Groaning softly in pleasure, I chewed my bite of whatever it was and savored the tingling of my taste buds. Rough fingertips kneaded my lower back underneath my shirt, and it only added to the sense of euphoria that swept through my veins.
“I love the human food. So good.” Mumbling around my mouthful, I swallowed roughly as a smile stretched my lips. To my left, Derek sat and ate leisurely, and I grinned at the warmth that radiated from his gaze. “You eat this all of the time – surely you must find it difficult to maintain health?”
“It’s all about moderation, Linne – eat too much, and you’ll regret it later.” My eyes widened at that, and I shoved my forkful in my mouth with a shaky nod before turning to Alpha Jackson. “I’m sure that’s the same in your realm, no?”
“I was only allowed minimum sustenance. I did not have access to amounts that required moderation.” Several pairs of eyes landed on me, but I ignored them as my mind turned back to my home realm. “Fatness is something I did not notice when I was instructed out of the Pen.”
“The ‘Pen’?” Nodding again, I swallowed my bite roughly before grabbing Derek’s hand absently under the table. Alpha Jackson’s expression tightened, his mouth grim even as he chewed his bite. Rolling Derek’s middle knuckle between my thumb and forefinger, my smile dimmed slightly as images flashed in my mind’s eye.
“Yes – where the slaves are housed. We are not allowed to leave unless we are on assignment. It is where we sleep and train. Kaslni – my master – is very considerate. Her Pens were very nice when compared to other Courtiers.” A pang twisted my heart, and I frowned as my brows came together sharply. “I miss her – I am fortunate that she became my master.”
“How did she become your master?” Twisting at Derek’s question, I smiled at the troubled expression he wore, and my heart soared with happiness. Squeezing his hand, mine tingled from our touch, and heat flooded my veins when he squeezed back.
“My magic is very strong, and my wings sprouted when I was very young. My parents did not have the money to send me to school, so they contacted Kaslni. She is known among the lower Unseelie for being nice to her slaves. I was not her favorite, but she still treated me with kindness. It is because of her that I was banished here, but I do not fault her for the decisions she made. If Bareiijnr knew that Kaslni sent me to spy on him, he would have her killed. I will protect her, even if it means I can never see her again.”
“Why were you sent to spy on him?” The probe pulled down the corners of my lips, and I pursed them into a thin line. Glancing around, nervousness replaced the happy feelings in my belly; there were many people and many conversations. Bareiijnr couldn’t send anyone to the human realm without my sensing it. There wasn’t enough wild magic to hide.
But that didn’t mean a human – or shifter – couldn’t find a way to contact Bareiijnr. It had been done before when the Veil was thin.
Leaning closer to Derek, I cupped my mouth to whisper in his ear, and he sat rigid with expectation.
“He is mutilating wings of powerful Seelie and selling them to try to start a war with the Unseelie.” Pulling back, tingles slid down my spine at the scowl that took over Derek’s expression, and I squeezed his hand gently. “Why do you make that facial contortion? It does not matter here in the human realm. The Unseelie war cannot spill beyond the Veil – it takes too much magic to get even a single person across. That is why Muss has no physical form.”
“If this Bareiijnr guy is that powerful, though…he could come after you.” Even now, I couldn’t deny Derek’s point, and I nodded hesitantly. His eyes narrowed into slits, his scowl growing into a dark sneer, and he released my palm to wrap his arm around my waist. “What would happen then?”
“He would not come after me without going after Kaslni first – she is much more dangerous than I am…but…if Bareiijnr did cross the Veil, he wouldn’t do it alone. He would need power to sacrifice to get back to the Unseelie realm. I do not believe I could hide from him, just as he could not hide from me. There is not enough wild magic to disguise us. I would have to fight him.” Turning to stare at my half-empty plate, I twiddled my fork between my fingers as I contemplated that notion. “It would be difficult to beat him.”
‘You mean it would take what the humans call a ‘miracle’…’ Twisting around to find Muss perched on the back of my chair, I frowned deeply even while Derek tightened his grip on me. His five eyes watched me closely, sparkling with concern, and I pursed my lips tightly. ‘I have news from Kaslni, as we are on the subject. She wants to give you this.’
Excitement raged through my chest, and I reached out my hands greedily as Muss began to heave. His body shimmered in protest of his regurgitation, but the object inside him traveled up his throat.
“Kaslni has allowed you back?” Ruffling his wings in a silent answer, Muss held the tiny object in his beak, and I flexed my fingers in anticipation. My mind raced, eyes narrowing as I tried to figure out what he’d brought me from my master.
My former master – who might now be considered my friend.
‘No. She has not. I was only instructed to deliver this to you, Linne. Kaslni said nothing more.’ The solid object Muss dropped into my palm was opaque, a cloudy grey that swirled like contained atmosphere. From under furrowed brows, I frowned slightly as I rolled the smooth thing in both my hands. ‘I do not know what it is.’
“Me either – ” Looking to Derek, my frown deepened when he only shook his head, and I sighed softly in discontent. “It does not feel like magic.”
“Maybe that’s the point? Maybe it’ll help shield you. If things are getting bad in your realm, maybe your old master is worried this Courtier guy will come after you. She banished Muss, but still thought you needed whatever this thing is.” Humming softly, I ducked my head in a nod as my eyes went back to the object. “What are you supposed to do with it? Keep it in your pocket or something?”
“No.” Rolling the little thing between my fingertips, I pulled down my shirt to press the cool surface to my skin. “It will reside inside me – pockets are not necessary.”
The object dissolved into my body easily, and I rubbed the spot absently before turning to Muss.
‘I will leave you now. The stupid female is awake, and I will keep one eye on her – although I do not think she deserves even that.’ Disgust laced Muss’ tone, and I nodded a second time before he disappeared. For just a second or two, my mind turned to Rachel, and a frown dragged down my lips as I turned back to my plate. Loading my fork with the leafy, drenched greens, I glanced over at Alpha Jackson before opening my mouth.
“I should kill her – it would be the merciful thing to do. She will be of no use to you now.” Alpha Jackson only grimaced at my declaration, and I shoveled my forkful beyond my teeth to hum in satisfaction. “Your weak minds cannot endure my ability.”
“I’ll consider it.” That was the only answer I would get, and Alpha Jackson swiftly changed the subject as the atmosphere became light once again. “So, is there anything you want to know about the clan?”
“Yes – ” Swallowing roughly, I stabbed a piece of what was called chicken before continuing. “Why do you live in such diversity? How do you maintain order with those equal to you when it would be easier to eliminate them?”
“Safety and convenience is what it boils down to. Up until recently actually, shifters were segregated by type – wolf, lion, avian, and all the others – but it’s getting harder and harder to find ample space. Humans are creating overpopulation, which makes it difficult to keep ourselves secret unless we find places like this town. The humans here know we’re shifters, even if they choose not to acknowledge it, and for the most part, they’re fine with cohabitating.”
Leaning back in his chair, Alpha Jackson cast his gaze out to the tables around us, and I did the same. People sat and chatted happily, some inebriated, some fostering arguments, but they all were comfortable. “There’s two ways to deal with leadership. One way – the way we use – is that the alphas in the clan choose who’s best to lead the group, and they advise and assist as needed. I make the final decisions, but I take Derek’s thoughts and contributions into consideration.”
“But you do not suffer from power disputes?” Alpha Jackson’s explanation boggled my mind, and I twisted to Derek with brows high in surprise. “You do not get frustrated when he makes a bad decision? When he orders you around?”
“Yeah, I do – but I don’t want to lead the clan. I can suffer with the few things Jackson wants me to do, like patrolling the park the other night, because he’s better at leading a group than I am. He’s a wolf – he’s built to do this on a larger scale than I am.”
Derek’s words pulled an ‘oh’ from my mouth, and he reached to brush my jaw as affection blazed from his eyes. “This clan is unique in that I am the only person Jackson has to contend with. There are no other alpha males. The wolf pack that you destroyed had several, including the Alpha Female Liza, and her twin brother. That’s not even considering the rest of the clan.”
“That’s the second type of leadership…” Drawing my gaze, Alpha Jackson stroked his chin thoughtfully as disdain painted his expression. “Having a council – a group of alphas all with equal power in decision making. It’s honestly a terrible idea, especially if the clan is big and has many kinds of shifters. The wolf pack that you took down acted on their own, without consulting the council, and essentially crippled the clan.
Now, they went from 250 members to just over 100 in one night. We could easily wipe them out and take all of this land for ourselves.” My eyes widened at that, and Alpha Jackson offered me a grim but blood-hungry smirk. “Since we’re on the subject, too – Jordan is refusing to meet with me, and gave his permission to execute his pack members.”
“He sounds like Bareiijnr.” The observation just slipped out of my mouth, and I frowned deeply under furrowed brows. Alpha Liza’s brother was much too similar to the Courtier for my liking, and my fingers flexed around my fork while my mind raced. “He must be dealt with before he becomes a problem.”