Alpha’s Strength(25)

Lilliana’s arms came around her, pulling her into a tight embrace.

Betsy sniffed. “Oh thank goodness you’re a hugger too. I didn’t want to weird you out by grabbing you if you didn’t like it.”

Her sister laughed. “If you didn’t like hugging, I was going to force you to embrace me anyway. I knew you existed. I just did.”

Betsy closed her eyes. This was a small miracle in the midst of a hellish day.



****



It amazed Betsy how fast Cyrus could get things done. Someone, maybe Lilliana’s mate, Travis, had suggested food, and the next thing she knew they were all seated in a conference room with people delivering a huge meal. Was it having money that made this happen or being the Alpha of Manhattan? Maybe both?

A woman entered the room, smiling at all of them. She smelled like roses, and she carried another plate of food. How many sandwiches did Cyrus think they needed?

“I’ll set this down.” The woman with brown hair grinned at her. “Do you need anything else? I can go get anything you need.”

It took Betsy a moment to realize she spoke to her. “Oh no, we’re fine.”

“Wonderful. I’m Kyra, by the way.”

“Hi, I’m Betsy.”

“I know.”

The other woman did something Betsy did not anticipate, crossing to her quickly to give her a hug. Betsy wasn’t used to being embraced, particularly by people she didn’t know. Jensen had done it earlier and it had freaked her out, and consequently stayed stiff as a board through the whole thing. Her discomfort didn’t seem to bother the other woman, though.

Finally, Kyra let go and stepped back. “It’s wonderful to have you, Betsy.”

With that wonderfully weird exchange, Kyra left the room. Betsy turned to look at Travis and Lilliana, they both ate their food like nothing strange had happened. Why would they have thought it odd? She was the only fish out of water in the room, the only one struggling to find her way in her constantly shifting world.

Cyrus had stepped out. She had no idea what for. He hadn’t told her. In fact, he hadn’t regarded her very much since Alexei had left. What was that about? Her skin itched, and she wanted to claw at the table. Had she done something wrong?

It couldn’t be Travis. He and Cyrus had been downright cordial in comparison to how he’d reacted to Alexei.

“Where were you living before today?”

Betsy turned her attention to Travis, who was eating a bag of potato chips as though he had no cares in the world. It had to be an act. He was an Alpha like Cyrus. Even if she didn’t fully understand it, her nose knew the difference between pretending to be calm and actually being that way.

“Brooklyn. In a brownstone.” She drummed her fingers on the table trying to do something with her nervous energy. Where had Cyrus gone?

“Well, that must have cost a pretty penny.”

Lilliana elbowed her mate. “It’s not polite to talk about money. Don’t mind him. Werewolves never have a clue on niceties like that.”

“Oh, I don’t mind. I don’t know what it cost. Nathan handled all of that. He told me where to go, and that’s what I did.” She picked up her water and took a sip. Had it suddenly gotten hot it the room?

“Nathan?” He crunched his chip. “Who’s that?”

Lilliana growled. “Stop interrogating my sister.”

“We’ve just met her. I’m trying to get a sense of her history, my love. I’m not interrogating her. I’m asking questions so she can tell me about herself.” He crunched again and his gaze didn’t waver from her. So much for thinking he lacked intensity.

“Nathan is the human”— she squirmed when she used the word. When had she started adopting the language of werewolves?—“who has been blackmailing me for some time. I suppose that is going to stop now that Cyrus has him locked up in the basement.”

Travis jumped to his feet. She could smell the surge of adrenaline in the room. “Cyrus has a human in the basement? And he didn’t think to share that news?”

“Oh, sit down, Travis.” Cyrus reentered the room. He’d taken off his tie, and his collar hung open. He’d decided to get comfortable? Why? “We’ll get to the details. You need to know them too. Oh good, it smells like they got the chicken I ordered correct. Last time there was too much garlic.”

He grinned, and it took Betsy a moment to realize he’d made a joke. Or attempted to. “Isn’t garlic a vampire thing?”

Travis clapped his hands slowly before sinking back down in his seat. “Look who’s trying to be amusing.”

Cyrus’ smile fled, and she missed it. If it wouldn’t have been weird, she would have reached out and tried to smooth the lines away from his eyes.