Curran rose. “The Pack thanks the Order for its continued cooperation and goodwill. We look forward to successful relationships in the future.”
That’s it, you’re done, go away now.
Andrea drew herself upright.
“I’m not done,” I said quietly.
Curran ignored me. “You and I have an understanding, Andrea. Don’t abuse it by insulting your friend and my mate.”
Andrea walked out.
I sighed. “You don’t get to decide when I’m finished talking to my friend.”
Curran perched on the edge of the table. “The conversation was going nowhere. They’re both hurt and neither of them was in the mood to listen.”
That didn’t change anything. “I thought this was a joint venture. Am I wrong?”
Curran fell silent for a long moment, obviously picking the right words. “Yes, it is. I know it goes against the grain, but please don’t contradict me again in public. You can scream and kick me in private, but in public we must present a united front. Always. Anything we do outside of those rooms upstairs will be scrutinized and people like B will exploit every rift to their advantage. When a decision is made, I need to know that you will support it.”
I tapped my fingernails on the table. “Even if the decision was made without my input?”
He exhaled slowly. “I’m not used to sharing. I’ve never had to do it before. If you cut me some slack, I promise I’ll do the same for you. I will attempt to always include you, but it won’t always be possible. You have to trust me.”
“Trust goes both ways.”
Curran leaned closer. “If she were one of mine, I would’ve had my claws on her throat. I permit her to insult you, because she is your friend and you don’t play by the same rules. I want some credit for that.”
This was going to be an uphill battle. I could see it in his eyes. “You permitted her to insult me because she is a knight of the Order and even you can’t murder them with impunity.”
“That, too.”
“As long as you’re aware that I will make my own decisions and I will fight you if you attempt to interfere. I will make an effort to always include you, Your Majesty, but it won’t be always possible.”
Gold sparked in his eyes and vanished.
“I deserved that,” he said. “We’re even now. Peace?”
He watched me carefully. It was important to him. What I said would matter.
Curran was used to unquestioned obedience and I rejected all authority. He’d never shared his power before and I never had any. Both of us had to give and neither wanted to.
“Peace,” I said. “This is going to be really difficult for us.”
“Yes. But we’ll work it out, with enough time.”
If it got to be too much, there was always the gym.
We sat in silence for a long minute.
“What are you thinking?” I asked finally.
“Erra’s down to three undead: wind, animal, and the third one.”
“Gale, Beast, and Darkness. And nobody knows what Darkness does.”
Curran nodded. “Assuming that whatever trap the Order sets for her fails—”
“Which it will,” I added.
“—she’ll chase the crowd toward the Casino.”
“We have to keep her away from the crowd.” I pulled Slayer from the back sheath and put it on my lap. “There is no telling how many she will kill, if they panic.”
“Not that many,” Curran said. “Most of the deaths will be from people trampling each other.”
Thanks, Your Fuzziness, that makes me feel loads better. “Ted doesn’t care about the loss of life. He deals in large numbers: the welfare of many outweighs the lives of the few. I can’t do that.”
“I know.” Curran leaned back. “We’ll take a squad from each clan, female fighters only.”
I raised my eyebrows. “How many per squad?”
“Between five and ten. We position them along the roofs. You’ll wait on the street by the Casino. She’ll chase you. If you back away far enough, my . . . our people will swarm her undead helpers. You and I will key on her.”
As plans went, it was painfully simple, but anything else depended too much on Erra’s actions and she was unpredictable.
“It makes sense.” I played with my sword, running my hands along the blade. “You shouldn’t go to this fight. You’re male and a shapeshifter; that makes you twice as vulnerable to Erra.”
“I have to go. It’s in the job description.”
“It’s not a fight that you can win, Curran.”
“I don’t get to cherry-pick the battles I know I’ll win.”
A narrow smile curved his lips. He looked wicked and almost boyish at the same time. Something jabbed me right under the heart, where I stored my fears, and they surged through me all at once.
He was mine. He cared for me, he made me lose all sense, he didn’t give a damn about my father. He was what I wanted, because he made me happy. I wanted him like I’d never wanted anyone in my life.
I knew how this dance went—I’d gone through its paces before. As soon as I started to care about someone, death would snatch him from me.
Curran was going to die.
There was nothing I could do to prevent it. He would die, because that was what always happened.
My throat constricted. “Let me take care of it.”
“No. You aren’t strong enough on your own. You’ve fought her twice to a draw.”
“I almost had her.”
Curran nodded. “I heard. And you could’ve taken her, too.”
My voice came out flat. “Rub it in, why don’t you.”
He grinned. “No time for that now. Maybe later.”
I closed my eyes. There wouldn’t be any later.
“Are you imagining me rubbing it in?” he asked.
“I’m counting to ten in my head.”
“Is it helping?”
“No.”
“It doesn’t help me with you either. I used to lift weights to alleviate frustration, but someone blowtorched my weight bench. How did you do it, by the way?”
“I could tell you but then I’d have to kill you.”
I felt like I was trying to hold back a giant rock as it rolled down the mountain. No matter what I did, it just kept rolling, grinding at me with its weight.
He was going to die.
“There is another reason,” Curran said. “You’re my mate. I installed you in my rooms. You aren’t yet alpha. To get you confirmed as alpha, I’d have to bring you in front of the Council and they will bitch, and moan, and drag it out, and our time is short. Besides, the true alpha authority comes once you’ve proven yourself. That takes weeks, months sometimes, and several kills. Because you’re my mate, the shapeshifters will treat you with courtesy, but in the field, when they’re between life and death, they won’t listen to you. Seven squads means seven female alphas. You’ve seen how well they get along on their own.”
It was hard to argue with him, because he stubbornly insisted on making sense. “Put one of the alphas in charge, then.”
Curran’s blond eyebrows crept together. “And raise one clan above all others, while undermining your future authority? They’d never let you forget it.”
I held his gaze. “I know Erra. I know what she is capable of. You don’t. Do you at least respect me enough to let me take the lead on this?”
He didn’t pause. “Yes. But I’m still coming with you. I need to be there.”
The frustration burst from me. “Argh.” I pushed to my feet. “I fucking hate her for putting me through this. When I get my hands on her, I’ll rip her legs out and feed them to her, boots first.”
THE SHAPESHIFTERS DIDN’T BELIEVE IN JAILS. TYPICAL punishments were death or labor. In the rare cases when they did sentence someone to isolation, they exiled them to a remote area.
The Keep did have several holding cells, large, empty rooms equipped with loup cages. One of them held my “bodyguard.” Curran insisted on walking with me to the door. Somehow, despite the early hour, the hallways of the Keep were full of shapeshifters, who made valiant efforts not to stare at me.
“For nocturnal people, you’re terribly active in daylight,” I murmured.