Page 26 of Fae Divided
“Nothing isup,Guard Reed,” he said, head tilted to the side. “Unless another incident took place at Chess that I haven’t heard about yet?”
“Incident?” Hop shook his head, disgusted but apparently unsurprised by the PA’s gross understatement. “It was a potential bloodbath.”
Gregory’s shoulders lifted in an indifferent shrug.
Noah placed a restraining hand on Hop’s arm, preventing him from doing something he’d regret later. The older shifter’s fingers flexed, as though stinging with the need to convert into claws.
“I haven’t heard of another attack at the club,” she said, scalp prickling. She pushed the leftover food around on her plate, acutely aware of the cellphone—grown to the size of an elephant—adhered to her skin.
“Oh.” Gregory’s bottom lip protruded in what could only be described as a pout. “Then what were you talking about earlier?”
“Nothing to trouble yourself with overhearing,” Noah said, tone dry.
“Oh, it wasn’t any trouble,” the vampire said, oblivious to the rebuke. He snatched an empty chair from the adjacent table, scraping the aluminum legs loudly across the tile floor and placing it next to Sarah’s. “I had to wait on a carry-out order for Prince Myles’ Guards anyway.”
Sarah quelled the urge to adjust her blouse.
“You don’t look terrible anymore,” Gregory said, scrutinizing her from top to bottom.
“Thank you…I think,” Sarah said with a lightness she didn’t feel. Sweat trickled down her side, and her rapidly beating heart thundered loud enough for the vampire to hear if he chose to listen.
Gregory’s smile widened, showing off fangs most Dádhe chose to hide when not in use. “So, when did you see your mate?”
Chapter 12
James wasn’t eventrying to stick to the shadows. His wolf and three others from the outcast pack entered the grassy field on the outskirts of the mayor’s neighborhood with their tails high, making as much racket as inhumanly possible. They barked, yelped, and growled, all to draw attention—not avoid it. Grayson wanted the local Untouched populace to know that Ferwyn were responsible for setting the city official’s house on fire.
The Athair had changed tactics since Chess, concentrating their attacks solely on humans. But as far as James could tell, the objective was the same as when they worked in conjunction with the Knights of Humanity against the Fae Touched: spread hatred, fuel fear, and promote division between the two species.
Incite a war.
Simmons’ brown wolf trotted at James’ flank, his ivory muzzle raised in a joyous howl. The young shifter had taken pleasure in the senseless destruction, reveling in the physical violence of breaking windows to allow oxygen to feed the intended blaze while his cohorts flung accelerant on every flammable surface.
Tucker’s twin swore the politician’s family were away on summer vacation, but James checked every room, every nook and cranny, before throwing the first match. It was bad enough he was torching someone’s home—their haven—he wouldn’t add murder to his sins.
James converted and strode on two legs to the vehicle they’d left hidden in a copse of trees alongside an isolated dirt road. Although they had orders to be visible, someone putting a human face to their wolves or exposing their hideout wasn’t part of the plan.
The scent of damp mountain ferns and the tingle of Ferwyn magic was swiftly followed by a loudwootand congratulatory smack on the back.
Simmons came to James with a happy grin. “That was fucking legit.”
“Shut up and drive,” he ordered the kid, his boots kicking up dust as he yanked open the passenger door and climbed inside. With Cameron’s mysterious absence, James had been placed in charge of the night’s ignoble operation.
The sweet odor of gasoline stung his nostrils and clung to his clothes.
“When we get to the farmhouse, I want everything we’re wearing burned,” he said, peeling off his stained gloves and tossing them to Adam, one of the two outcasts piling into the backseat.
“Yes, sir,” Adam answered, the shifter unsmiling. An experienced soldier, he was the most competent male left in the pack since Cameron went missing almost a month ago.
James’ stomach churned at the far-off scream of sirens. He’d activated the mayor’s sprinkler system after leaving the house in flames and hoped soaking the lawn would prevent the fire from spreading to the neighboring homes. It was the best James could do and not nearly enough. He had reached his limit on what he was willing to do to remain a member of the Athair—no matter how vital the mission.
He missed his real pack. He missed his son.
And he missed Sarah more than he thought possible.
James ached for his Ca’anam both spiritually and physically; his soul stretched as thin as his skin by their ongoing separation. And despite an opened mating bond, Sarah’s health wouldn’t entirely return until they regularly shared a bed again. Coming together a few hours twice a month barely assuaged the effects of touch deprivation, and didn’t do a damn thing to ease his guilt for involving her in the covert operation. Something James swore he’d never do, however minimal her participation. The smuggled burner phone came too late to warn of Abby’s pending abduction but wound up aiding in the discovery of her location.
James had used the cell to contact the prince after overhearing a discussion between Grayson and Cameron two weeks after the kidnapping. The Texan Alpha was sending the rebel beta to Memphis to confer with a high-ranking member of the knights, and James’ gut told him it had something to do with Samuel’s female.
