Chapitre 5: Chapter 5
Nick had been pressuring her to temporarily give up the position while she was pregnant, and she had agreed to do so after this particular situation had been resolved. Shaya cursed under her breath. “I’ll see if another mediator can cover for me.” “With such short notice?” Derren’s look said “doubtful.” Nick tucked her red curls behind her ear.
“Do the two parties still seem close to war?” If Shaya’s worried expression was anything to go by, the answer was yes. “Don’t worry, baby. If you can’t come along, it doesn’t mean you’re neglecting the people you love. We understand you’re needed elsewhere.” Clearly feeling guilty at the idea of trying to escape the meeting, finally, Shaya sighed.
“Fine. I’ll go to the meeting.” Nick and Derren exchanged discreetly smug smiles. “But don’t think I don’t know that you guys just played me, or that you won’t pay for it later.” Their smug looks vanished. “So who are you involving in the hunt?” Taryn asked Nick. “I can’t afford to involve many of my wolves; I want Shay to be well protected. I’ll take Derren and Eli. That way, Roni, Jesse, Bracken, and Zander can—”
“Wait a cocking, fucking second,” snapped Roni, shuffling forward in her seat. “You can’t shove me in the backseat.” “I need to be sure that Shay and our pack is safe, and I trust you to ensure that.” “Bullshit. You’re trying to protect me.”
“Come on, Roni, you have to admit you don’t work well with others.” “What’s that supposed to mean?” She knew her eyes had briefly flashed wolf. The animal had no more tolerance for this crap than she did. “Although you’re unfailingly loyal, you don’t have any interest in leading or following anyone. You do ‘Roni’s thing,’ and you reject anything that interferes with it.
On the one hand, it’s what makes you a good enforcer—you don’t follow me blindly, you think for yourself. But it means you’re awful at working with people. “Taking part in a hunt is serious. The tracking, the chase, the capture—all of it takes skill, patience, perseverance, and teamwork.
We need to be able to rely on each other. It’s likely that we’ll be splitting up several times to stretch our resources. Four times you’ve left Bracken in the dust when I partnered you with him on something.” “Because he drags his heels. Assign me a better partner and we won’t have a problem.” “You could team up with Marcus.” At Taryn’s suggestion, everyone looked at her curiously. Roni had to have misheard her. “What’s that now?” Taryn shrugged casually . . . a little too casually. “You’ll do better working alongside someone who’s of equal status. Anyone with a higher position will rub you the wrong way. You won’t have that problem with Marcus.”
She shot a meaningful glance at the male hand resting possessively on Roni’s shoulder—a move that her wolf hadn’t bristled at, which spoke volumes about her comfort level around him.
“She’s not working with the man-slut,” spat Nick. “Personally, I think it’s a good idea.” Shaya wasn’t affected by Nick’s glower. “If she has a partner who matches her well, you won’t have to worry that she’ll wander off. Marcus won’t smother her, but he won’t let her walk all over him either.”
“Roni isn’t going!” Nick growled warningly when Roni opened her mouth to argue. “No. As your Alpha, the decision is ultimately mine.” Not liking Nick’s high-handedness, Marcus decided it was well past time he intervened. He could respect that Nick was Roni’s Alpha and that it was only natural that he would want to protect his sister, but stifling someone as dominant as Roni would be a huge mistake. “You must understand why he’s asking you to stay behind, Roni.”
She rounded on Marcus. “Who the fuck asked for your opinion?” “I’m just saying, his decision makes sense.” She might have clawed his face off, but then she saw the calculating glint in his eyes. Deciding to play along, she asked, “How did you reach that messed-up conclusion?” “He’s taking Derren and Eli with him—his Beta and his Head Enforcer. That will mean the three most dominant males in the pack are concentrating on something other than Shaya’s well-being.”
Marcus let that sink in for a minute and watched in satisfaction as Nick frowned thoughtfully. If anything would have the Alpha rethinking his decision, it was the idea of how that decision would affect his pregnant mate. “Although you didn’t follow his order today and things sort of went tits-up,” continued Marcus, “I’m guessing you’ll be sure not to do it again.”
Nick’s frown deepened, and Marcus knew the guy was considering how she did “Roni’s thing” and would in fact disobey his orders if she felt it was in Shaya’s best interests. “
You should be flattered he’s placed that trust in you.” Roni liked how this wolf’s mind worked. She stifled a smile as she watched an array of emotions flash across Nick’s face. He was clearly struggling with this. Finally Nick released a heavy breath. “All right, Roni, you can come. I’ll have Eli stay behind. Maybe you and Marcus would make a good team, considering he can be just as cunning as you.” Trey gave him a mockingly sympathetic look. “
You might be an Alpha, but your family will always find a way to play you.” Nick just scowled at him. “I’m glad you find this amusing, Sailor Joe.” It seemed to take a few seconds for the words to sink in, but when they did, Trey spun to snarl at Taryn, “You told him?” She laughed awkwardly. “Of course I didn’t tell him.” In a low voice, she added, “I told Shaya.” While everyone else was doing their best to hide their amusement, Dante was outright laughing his ass off. “A sailor, huh? Didn’t think that role-play was your thing.” Trey glowered at him.
“Something funny, Fireman Sam?” The laughing abruptly stopped, and Dante rounded on his mate. “You told him?” Jaime spluttered. “No!” She cleared her throat. “Although I did tell Taryn. And Shaya. And Roni. But I didn’t tell them about the time you—”
A large hand clapped over her mouth. “About the time you . . . ?” prodded Nick, grinning. Wincing as Jaime bit into his palm, Dante shook his head. “Nothing.” Shaya snorted at Nick. “You’re not really one to judge, considering you—”
Her words were cut off as he kissed her hard. Squirming under Trey’s glower, Taryn obviously felt it was time to change the subject because she turned to Nick, Roni, and Derren. “Good to have you along for the ride. We’ll expect to see you all here tomorrow, bright and early.”
Cadeaux
-- Cadeau
reçu État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone