His enthusiasm would’ve been cute if it hadn’t been for the vision of Luis Garcia dead on the dirty ground that still stalked her brain. “It’s not all fun and games,” she replied shortly. “Those people on the tube are actors and the shows rarely get it right.”
His smile fell. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I’m still learning so much about your world and have so far left to go that when I recognize something familiar…”
“Hey, no sweat.” Now she felt bad for ruining his fun.
Shrugging, he went on. “Anyway, you must be an extremely worthy female of your kind to have such an important job.”
“Tell that to the media and the general public.”
“What?” His brow wrinkled.
“Nothing.” She couldn’t believe she was having this conversation—any conversation—with a blue-haired dude wearing wings. “Say, where does a hungry person get something to eat around here?”
Sariel brightened again and offered her his arm. “In the dining room, and you’re in luck because it’s time for the evening meal. I’ll escort you.”
“Sounds good. I could eat roadkill right about now.” Taking the man’s arm, she saw him wrinkle his nose and couldn’t help but laugh. “Relax, that’s just a saying. I don’t eat dead animals off the pavement.”
“Good to know!” His relief was palpable.
Sariel led her back through the maze the way she’d come, but when they reached the hallway where her room was located, he made a turn in a new direction. After a few moments, they ended up in a big dining room, as promised. Like the rest of this place, the room was designed to create a homey feel.
Several large tables took up the space, which was made to house a number of people yet provide for more intimate conversation than it would have with just one huge table. In the center of each table were platters of food, served family style. And around the tables were quite a few men and a sprinkling of women. Most of whom had stopped talking and were checking out the newbie. Rowan looked around for Mackenzie, hoping for a familiar face, but didn’t see her.
“Hey, Blue,” someone called. “Who’s your friend?”
“This is Rowan Chase,” Sariel announced, either ignoring the slight awkwardness or unaware of it. “Apparently she’s our guest for a while. Come on.”
He tugged her to a nearby table where a small blond woman sat with a handsome, dark-haired, goateed man and two other guys she’d seen at the gate. At least now they were dressed. The body language of the blonde and the goateed man, the way they sat close, the big brute leaning into her, made Rowan think they were together. Rowan sat next to Sariel, across from the others, eyeing the steak and baked potatoes in the middle of the table.
Her stomach growled, hopefully unheard due to the talking that had resumed around them. The goateed guy pushed the plates closer to her side and nodded.
“Dig in.”
“Thanks.” Reaching for the big fork on the steak platter, she dished up a piece, put it on her plate, then stabbed a potato.
“I’m Jaxon Law, by the way,” he said, and then gestured to the blonde burrowed into his side. “This is my mate, Kira Locke.”
Mate? Okay. Wolves mated, right? Did they get married, too? She didn’t see any rings on their fingers.
She addressed the other woman. “You must be the one who works with Sariel rehabilitating, um…”
Kira smiled. “Basically, we help any creature or intelligent being when they become lost or hurt and are brought to us. Right now we have a gremlin, a basilisk, two rescued shifters, and a wolf who’s—” She cut off the last part of what she was about to say at a quick shake of Jaxon’s head. What was that about? “Anyway, Nick is going to provide funds for us to build a rehab center on the grounds for that special purpose.”
“That’s really neat,” she said, and meant it. “I don’t have a nurturing bone in my body when it comes to taking care of sick people, so I can only imagine how hard it must be to nurse something that most folks don’t know exists.”
“We’re learning as we go,” Sariel put in. “We have doctors here, and Kira at least has an advantage because of her training in the medical field, especially in genetics, and she’s good with the patients. It’s not as if running a center like this has ever been done before, and certainly not in my realm, where they simply cast out anyone who’s different.” A shadow crossed his features, but he shook it off. “Still, the work is rewarding when we get good results.”
After a round of enthusiasm from the group about the project, a man with black hair a bit longer than Jaxon’s spoke up from beside him. “I’m Zander Cole, or just Zan. This is Ryon Hunter.” He waved at a blond man on his other side, this guy appearing a little younger than his friends.
Ryon smiled, open and friendly. “Hello.”
“It’s nice to meet you all.” The jury was still out on the truth of that statement, but it was the polite response. Now she was eager to get to the heart of her visit. “I suppose by now you’ve been told I’m Micah’s sister. Do any of you know him?”
Guarded expressions met her question as she took a bite of tender meat. Too bad worry for Micah took the enjoyment right out of her meal, as it had with every aspect of her life since she was informed he’d died.
Jaxon spoke first, indicating himself and his two friends. “The three of us were in the SEALs with him. Then we joined Alpha Pack together, along with Aric and Raven, who aren’t… with us at the moment.” He paused, apparently reluctant to embellish.
Rowan glanced around the group. “It’s okay. Your boss already filled me in on what this place really is and what you guys do for a living. I’m a cop and I’m used to dealing in facts, so I’m not sure I totally believe all this stuff about conspiracies and otherworldly creatures. But I’m getting there.” She shot a pointed look at Sariel for emphasis. When she did, she noticed that he hadn’t made a move to touch any of the food, but she didn’t have time to wonder why.
“Kind of hard not to believe it when it’s shoved in your face, huh?” Kira said in sympathy. “A.J. over there was the same way not too long ago. He’s a former police officer, so maybe you two will have some things in common.” She gestured to a man who sat across the room with a huge bald guy. Jaxon wrapped an arm around Kira’s waist and kissed the top of her head.
Rowan shrugged. “Maybe.”
Jaxon brought the topic back to Micah. “About your brother, all of us thought he and several other Pack members were dead because that’s what we were told, same as you. We were devastated. When Nick came on board, he knew that the bodies were missing, but he was pretty much ordered not to say anything. We’re no happier about that than you must be, but we don’t blame him. Nick didn’t know for sure whether they really were dead—only what he was told.”
Rowan shook her head. “I’ll admit I was angry with your boss at first, but I don’t blame him, either. I just want the truth, and to find my brother. Even if he’s gone,” she added hoarsely. Her appetite fled.
Reaching across the table, Zan laid a hand over hers. “That’s all we want as well. Micah was—is—a brother to us. Now that we’re pretty sure he’s being held somewhere, alive, nothing is going to stop us from getting him back. And the other guys, too, if they’re out there.”
Heat enveloped her hand, traveled up her arm to her heart. The agony in her chest lessened, and she wondered if this was Zan’s gift—easing people’s pain.
“We know Savage is,” Ryon put in.
“Yeah, the snarky son of a bitch.” Jaxon’s words held no real heat, and his tone was sad, his eyes brimming with guilt. “It’s my fault he’s not here.”
“Oh, sweetie,” Kira breathed, hugging him tight. “You’ve got to stop blaming yourself. Aric’s being taken was Chappell’s doing, not yours.”