When I arrived at Haldis Tactical, Anika and Pascal were already there. Flanking the Tordis Guide was a group of Searchers I didn’t know. Much to my surprise, Ren stood in their midst, and it looked like he was giving instructions. I assumed they were Pascal’s decoy team and I shivered. Ren’s plan was a good one, but he was risking himself so soon.
Ren lifted his head, almost as if he’d read my thoughts. He gave a curt nod, turning his attention back to the team. I pushed back the desire to join their group, leading beside my fellow alpha. But that wasn’t my fight. Not today.
Ethan and Sabine entered the room together. I tried not to stare. They weren’t speaking or even touching, but one glance told me it would take a force of nature to pry them even an inch farther apart. Seeing them offered a rush of relief. At least I wasn’t the only one dealing with romantic complications.
Trying my best to be casual, I approached them. “Morning.”
“Hey, Calla.” Sabine eyed me suspiciously. Apparently casual was not my forte.
Ethan just nodded.
“Did we miss the boat?” Connor asked. He sauntered in with Adne just behind him.
“You’re actually just in time,” Anika said.
“Damn.”
Adne gave me a brief wave while Connor continued his conversation with Anika.
“Hey.” I jumped at the touch of a hand on my shoulder.
“Sleep okay?” Ren asked.
“Uh… yeah.” So far, so good.
Never mind. Shay walked in with Mason and Nev. They were all chomping on rolls and fruit. The scent of freshly baked bread made my stomach growl.
“Hungry?” Ren grinned.
“I skipped breakfast.”
“Plenty to share.” Mason tossed me a roll. I tore into it, pretending it was hunger and not anxiety that kept me from looking at Shay. He was standing right next to Ren. I kept waiting for something to happen. A smirk, a smug glance-any movement that would signal to Ren where I’d spent the night. Despite how delicious the roll tasted and smelled, when I swallowed, it felt like a rock landed in my gut.
Considering I’d scrubbed my skin hard enough in the showers to leave it red and stinging for several minutes, I hoped I’d gotten every trace of Shay’s scent off me, but I didn’t dare meet his gaze. Now that he was close, I could smell thunder and rain-drenched leaves, which made my toes curl. Heat climbed into my cheeks.
Desperate to distract myself, I focused on Ren. “How about you? Good night’s sleep?”
“Not so much.” He grimaced.
I tried to keep my voice casual as I imagined Ren passing by Shay’s door and hearing what we’d been up to all night. “Your room not comfortable enough?”
He laughed. “That wasn’t the problem.”
My pulse had become a frenetic staccato. He must have found out somehow.
Ren rubbed his temples. “I had company.”
“Excuse me?” My voice took on a high pitch that I didn’t like at all.
Silas stumbled in, gasping. If it hadn’t been for his cobalt and black hair, I might not have recognized him. He’d traded in his wannabe rocker wardrobe for classic Searcher garb. There was even a sword in scabbard hanging from his waist.
“Did I miss it? Am I late?!”
Anika frowned. “Considering I granted you a special dispensation for this mission, you certainly could have been more timely.”
“Sorry, Anika.” Silas shoved his mad hair out of his face. “I couldn’t decide which writing tools would travel best. I settled on pencil and pen-one each, and a Moleskine.” He held them up proudly. “Plus I was up most of the night tutoring our new recruit.”
Ren sighed loudly enough to catch Silas’s attention.
The Scribe made a sour face. “He was a rather difficult student.”
“Silas?” I glanced from Ren to the mad-haired scholar. “He was your company?”
“Still jealous?” Ren winked at me.
“I was not jealous,” I said.
“Really?” Ren said. “So that harpy-ish tone was your normal speaking voice?”
My cheeks flamed again, but this time had nothing to do with my clandestine sleepover with Shay.
“Dude, if you want to change teams, welcome aboard.” Mason grinned. “But you could do way better than that punk-a-doodle-do.”
Silas went beet red, sputtering, “I was giving him vital information about our mission.”
Mason shrugged. “Everything that happens in the bedroom is vital.”
“He’s not wrong.” Nev slung his arm around Mason’s shoulders.
Silas was opening and closing his mouth, but no sound came out. Ren took pity on him.
“He told me about how special you are,” he said, flashing Shay an unfriendly smile. “Because of your great-great-times-a-hundred-grandmother Eira who got us into this mess when she became a demon’s mistress.”
“Thanks for reminding me,” Shay said. “So now you know why you and Calla were supposed to cut my throat instead of a cake at your wedding. Too bad that didn’t happen.”
Ren stiffened. “I’m not sorry you made it out of Vail alive. As for the rest of it… we’ll just see how that turns out, won’t we?”
Shay smiled slowly. “We certainly will.” I held my breath, waiting for him to strike back with a hint about my visit to his room. But he only glared at the other alpha. Luckily for all of us, Shay’s brain did not seem to have been completely overrun by his male ego.
“I didn’t give all the background you needed.” Silas had recovered a bit as his lessons were rehashed. “You kept growling at me.”
“You called me an abomination.” Ren’s teeth were sharp. “What did you expect? A kiss?”
Mason coughed. “You could do better.”
Silas ignored him. “I’m merely stating the facts. Guardians were created in violation of natural laws. You are an-”
Ren’s hand was around Silas’s throat, lifting him to his tiptoes and choking off his words. “Say it again and you’ll be very sorry.”
Adne grabbed Ren’s arm and jerked him away from the Scribe. “He doesn’t mean any harm.”
Ren smiled at her as he dropped Silas. “Just making sure.”
Adne returned his smile, laughing. “We all know you’re not to be trifled with, big brother, you don’t have to prove it.”
“He’s lucky you came to his rescue.” Ren slid his arm around her shoulders. “That’s twice now.”
“Twice?” I asked.
“Last night and just now,” Ren said.
“I was up late,” Adne said. “I heard Silas’s lecturing when I walked by Ren’s room and figured I should get in there before things got ugly.”
“We were past ugly,” Ren said. “But we hadn’t reached violent yet. Your timing was impeccable.”
“I’m awesome like that.” Adne grinned. “Besides, you and I have a lot to catch up on.”
Ren turned a smile on Adne more tender than I’d ever seen from him. Connor was also watching the pair. A twisted smile, bittersweet, flickered across his mouth and I knew he wished Monroe was here to see his children together.
“What’s the bookworm doing here anyway?” Connor pulled his gaze off Ren and Adne to glance at Anika.