Page 26 of Protection of the Pack

‘Okay. Do that, and you can take Mark’s place.’

‘I’ll round them up,’ she promised. ‘I don’t think there will be too much resistance after the … incident with the succubus.’

I hoped not. If I couldn’t inspire trust and respect, hopefully I’d at least earned a bit of caution and they’d think twice before refusing me. I didn’t want to rule by fear – hell, I hardly wanted to rule at all – but needs must. After all, Ididwant to survive.

‘Can you arrange a late dinner for us after the hunt?’ I asked.

‘Of course. I’ll pop a half-a-dozen chickens in the slow cookers and get everything prepped, then we can have a feast when we’re back.’ Mrs Dawes seemed excited by the idea of hosting a formal banquet.

‘Can you set us up in the dining hall?’ I asked.

Her smile widened. ‘Absolutely. I’ll get Marissa and Elena to help me. I’d best go and get started.’

Elena was largely an unknown quantity. I’d seen the brunette a time or two in passing, but that was it. She hadn’t shown me any friendliness or opposition, just total disinterest. If anything, she seemed a bit depressed.

I wasn’t sure what her story was. She had transferred from another pack; they’d held a tourney for her and she’d settled in at thirteenth in the pack. Unlucky for some, but she didn’t seem to mind. I was surprised that Mrs Dawes thought she was tractable enough to help to clear out the banquet hall.

The dining hall hadn’t been used since I’d been turned as a wolf. It is straight from Edwardian times: red-panelled walls, heavy parquet flooring and dark wooden furniture. The banquet table extends to seat at least twenty.

I’d found the room in my first week when I’d been snooping around. It had been closed up and everything was covered in a fine layer of dust. I guess it didn’t see much use, but I planned to change that. Eating together is a social thing that I hoped would gel the pack a little more – but it would take a while for Mrs Dawes to ready the disused room.

I thanked her again. ‘Can you tell Archie I want to see him?’

Mrs Dawes excused herself and I ate one of the sandwiches. I probably should have given Archie a time to present himself, but I was at a bit of loose end. Manners’ suggestion that anyone could jump from the balconies to the ground had stayed with me. I decided some sniffing around the grounds might be in order.

I stripped in my office and let the change roll over me. Esme immediately padded to the heavy door. With hindsight, it would have been easier if I’d opened it for her before I changed but I was still getting used to this.

She snorted.I can open doors.She reached out with a heavy paw and dragged down on the handle. The door opened a fraction and we used our nose to widen the gap so we could slink through.

We trotted through the corridor. Marissa was in the entrance hall and she started when she saw us. ‘Alpha,’ she greeted. ‘Let me get the door for you.’

We inclined our head and she opened it for us. I wondered vaguely who she was waiting for but then refocused on our objective. I half-expected her to slam the door shut on our tail, but she didn’t.

We trotted around the outside of the house, enjoying the fresh air and our body, which moved as effortlessly as a well-oiled machine. There is nothing like the joy of flying on four legs. We were itching to go for a run but we managed to restrain ourselves. We had a different objective in mind.

Esme cautiously scented the air around us, but there was nothing to suggest there were any predators around so we continued towards Mark's balcony. It hung over us, but Esme was confident that we could leap over the railing onto it. That was something to think about for the mansion’s security.

We explored the area below the balcony. The ground was hopelessly trampled. Annoyingly, the rain had washed away any lingering scents. The grass and mud were so saturated, it was difficult to see any proper prints; even so, we had evidence that someone had been here, maybe multiple someones.

To my amateur eyes, it looked like Mark's killer had left via the balcony. That reinforced the idea the killer was a third party trying to avoid detection rather than someone from the pack. One of the pack could have sauntered back into the mansion whistling loudly, and no one would have been any the wiser.

We were busy smelling the grass for leads when a new scent drifted on the air. It was incredibly strong to our sensitive nose, an eau de parfum – the height of rudeness in the werewolf community. We sneezed to get rid of as much as possible of the scent and levelled an angry stare at the intruder.

Archibald Samuel: young, insolent and grieving. I’d cut him a lot of slack to date because I’d killed his father, but Esme was in control now and she wasn’t feeling as generous. She stalked over to the eighteen year old and let out a low, menacing growl that, frankly, would have made me wet myself.

He blanched and suddenly looked a lot less sure of himself. ‘Sorry,’ he muttered. ‘I went out with some mates from Common. I should have showered, but I was told to present myself to you ASAFP.’

His voice gained in defiance and Esme slunk closer, close enough to do real damage if she wanted to. Archie swallowed hard and we heard his heart hammering. He’d seen what we could do when we were annoyed; James’s mutilation was still fresh in his mind. Esme held his gaze with our bright blue eyes until he looked away, then we stepped back and trotted towards the house. She yipped to indicate he should follow.

We paused by the heavy front door, waited for him to open it and went inside. As Archie followed me into the study, his eyes picked out all of the ways I’d changed what had been his father’s room.

I let the shift roll over me and he jumped. ‘Christ, that’s fast,’ he muttered under his breath, not intending me to hear.

I dressed efficiently but unhurriedly, then slid behind the huge desk. ‘Talk to me about Mark,’ I ordered.

‘What’s to say? He was a bully and an asshole.’ Archie met my eyes defiantly. ‘He was trying to persuade me to challenge you, but I knew it was only because he saw us both as competition and he wanted to use me as cannon fodder to see what you were made of.’

I smiled unpleasantly. ‘Lucky for us both that you didn’t take the bait. I don’t like killing. My wolf does, but I prefer to resolve our issues like adults.’

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