Page 58 of Protection of the Pack

I resisted the urge to shout ‘Ha! Now you know how it feels!’ because that would have undermined the calm authority figure thing I was trying to rock. I cleared my throat instead. ‘Bastion here has watched me grow up.’

‘Into a lovely young woman.’ Bastion winked.

A noise almost like a growl emanated from Manners, and Bastion’s smile widened.

‘Watch it, Sam,’ Manners snapped. ‘She’s alpha. Show her some respect.’

‘I assure you I have nothing but respect for Lucy Barrett.’

‘Then stop trying to give Manners a hernia,’ I said, giving Bastion a pointed look.

Bastion smirked but didn’t reply.

‘We’re getting off topic,’ Manners said finally. ‘Bastion knows where a black tourney is taking place, but there’s a small problem.’

‘There’s always a problem.’

‘It’s tonight. In London.’

We were forty-five minutes out from London and I failed to see the issue. ‘So?’

‘So, we don’t have much time to prepare.’

I blinked. ‘We go, we pretend to be bloodthirsty spectators, we poke around. What else do we need to prepare?’

‘Anonymity is essential for the tourney’s audience. We need to disguise ourselves.’

Bastion shrugged. ‘I’ll sort masks. They’re easier than glamours, and they expect one or the other at the tourney. Besides that, wear black and look rich. They like rich patrons.’

I could do rich – I have a dress for every occasion. I’m a girly-girl, so sue me. I don’t have much black, though; I’m a pink girl. ‘Why black?’ I huffed.

‘It hides blood splatters,’ Bastion said blandly.

I wished I hadn’t asked. ‘Cool, cool, cool. What time do we need to rock and roll?’

‘We’ll leave here at 10pm. The tourney doesn’t get going until midnight.’

‘And the location?’

Bastion shook his head. ‘That’s need to know.’

‘Um, I kind of need to know…’

‘No, you don’t,’ he said firmly, meeting my eyes with a steely gaze.

‘But how am I going to get there if I don’t know where “there” is?’

‘I’ve arranged transport. Be ready at ten.’ He rose lithely from my leather seat and stalked out of the room. The guy had presence.

Fritz didn’t even look up as Bastion left.

The day was still young, even factoring in some much-needed primping and pampering time. It was time to track down David and Elena, two people I knew had issues with Mark. David was lower on my suspect tree, given that he was male, but I hadn’t ruled out the possibility that my gargoyle friend had been wrong. Besides, the female werewolf may well have had an accomplice so it was best to keep an open mind.

I tracked down Elena in the kitchen with Mrs Dawes. They were busy preparing dinner and Noah was mucking in as well. There were several huge pots of beef stew bubbling away, and Noah and Elena looked like they were making bread from scratch. I itched to join them – I love making bread. That yummy, yeasty smell gets me every time. ‘Shall I make another batch?’ I offered to Mrs Dawes.

She smiled her warm, maternal smile. ‘Bless you, Lucy, you don’t need to. I’m sure you have more important things to worry over.’

‘What could be more important to the pack than food?’ I asked, only half-joking.

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