“Tell her I’ll make her whatever her wolf heart desires. Maybe a nice rare steak?”
I grimace. “Maybe medium?”
Joan rages at me inside my head.
“Fine. Medium-rare.”
She doesn’t fight this time, so I guess that works for her.
Brayden smirks and kisses me again before he drags me out of the room.
* * *
A few hourslater the front door bangs open with a loud crack and Evelyn, the mother fucking vampire, flashes to me. I’m barely out of the comfy library chair when she slams me back into it with a vice grip on my throat.
I’m so over this day.
“Tell me why Mazzikin was here. Don’t lie or I will tear every single one of you pups apart so the High Pack can’t tell which body part belongs to who.” Her eyes are full black and there’s a serene look on her face, like she finds calm in the midst of whatever blinding rage is fueling her.
“Death,” I manage, and she narrows her eyes.
“So you choose violence.” Her fingers press in on my neck.
“Death came for Brayden. Raven stopped him.” Draco is at our side in a second, moments away from doing something very dangerous and stupid given the volatile vampire in our presence.
The room is quiet, every single shifter that had been congregating to relax and read waits with bated breath. A few low growls rumble through the room, and Evelyn’s lips quirk in response.
“How can a little wolf like you stop Death?” She isn’t even surprised to find out we’re talking about a Horsemen. The black filling her eyes recedes as the dark brown color returns.
I open my mouth to speak again, but I can’t. Her grip hurts too much, and she flicks her gaze down and loosens her hold.
“Necromancy.”
She drops me and steps away, face rippling in disgust. “Explain. You have two minutes. If you lie, you die. Blaze will be here in five.”
Fuck.
Do I take the chance and tell her everything? I’d be putting my life on the line, but is my life worth losing every shifter here? No.
“It’s complicated. Try to keep up,” I say with a glare.
She listens with rapt attention, eyes glued to me like I have the answers to the great mysteries of the world. I finish with ten seconds to spare, which I know because she began counting under her breath when there were only thirty seconds left.
Her fingers curl and uncurl at her sides. “Is she coming back?”
“As far as I know, no. Why do you care so much?” I ask, growing some backbone now that the murderous intent has faded from her face.
“None of your business, pup.”
A heavy, familiar energy slams into me, and I sigh in relief. Blaze is nearly here. Evelyn scowls around the room, meeting the eyes of every single shifter before flashing away. An enraged howl spills through the air, and I race to the hall to peer out of one of the large windows. Blaze’s giant black wolf is laid out on the ground and Evelyn presses her shoe into his neck. And he turns his head in submission.
I almost fall over at the sight, but Brayden catches me and squints at the scene in front of us.
“They’re insane!” I say with a scoff.
“Who are we to judge their love?”
I move my gaze to study his face. “That’s not love.”