“But you’re not ready to talk terms tonight. Is that it?” Alexei raised an eyebrow. The man liked to play game.
Cyrus wasn’t in the mood. “Tomorrow. As agreed.”
“I need to find my pregnant females. Dead or alive, they have to come home. To their mates and lovers. I came here to keep our appointment but I can’t talk treaty until something is done about this. How do you do it? How do you manage to handle all of it at the same time in a human world?” Did Alexei really want an answer? Cyrus wasn’t used to the other Alpha wanting to really talk about anything.
He sighed. “Call upon your strength. You wouldn’t be Alpha if you didn’t have deep resources.” Truth was, he understood Alexei completely. He wouldn’t want to focus on anything other than the search too. His cell phone beeped, and he glanced at the device. Travis had arrived in the building and, unlike Alexei, had done him the courtesy of informing him of his arrival. Unfortunately, Travis and Alexei hated each other. “We’ll talk treaty tomorrow because we must.”
They couldn’t be allowed in the same room, even if he couldn’t prevent them scenting each other.
His nose itched. A quick look at his mate told him what he’d smelled. She was in distress. All the color had vanished from her cheeks.
This day wasn’t getting any better. Philadelphia and Boston couldn’t go to war in the penthouse of his New York pack’s headquarters. Not when he had to go to Montana to rescue his mate’s criminal parents. She’d never even told him where she was from but Jensen’s investigation of the house had given him at least that much information. Everything was so complicated. Shouldn’t mating be simple?
Cyrus had never missed Lucian so much in his life.
Chapter Six
If she could have turned into a puddle and been absorbed into the wood floor beneath her feet, Betsy would have gladly done so. She knew what Cyrus had to be thinking. Her parents. Stolen babies. And the fact that she was a werewolf and hadn’t known. She’d have to be a giant moron not to know what he thought.
She wasn’t educated like she wanted to be. Her home schooling had been a necessity. They’d lived too far from the main road to get her to school and back every day while still running the home properly. But she could read, and she could do arithmetic, more or less. One and one always added up to two.
In this case, the numbers all pointed in the direction of her folks. How much worse could any of this get? Only her parents were locked away, so unless they’d arranged a bunch of kidnappings months ago before they were found out, they hadn’t done this.
Betsy had a bad moment when she thought Cyrus was about to share his theory with Alexei. Only he hadn’t. Instead, he seemed to be trying to get the other wolf out the door.
“Alexei. I need you to leave.” Cyrus motioned toward the door.
The other Alpha laughed, a long, hard sound that rattled the pictures on the wall. She winced. He took up all the space in the room with his personality, at least to her. She was so glad that Cyrus wasn’t like that
Only Alexei didn’t go, and his pack mates had been willing to throw themselves into a fight to protect him. That kind loyalty impressed her.
Alexei snorted. “You need to work on your subtlety. Ask me nicely. Convince me to share a meal with you and then we’ll see if I feel like leaving.”
Cyrus shook his head. “Not having dinner with you. You need to go. Travis is here on another matter, and I won’t have the two of you stinking up the place with your pissing contest. Get in the elevator. Get out. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
All joviality fled Alexei’s features. His eyes turned feral, a wolf in human form. She shuddered and took a step backward. Betsy never wanted to find herself on the other side of that gaze. She turned to Cyrus, instinct pointing to him as the safe harbor in the room. What would he do if Alexei refused to leave?
“I don’t know how you can have a positive relationship with that poser. He has no business being Alpha. He runs Philadelphia like it’s a democracy.”
Again, Cyrus only shook his head. “There are ranges between democracy and autocracy. You know what Lucian taught us. To each his own. If it works for Travis, I have no comment. I don’t want war, not again.”
She squirmed in her seat. Cyrus rubbed at his cheek, and she wondered if his scar had come from some sort of battle. Betsy sighed. It was hard enough navigating human politics. What kinds of things did wolves do to each other, and why did the idea of watching Cyrus in battle make her so hot and bothered?
She really needed to have her head examined.
“I’ll leave, but only because I need you to give me what I want tomorrow. I need you to help me find them. Pissing you off tonight is only going to make you more obnoxious.” Who was Alexei trying to convince? Cyrus or himself?