Page 12 of The Sacred Wolf

Too late.

I sprang into motion, pushing through the next set of heavy doors leading into the old church sanctuary. Sunlight streamed through the five-foot leaded glass windows at the far end of the room, offsetting the exposed, dark chocolate-stained wood of the ceiling beams. Max and Sebastian stood at the far end of the room, dressed to impress in full Wall Street-level Armani suits. The close fit of Sebastian’s might have done something for me a month ago, but now it only fueled my rage.

“Sebastian!” I stomped across the room with as much force as my sneakers would allow, waving the paper. “I need to speak with you about this, like, now.”

Seven faces turned toward me with various expressions of dismay, but only one stopped me in my furious tracks. Blaze. My heart cleaned when our eyes met, so grateful to see him alive and well, but he quickly averted his own, clearly as flustered by this turn of events as I was. What the actual hell? Was he acting as a bodyguard? Why hadn’t Father mentioned this when he goaded me into his hare-brained plan? Was this his idea of a blind date?

My alarm grew as I quickly scanned the other faces. All of the attendees were standing except for a young male and female who were clearly related and seemed to be functioning as a single unit. They had slathered themselves across a pair of armchairs as if anywhere in the world had to be more interesting than where they currently found themselves. Both were attired like they’d just rolled out of Bloomingdale’s latest trunk sale with everything on offer.

To their right, an older black male with a gleaming shaved head modeled the ultimate in Brooklyn chic, from his silvery charcoal suit and raspberry buttoned vest to his houndstooth tie with matching pocket square. The only more modestly dressed Alpha was a willowy man in a grey linen tunic and white slacks. His long, dark hair was braided back in a utilitarian style that accentuated his high cheekbones and strong brow. I’d heard Father say that the Queens Alpha’s ancestors had arrived here from China nearly two centuries ago, and after our own bloodline, no other family had reigned over a single borough for so long.

But where the fluffing hell was my sister?

I demanded to know as much out loud, forgetting to substitute the squeaky clean f-word for the other. The blood drained from Sebastian’s face, but I caught the smile struggling to stay off Blaze’s lips, and I knew he was thinking about the last time I’d entered a room and screamed that word, and now I was thinking about how much easier my life would be if Sebastian had never looked at me.

“And who might this be?” the lone female drawled with the characteristic twang of Staten Island, her garish, blood-colored lips quirking upward as she looked me up and down. Not a friendly smile.

“Who are you?” I demanded. I hadn’t been expecting to see any female in this room who didn’t look just like me. Had Kiana found out she wasn’t the only female Alpha in the city after all and stormed home to pout?

“Yes, Elyse,” Sebastian growled through his teeth, “perhaps we should start with introductions.”

“Right, right,” I said, folding my arms over my chest. “I’m Elyse, firstborn daughter of Phelan of the Bronx, and former intended of Sebastian of Manhattan."

Sebastian’s golden-brown eyes darkened with anger, and Max looked none too happy either, but everyone else was beginning to look delighted by my drama. Blaze had tucked his strong chin and pressed his lips together, clearly trying not to laugh.

“Indeed,” Sebastian said tightly. He gestured to the individual in the dapper suit. “This is Julius, Alpha of the Brooklyn pack.” The male tilted his head a millimeter in acknowledgment. “And Yeh, Alpha of Queens. You already know Blaze, representing the Bronx, of course. And these two,” he paused, his flush deepening at the amusement in the eyes of the siblings, “are Tony and Giovanna. The Alpha and Beta of the Staten Island pack.”

“It’s Gigi, actually,” the female corrected. “Like Hadid, but hotter.”

Sebastian’s brow furrowed with adorable confusion. I mean, confusion. Just confusion. There was nothing adorable about him now that I knew what he’d been hiding from me. But still, it was funny how he had traveled the world for five years and still remained ignorant of pieces of pop culture so ubiquitous that even my sheltered ass knew about them. I nodded to each of the Alphas, doing my best to rein my chaos in a little and show some proper deference.

“Nice to meet you—” I began but Tony cut me off.

“Is she serious, Sebastian?” he sneered, picking an invisible piece of lint from his oversized plaid suit. “This is the fated mate you blew up two packs to have?”

The unusually young Alpha’s dark eyes took in my novelty T-shirt, messy topknot, and makeup-free face with showy disdain, but I refused to be ashamed. We couldn’t all dress like we’d just stepped out of a helicopter at the Cannes Film Festival even though we’d never seen a single freakin’ movie.

Gods, I’d kill to do that. The festival, not the helicopter.

Focus, pup.

Easier said than done. I was quickly becoming what Charlie had described as over-stimulated, when I got so worked up that my energy started spiking outward like an exploding star and I couldn’t remember what I was saying or what I’d walked into a room for. What had I walked in here for? My bravado started to crumble.

Gigi couldn’t stop cackling about the idea of me being some sort of shifter Helen of Troy, her impressive chest—which substantially dwarfed my own—shaking in its low-cut Barbie-pink sequined bra top. I couldn’t look away. I’d never seen a female shifter show herself off like that. What were they doing out there on Staten Island? Why was she even here? No one else had brought their Beta.

“I’m not his fated mate,” I replied, putting enough ice in my tone that it could have fought global warming. Sebastian’s face went from red to purple in one second flat, but I wasn’t going to apologize for telling the truth.

Tony and Gigi eyed each other, Tony mouthing, “Oh my,” as he raised a hand to his mouth in feigned shock. My anger was dampened by my growing curiosity. I knew the language of inside jokes well enough to know this was some sort of pop culture reference outside of my wheelhouse. Seriously, who were they?

“Thank you so much for clearing that up for us, Elyse.” Sebastian’s nostrils flared. “Now perhaps we can discuss whatever you think is so important later? Perhaps even at home? You’re not even supposed to be here.”

I felt my eyes go black like the shark in Jaws: The Revenge. Who did he think he was? I had every right to be there. More than him! He was still just an Alpha Heir, second to his father, while I was already the rightful ruler of the Bronx, second to no one except a false usurper. My wolf swelled beneath my skin as my frazzled emotions climbed higher and higher, and her enhanced senses began to take over. Confusion mingled with amusement in the air, but my would-be mate smelled distinctly of fury.

“You’ve got to be kidding, Sebastian. You know damn well that I have every right to be here. I have more right to be here than her!” I pointed at Gigi, who stopped laughing. “Certainly more than him!” My glare landed on Blaze, whose abruptly downturned eyes drained some of the heat from my attack. “Sorry, Blaze. No offense.”

He waved a hand. “None taken.”

“And I sure as shit deserve to be kept up to speed on this.” I held up the paper, its hysterical headline and grisly images on full display. “I shouldn’t have to be finding this out from tourists riding public transportation, terrified that they’re going to be mauled at any moment!”

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