Page 30 of Shifters' Fated Summer
The other seat beside Cade was open, and I had a feeling it belonged to Luca, but he sat in a chair along the wall and patted the seat beside him.
I sank down, and his hand went to my thigh, stroking up and down. I wasn’t sure if he meant to be comforting or if he was trying to build my desire, but I was too nervous for either.
“You remember Finn,” Luca whispered into my ear. His black curls flopped over his forehead as he leaned over, and I fought the urge to touch them.
“That’s Archer and Elowen,” he said, motioning to the couple. Even seated, the man towered over his partner. His skin was dark like Finn’s, making her pale skin and hair stand out.
“You remember Harper and her mate, Rae.” I nodded, avoiding looking at the two of them.
Another man filed in, taking the seat past Rae. He looked a little older. “That’s Holt. He does a lot of our cooking. And here’s Jem.”
The girl from the sofa slid into the seat beside Finn. She grinned up at him, and Finn fumbled the remote in his hands. Her black curls reminded me of Luca.
“Is she your sister?” I whisper. Jem twisted in her seat, looking at me with a dark brow raised.
“Cousin,” Luca answered with a chuckle. “Jem, this is Summer.”
“Hey,” Jem said, jerking her chin before turning back to the table.
Cade cleared his throat. “Everyone ready?” He leaned back in his seat, his mouth a thin line.
“Why is she here?” Harper asked, wrinkling her nose.
“She goes where Luca goes,” Cade answered without emotion. “For now.”
Harper shifted in her seat and drummed her claw-like manicure on the table. Today, she wore her red hair braided back along her scalp like a Viking.
“Let’s start with the good news. All of the humans from the raid were successfully returned to their families. Sixteen in total.”
Several people smiled and nodded proudly.
“Now here’s the bad news. After reviewing all of our data, we think there were fifteen vampires in the den total. The queen, three sons, and then miscellaneous members.”
“Five,” I muttered.
Cade’s attention homed in on me. He sat forward, folding his hands on the table. “Yes?”
Shit.
Steeling myself, I repeated, “Five sons. The queen has five sons.”
“And you know all about them?” His mouth flattened.
I scowled back at him, and Luca’s grip on my thigh tightened. “No, but I know a little. Evrin is the youngest.”
Cade’s jaw ticked at the name Evrin.
“The next youngest is Leon. I didn’t know the middle two, but the oldest is named Lucian. He is second-in-command, I think.”
Luca’s chin tipped up a fraction, silently communicating,See, I told you she’s worth keeping around.
Waves of suspicion and doubt rolled off Cade, and I fought the urge to sink down in my seat.
“We’ve heard of Lucian,” Cade said shortly. “And one named Elias.”
“That sounds right for one of the middle brothers,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.
The Alpha sat back in his chair, his eyes sweeping away from me finally. “Well, the two vamps we got in the raid were low ranking. Seemed to be recently turned. That’s not going to do it.”
