Page 30 of Royal Protector

“Faith?” One of his vampires says with a cold chuckle. “It’s clear to me that a werewolf hired those vampires. Ever since the attack on the Rougarou pack, they’ve been trying to find a way to get revenge. What better revenge than to blame us all for yet another heinous crime?”

“A werewolf would never be this underhanded!” shouts Ephram, his pale face red with anger.

“Everyone, settle down,” says Jack, and the Alpha command in his voice is so strong that even some of the other Alphas bear their neck to him. “Until we have evidence, no one in this room is blaming the other side for last night.” He glares at everyone until the room is completely silent. “Now, we came here to discuss the treaty, and that’s what we are going to do. Sit down. Now.”

Everyone grumbles and heads to their assigned seat.

When everyone is settled, Leo looks up from his notes, attempting to capture the organized feel of days past. “We were discussing sharing medical and ambulance services between states. Alpha Jensen, would you like to start?”

Alpha Jensen, a younger werewolf from Kansas, stares incredulously at Leo, his eyes flashing. Then, he stands up so quickly that he knocks his chair over. Everyone jumps when it clatters against the floor. “I’m not doing this. Kansas withdraws from these negotiations.” With that shocking announcement, he storms out of the room, slamming the doors behind him.

I pinch the bridge of my nose and shake my head, feeling a tension headache forming. This has gone from bad to worse.

Ephram stands next, his wiry frame trembling with anger. “Utah withdraws from these negotiations.” With that, he, too, leaves the room.

One by one, every single werewolf delegate except for Buck Galston, for some godawful reason, withdraws and leaves the room. I don’t even know where they’re going, whether they’re heading back to their home state or simply to their various rooms across the city. Either way, it doesn’t look good.

The remaining Alpha vampires sit stark straight in their chairs, but there’s a new heaviness across the room. All of their eyes are on alpha Leo.

Jack, on the other hand, is staring wide-eyed at Buck Galston. “You’re still here?”

Buck just shakes his head. “This has been an eye-opening week for me. I learned that I misjudged the Untouchable, that I like running with vampires, and that beignets are the greatest thing on earth. Besides, last night was the best fight I’ve had in a long time. I don’t think the instigator is anyone that has been in this room, but I really want to fight whoever it is.” With that, he shoots finger guns at all of us.

“I think we broke him,” whispers Isabella.

Leo stands back up, his spine rigid with distress. “I suggest we do what we can to clean this mess up. In the meantime, all meetings are canceled for the rest of the day.”

He picks up his notebook and laptop and beckons Jack to join him. They leave together, and their shoulders slumped with defeat. All of the vampires leave the room as well.

I escort Isabella to the lobby and down the hallways we use to stretch our legs between sessions. Her entire body buzzes with tension, her knuckles white, and her steps are loud and quick. I know she feels like she failed somehow, but she didn’t. No one could’ve expected this.

When she doesn’t relax after we pace the hallways, I lead her out to the gardens that surround the hotel. The smell of magnolia and hibiscus fills the air with their sweet perfume.

On the other side of the lush property, children laugh and play in the hotel’s open-air pool. None of them know the chaos is occurring inside the very building where they are taking their summer vacation.

“I don’t know how this could’ve happened,” Isabella finally says. “And simultaneously, I’m disappointed in myself for not knowing it could have happened.”

“I don’t quite understand what you’re saying,” I tell her. “You’re upset because you can predict a surprise attack?”

She nods, chewing at the side of her perfectly manicured thumb. “All of my life, I’ve been trained in various strategies. It doesn’t matter if it’s fencing, chess, or the art of war. I should’ve known something like this was coming. I should’ve been able to keep it from happening.”

I lead her down another walkway, trailing my free hand through the shrubs as I think about how to respond. “That’s some crazy survivor’s guilt nonsense, Isabella.” Well, I never said I was an eloquent kind of guy.

She scowls at me. “It is not.”

“Is too. There is no way you could’ve predicted that a random rogue vampire group was going to attack right in the middle of the most delicious event between werewolves and vampires that ever existed.”

She rolls her dark eyes at me, but her brow relaxes a little. “I just hate the ‘not knowing.’ There’s so much unknown right now. With that,” she gestures at the hotel, “and this.” She waves her hands between us.

“This is not as complicated as we thought it was,” I assure her. “I love you. You love me. We are going to have sex. And then I will bite you. The end.” I chuck her chin playfully and wink at her. “It’s pretty damn simple. Everyone else can go to hell.”

Isabella stops in her tracks and spins in place, walking back toward the hotel.

“What are you doing?” I ask, jogging to keep up with her quick steps.

“I’m done with all this,” she says in a determined voice. “You’re absolutely right. This isn’t as complicated as we thought it was.” She pushes her way through the glass doors back into the hotel with all the attitude of an action hero. “Get your wallet out.”

“Get my wallet out?” I ask. I have no idea where she is going with this. “Am I robbing you?”

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