced at the man next to me. There was indeed a sense of power about him, ancient and complex. But beyond that was a creature who lived extraordinarily long and was nearing extinction.

“I’m sorry,” I said, for lack of anything to say.

He gave me a sad smile and ushered me out of the elevator.

“You have nothing to apologize for Ms. Reynolds. My name is Trey Park by the way. Forgive me not telling you sooner, but your coworkers were quite protective.”

“Yes, they can be. I’m sorry about that.”

“Don’t be. It’s nice to see that Francesca couldn’t kill the kindness in some of the people here. It speaks well that they are loyal to you.”

I flushed with the compliment. After what had transpired with my uncle, it was like a balm to hear Trey indicate that I was valuable.

When we stopped outside of the simple office door I could hear a low, snarling voice from inside and stopped. Who was that? Surely not the director? And why was I here? Trey hadn’t said a word on the way up. Was it a bad thing and that’s why he distracted me by answering my questions?

I swallowed and waited for him to open the door, collecting myself. Whatever the reason I’d been summoned here, I would face it head on and without fear.

Chapter Four

Fraser

Icrossedmyarmsas I stared at the attractive blond white woman behind the simple desk. Even though she was supposed to be very different than her predecessor, I kept my glamour firmly in place, not willing to allow my true form to be exposed to a person with so much power who I didn’t ken.

She seemed unperturbed by the act, which surprised me.

Francesca would’ve lobbed several threats my way by now. Interesting.

“I do think you have an artifact problem,” Director Dearborne said with a sigh. “Have there been any mysterious packages arrive or have there been any new people that have inserted themselves into your clan?”

“Naw.”

She nodded and made a note on a tablet.

“Well, we are rather short staffed, but I believe have someone who may be able to at the very least shed some light on what we could be looking for.”

Director Dearborne gave me a reassuring smile to which I only nodded.

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