Page 15 of Mated
I clap him on the back and start down the hall.
There are several doors along the expanse, but I can track Callus by scent alone. Announcing myself at all is just good breeding.
I knock.
“Enter.”
I push the panel wide. Callus Reed sits behind a regal black locust desk. One that is over a hundred and fifty years old and has been part of the Silver Rock pack for five generations. On the left hand corner of the top drawer will be a hand carved insignia.
And I know because I put it there.
“Tanner Faust,” Callus all but croons, drawing me away from the past I walked away from. “It’s been what? Four years?”
“Seven,” I say.
He smiles and reclines back in his chair. His dark hair is a rich chestnut, longer than mine and fuller. Eyes of a feline hazel watch every move I make. Calculating everything. The alpha is thicker than I remember, too, not as lean as he once was. But the blanket of power pouring from him has not changed. “I profess when Diana saidtheTan-Man was here … I couldn’t stop my flutter of excitement. The great Tanner Faust. The ghost of Silver Rock returned at last.”
My lips want to peel back on a snarl at his condescending, but I rein myotherside in. “It’s pack law for an outsider to seek audience with the local alpha. So here I am. Seeking your time.”
“And what could you need me for?”
“Tonight, a human woman was attacked on your land by a man-eater in jaguar form.”
“A man-eater? At Silver Rock?” Nothing in his expression, scent, or heart rhythm changes. But I don’t trust a damn word he says.
“The woman was bitten, and she already shows signs of changing.”
He peers around me. “And this woman … Where is she now?”
“At Fallen Ridge Memorial.” My teeth grind the words out.
His head bobs. “Well, then, I’m afraid until she is able to substantiate these outlandish claims, we are done here.”
I gape. “Callus …”
His eyes flash as the first glimmer of gold sparks through their depths. “Alpha Reed, to you, Mr. Faust,” he says, rising to his feet. “Or have you forgotten who leads Silver Rock?”
“I haven’t forgotten,” I retort, seething. “But you have a problem on your land. You can spare one fucking man to investigate.”
“Unfortunately, no I can’t.”
“No Beta? Nothing?” I ask, incredulous. “What about Ebony or the Twins. Surely they could—”
“There is no one,” he snaps. Some of the anger fades on a smirk so dripping in disdain, I want to wipe it from my fucking skin.
“Fine,” I say. “If I have to do this by shifter law or by coven sanction, I will handle it if you won’t.”
The desk groans under his hands as he leans across it. “Are you threatening me, Tanner?” His voice holds a trace of a growl.
My fists ache to slug him in the jaw. To break that square width into a million impossible to put back together pieces.
Even after all these fucking years, the asshole can’t tame his arrogance.
An idea dawns with startling fucking clarity.
But it’s stupid.
Insane.
