Chapter 22
Henry
He almost lost control in the restaurant when Ophelia teased him with barbecue sauce all over her face. It had been a brilliant idea to take her to the dive restaurant where she could relax and get messy, and it gave him a chance to actually talk to her. Not that he wanted to waste time discussing the pack in Montana and Nola’s absurd demands.
Although he suspected Ophelia had a point about figuring out why Nola was so desperate for him to return home.
Henry had a hell of a time explaining what happened at the bank to Evershaw and Todd and Deirdre, and had to drag Ophelia into the office in the house to explain her view of what happened. Evershaw wasn’t pleased at the idea of a fae—some kind of cousin to the mysterious Smith—having a hand in their bank and their finances. Only Deirdre’s calming influence kept the alpha from storming off to confront Aria, Smith, and anyone else he didn’t like or who didn’t fit neatly into his view of reality.
They were still discussing what to do about it when Mercy stuck her head into the office and avoided meeting anyone’s gaze. “So, we have a little... hiccup.”
Evershaw leaned back in his chair, eyes narrowed. “What kind of hiccup?”
“Henry’s sister and her friend caused a bit of a stir at the warehouse,” Mercy said. “It’s probably best that they don’t stay there overnight.”
Henry swallowed a groan. “What kind of trouble did she get into?”
“There are too many unmated males there,” Mercy said.
It was a remarkably diplomatic way of saying that his sister had probably challenged someone to a fight and things had nearly gotten violent. Once the pheromones and testosterone got stirred up, sometimes only the alpha or the second-in-command could exert enough influence over the pack to resolve things peacefully. And since Fran was so submissive, her demeanor would have fed into the protective instinct the males felt anyway. He sighed. He should have known better.
“So where are they staying?” Evershaw asked. “Are they going to start fights across the city?”
Mercy glanced at Henry, then at Ophelia, then at the floor. “Well, uh... We brought them back here. We have guest rooms here, and we didn’t want to dump them on the street or on someone else’s territory.”
“No, you did the right thing,” Deirdre said, talking over her mate when the alpha started to object to inviting trouble into his peaceful house. “We’ll adjust some of our arrangements to make sure we have space.”
Mercy retreated, apparently to give Nola and Fran a tour of the house, but Deirdre got up quickly and gestured for Ophelia to go with her. Henry watched them leave, puzzled at the rush. The room had been silent for some time before he noticed and turned his attention back to the alpha and second-in-command.
And then he scowled, because Evershaw and Todd both grinned at him. “What?”
Todd waggled his eyebrows. “So you found your mate, hmm?”
“I just said that to get Nola off my back,” Henry said. Even though his wolf didn’t believe it for a second, and he was starting to feel the same way. “It’s for show. Ophelia went along with it but it’s just…a facade to keep my sister out of the way.”
“Uh-huh.” Evershaw watched him with sharp focus. “It’s more than that and you know it.”
Henry had never liked how observant the alpha was. And Evershaw didn’t bother dressing up his opinions with politeness or basic social graces. “It’s nothing. I’ll deal with it.”
Evershaw grunted and shoved to his feet. “Just don’t get distracted. The coyotes and all three wolf packs are claiming their members are accounted for, but we still have lone tracks showing up in our territory. I don’t like it. And there’s no sign of that creeper who’s stalking the witch. Don’t let a pretty face turn your head, Henry. Don’t lose focus.”
“I won’t.” Henry scowled at his feet and resisted the urge to storm out like a petulant child. He didn’t want to have a conversation about Ophelia with anyone, at least not until he’d had the conversation with the witch herself, and he sure as hell didn’t want to deal with Nola for a full afternoon, evening, and the following morning. There was no telling what kind of slips he’d make, and any hint that he wasn’t happily mated and attached to SilverLine would just encourage her to badger him about returning to Montana.
The alpha strode out, calling for his mate, and Henry shook his head as he leaned back in his chair. He was painfully aware of Todd’s continued attention, and took a deep breath. “I’m serious, I don’t want to talk about her.”
“Didn’t ask, brother.” But Todd kept grinning.
Henry pushed to his feet and stretched, wondering how he was going to avoid Nola for the rest of the afternoon. “I’m sure you have work to do. What else needs to happen today?”
“You need to keep your sister from causing more trouble or pissing Evershaw off,” Todd said. “If anyone needs to patrol, send Silas or Dodge. I want you to stick close to the house in case there’s something else going on.”
“Something else going on?” Henry frowned at the other man. “You know something I don’t?”
Todd yawned and ran a hand through his dark hair. “I know a lot of shit you don’t know, pup. But with this—no, there’s no specific reason. I just don’t like weird shit happening at the same time, and we’ve had half a dozen weird things pop up. A new witch in the city, random coyotes and wolves wandering around without a pack or direction, a banker we’ve always worked with turning out to be something dangerous, a sorcerer chasing after the witch... I don’t like it. Until we can start resolving some of these issues, we should either stick close to home or move everyone to the warehouse so we can protect the females.”
Henry’s eyebrows rose. “I’d be more useful out on patrol, not in the house.”
“Yeah, but you’ve got a mate now,” Todd said, and he didn’t even look like he was joking. “Better for you to be here to protect her and Deirdre, just in case Evershaw and I get called away.”
“She’s not my mate,” Henry said, but it tasted like a lie. “It’s not possible. She’s not a wolf, she’s only been here a week, it’s just... inconvenient.”
Todd laughed, propping his feet up on the arm of another chair. “Dude, when is this bullshit ever convenient? Besides, Deirdre isn’t a wolf and it happened with Evershaw. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. If she’s supposed to be yours, then you’ll know—and don’t let her go. Figure it out.”
Henry growled in irritation at the casual way the other man referred to finding someone as special as his true mate. And from the look on Todd’s face, the growl just proved his point about Ophelia and Henry being connected. Henry headed for the door. “I’m going to get rid of this damn jacket and then I’ll patrol around the block—I’ll stick close enough to respond if anyone howls. Silas saw some prints in the mud about a block west of here, and I need to check it out.”
Todd grunted and went back to watching bay of security camera monitors they kept in the office so he could survey the neighborhood as well as the area around the warehouse. “Keep your phone handy. Tell Silas to stick close to the house.”
Henry found the other wolf and passed the message on the way to his room, irritated with Todd and Evershaw alike for insisting he stay near the house. His nerves twitched at the idea of being far from Ophelia, particularly when that rogue sorcerer was still on the loose, but he really didn’t want to deal with his sister. His steps slowed as he approached his room and saw the door partially open, a murmur of female voices reaching him from inside. His eyes narrowed. What the hell was going on?
He whipped the door open, ready to read Mercy the riot act for invading his den again, but he froze as Ophelia and Deirdre jumped a foot in the air where they stood near the window. Static charged the air and lightning flashed out of Ophelia’s hands as she stared at him in horror, and Henry had a split second to regret his irritation before his brain short-circuited and the wolf tore free.
