Four Days (Seven Series #4) (3 page)

“Good, then I can stay home and sleep.” Denver yawned, his eyes closed.

“You’re not off the hook,” Austin said gruffly. “The business thing shouldn’t take long, so I want everyone attending. That’s an order.”

“Aye-aye, captain!” Ben said, clicking his heels together like an obedient soldier.

A few of the men chuckled. Ben was a bit of a clown. He earned his money in poker tournaments, but wasn’t a serious guy. Not like his twin, Wheeler, who was always brooding. For two men who were identical, they couldn’t have looked and behaved more dissimilar.

“We’re all heading out together, so do what you need to do and make sure you’re ready by eleven. Carry on.” Austin headed toward the back door, raking his fingers through his tangles of dark hair.

April examined her nails. “I need to redo my polish if we’re dressing up. This doesn’t match my nice outfits.”

Reno kissed the top of her head. “No one’s going to be looking at your fingernails, princess.”

She wriggled out of his arms and he laughed as he tried to keep his grip on her.

“All right,” I said, breaking it up. “Let the women get ready so we’re not late. Wheeler, make sure the windows are locked up, and you’ll be in charge of shutting up the house and setting the alarms. Reno, you’re in charge of organizing who’s riding together. Let’s not have any last-minute bickering.”

The men smiled and looked amongst each other before going back to what they were doing before.

Izzy clutched my arm as we headed toward the kitchen to clean up the leftover plates from breakfast. “You’ll make a great mom someday. You have a way of keeping this pack in line. They sure don’t listen to me.”

The men didn’t see me as one of the guys. They were more inclined to obey a serious-minded woman, whether she was headstrong or quiet. I enjoyed spending time with the pack, but I limited my participation in the late-night parties. Therefore, even though Lexi was the alpha female of the house, they took me a little more seriously. I treated them as brothers and kept my distance so they didn’t get any mixed feelings about me.

If only I had learned that trait long ago.

Ten minutes after twelve, the Weston pack arrived at the Breed restaurant.
The Breed formed communities separate from humans. It wasn’t uncommon to run into a Mage or a Chitah, but Austin was more populous with Shifters than any other immortal. Our animals preferred rural areas where they could run, so we gravitated to the South or to mountainous regions.

I was bubbling with excitement because this was my favorite place to eat. My old pack in Oklahoma had limited my social life and never allowed me to go out to restaurants. My reactions to simple things seemed to amuse the men in my pack.

The restaurant seated by reservation only to keep humans out. In the Breed world, we’re given a unique alias to use in human establishments—most of us only carried identification with that name. The person taking the reservations simply ran a cross-check of the names to ensure only Breed ended up on the list. Humans just assumed they needed connections to get a table. Occasionally a popular place might open their doors once a year for humans to dine, just to appease some of the big shots and lower suspicions.

The smell of sizzling steak wafted through the door when we entered the building, and I soaked in the magnificence of the ambience. The lights affixed to the stone walls cast a charming glow throughout the room. Our shoes tapped against the wood floors as we approached the waiting area in front of the bar. All the round tables had a mahogany finish with a unique pattern in the grain. Curved-back chairs surrounded the tables and several rooms branched off the main dining room for a more intimate dining experience. Austin hadn’t planned for the Packmasters to meet with us when he made the reservation, so those rooms were booked.

The waiter led us to the back of the dining room, away from the kitchen and bathrooms. The men had a commanding walk when moving together as a pack, and several people looked up from their tables as we passed by. Everyone walked around a long table that stretched along the far wall. Austin saved three chairs next to his at the head of the table. Since Reno was second-in-command of the pack, he took a seat on the opposite end of the table, even though it would distance him from the conversation. The second-in-command supported the Packmaster, and the seating arrangement allowed him to keep the pack in line.

I sat against the wall because I didn’t like my back to the crowd. Reno was on my right and April across from me.

“But I want to sit by
you
,” Maizy said, giving Lexi an inconsolable look.

Lexi led her by the hand to the chair beside April. “Maze, the adults have to talk about something, and then maybe later we can switch chairs. Okay?” Lexi returned to her seat on the same row I was on, between Austin and Wheeler.

April opened her purse, found a pen and crumpled piece of paper, and drew intersecting lines for a game of tic-tac-toe with Maizy. The chair to my left remained vacant and Denver sat on the other side of it with his head on the table, half-asleep.

“Where’s Trevor?” I asked April.

She hunched her shoulders. “His wolf had to run. Austin asked him to stay behind and keep an eye on the property. I’m not sure what
that’s
about since we’re not exactly hiding the crown jewels.”

The waiter promptly took our orders and delivered a round of drinks.

“No, the tea is mine,” I said, signaling him with my hand.

The young waiter looked at me with Vampire eyes as black as onyx. He took the tea from Jericho’s hand and walked around the table to set it by my plate. It wasn’t common to see Vampires in service positions, and Austin didn’t remove his eyes from him for a second. Vampires had impeccable hearing and often worked as spies or guards, but if Austin had anything secretive to discuss with the Packmasters joining us, they would have held their meeting at the house. Austin seemed apprehensive about the young man, so I assumed it had to do with bad memories from his days as a bounty hunter. To be honest, I had never met any Vampires to form an opinion on them.

“That’ll be all,” Austin said.

I sipped my raspberry tea and winked at Maizy. She wore a bright smile on her face that made her dimples irresistibly precious to look at.

Reno folded a cloth napkin into the shape of a bunny’s head with long ears. When he finished, he propped it in front of her and said, “How ’bout that?”

April reached out to touch it and tipped her glass over. Reno caught it before the ice spilled, and he wiped up the mess without saying a word. April smiled sheepishly and asked the waiter for another napkin.

Reno smirked and leaned toward me to say privately, “She’s adorable as hell.”

Izzy thumped the back of Denver’s head and he groggily looked up.

“Is my steak ready?” he asked, looking around expectantly.

Wheeler held up a slim breadstick like a weapon. “I got your steak right here, sweetheart.”

Denver snorted. “Always knew I’d die from carbs.”

Jericho pulled out two breadsticks and began tapping them on his plate like a drummer. Izzy, who sat directly across from him, tossed her purse on the table. “Well, I thought I could at least make it through dinner. It seems the bigger I get, the smaller my bladder gets.”

“Does the little bean have to go potty?” Denver asked playfully.

She rose to her feet and made her way around Austin. Jericho got up and walked her to the bathroom. It’s not as if she were in danger walking from the table to the bathroom in a busy restaurant, but male instinct kicked in during pregnancy. Women were more vulnerable because of the baby. Violence wasn’t permitted on the premises, but it still made some of the customers edgy to have a Mage or Vampire sitting so close.

“So who are the big honchos joining us?” April shouted across the table.

“Honcho?” Reno quietly asked her. His eyes danced with amusement.

She shrugged. “What’s Shifter lingo for the big cheese?”

“That would be Lorenzo Church,” a man said, approaching our table.

My breath caught when Lorenzo breezed by. I knew of him from what Lexi had told me, and I’d also met him on a couple of occasions, although we hadn’t been formally introduced.

Rich black hair fell past his shoulders, and he wore a tight black shirt with cargo pants of the same color. My eyes skated up to his necklace—a series of long white beads in multiple rows that fit against his neck like a choker. The bracelet he wore was similar, only a small feather hung from it.

He pulled out the second chair on Austin’s left across from Wheeler, leaving an empty seat between them. Shifters sat by rank, even among the Packmasters. So whoever was late had more power than Lorenzo, and that seemed impossible to believe.

Austin gave him a curt nod and Lorenzo returned the gesture. Only humans shook hands.

“What’ll you have?” Austin asked.

Lorenzo’s gaze traveled around the table, observing what everyone had ordered to drink. His eyes briefly paused on my glass before he looked at Austin. “Tea. It’s too early for a man’s drink.”

Austin laughed richly. “It’s never too early to be a man.”

“Yeah, but it can be too late,” Ben interrupted. “Right, Denver?”

Denver sat back in his chair and scowled at Ben across from him. “You need to shut it before I shut it for you.”

Lexi bit her lip, looking between the two longtime foes.

“And how are things with your chosen life, Alexia?” Lorenzo asked, his voice edged with judgment. He sat stiffly in his chair with his hands in his lap, and women from nearby tables couldn’t strip their gazes from his back.

She gripped Austin’s hand and kissed his knuckles. Austin looked tickled and leaned back in his chair, retracting his hand.

Lexi gave Lorenzo a jaunty smile. “I’ve never been happier. How are things with you,
cousin
?”

Irritation flashed in his eyes and he clenched his jaw, causing the sharp lines in his cheeks to look more pronounced. “I see you haven’t lost your sense of humor.”

She laughed quietly. “I see you haven’t found yours.”

Austin cleared his throat in a warning to Lexi. Despite their history, he needed to make sure his pack didn’t cross the line with the Packmasters. I understood the psychology since my father was also a Packmaster. If Lexi insulted Lorenzo, it would reflect badly on Austin. Packmasters would assume he didn’t have pack loyalty if they chose to behave childishly around another leader or speak to them in a condescending manner. Lexi had much to learn because of her upbringing with humans.

The waiter approached Lorenzo with his tea, having heard his order from across the room. “Sir, would you like to see the menu?”

Lorenzo gave Austin a crooked smile. “What did you order?”

“The chicken-fried steak.”

Lorenzo leaned back. “I heard only hillbillies eat that slop.” He turned his attention to the waiter standing between them. “I’ll have the largest sirloin you carry with a side of mushrooms. You might want to bring my friend a jar for his moonshine.” Lorenzo laughed haughtily. “I’m having second thoughts. Bring me your most expensive bottle of merlot.”

The nerve! He was Austin’s guest and knew his tab would be taken care of. I sat in disbelief as he so flagrantly insulted my Packmaster. The others seemed less concerned and showed no reaction. Perhaps they were afraid of stepping out of line with Austin and making a bad situation even worse, but there are subtle ways to get your point across.

“Excuse me, waiter.” I gracefully lifted my hand. “Could you change my order? I had the spicy noodles. Please switch that to a chicken-fried steak. It sounds delicious.”

Lorenzo glared at me as the waiter hurried away. He folded his arms on the table and looked at me so hotly that I focused on the hem of my turquoise blouse. The group was oblivious to the chess match quietly in play, except for Austin, who gave me an imperceptible nod.

When Izzy and Jericho returned, a few chairs noisily scooted in to make room for her. Jericho winked at her from across the table and she blushed, twirling the diamond ring on her finger.

“My apologies,” a smooth voice said. “Punctuality is usually my strong suit.”

Austin stood up and patted the man’s shoulder. “Everyone, this is Prince. Now that he’s here, we can begin.”

“Hi!” Maizy sang, drawing out her vowel. She waved her hand as Prince took his seat.

I’d never met this man before, although I’d heard his name in conversation. He had dark hair pulled back into a tight band, and his eyes were two different colors. From my end of the table, I couldn’t see what they were, but he was striking to look at. I guessed him to be one of the ancients—a nickname we sometimes gave to the older Shifters who had been around for hundreds of years. Some powerful Packmasters had a longer lifespan than the other Shifters. He nodded at everyone and winked at Maizy.

“Let me see what you drew, Peanut.” Denver distracted Maizy by reaching across the table, curling his fingers and asking for her picture. “Well, these are the prettiest Xs and Os I’ve ever seen.”

“It’s tic-tac-toe, silly.” She gave him an exasperated “duh” expression.

Austin’s voice lowered, but his tone became sharp so that everyone at the table heard him. “The reason I’ve invited our guests is that we’ve had some trouble on the property. Reno first reported a week ago that a wolf has been trespassing on our land.”

Everyone looked amongst one another.

Austin put his right arm on the table and turned toward Prince and Lorenzo, eyeballing Lorenzo directly. “Church, you’re the only neighbor I have a beef with, so I need to know if you’re sending someone to scout my territory.”

A strand of hair fell in front of Lorenzo’s eyes, and I had a strange urge to brush it away. Maybe it was because he did not. “Tread carefully, Cole. An accusation disguised as a question will not earn you any respect.”

“It’s a question so I can move on to the next half of this conversation. Care to answer?”

Lorenzo took a long sip of his tea and set the glass on the wood table. All eyes were on him, and he gave Austin a satisfied look. “Is your new title of Packmaster too much for you to manage, Cole? Perhaps you’re in over your head.”

Austin heaved a sigh. “Yes or no.”

“I have better things to do than send my men to sniff out that shed you live in.”

“Now you listen here,” Lexi snapped.

Prince sat up tall in his chair, and he was a man of towering height. “Let’s keep this conversation amicable. I can put your mind at ease that none of my men are—”

“No,” Austin quickly interjected. “Your pack is not in question. I’ve asked you here for the second half of this conversation. Lorenzo is the only one I have a personal grudge with, and if he’s given his word in front of two Packmasters that he’s not responsible for this wolf, then he’ll be held accountable if his words are lies. At first we thought it was a rogue on the property and dismissed it. Our territorial lines are marked regularly, so no one should have crossed them. But twice more when doing a perimeter check, the same scent came up.” Austin moved his eyes around the table. “We have a wolf who’s not only crossing onto our property but marking it.”

Wheeler rapped his knuckles on the table. “Fucking kidding me? Put me on guard tonight and I’ll catch the little bastard.”

The Breed world had laws to some extent, but we had a savage history and were hanging on to civility by a thread. I’d heard stories about entire packs slaughtered for their land. And the Weston pack didn’t have the numbers to defend against a major attack. A fluttering sensation in my belly made me hug my arms.

Austin scraped his bottom lip with his teeth. “Prince, you have the highest rank in the area, so I wanted to keep you in the loop in case this is something bigger. You might want to alert your pack and have them on guard. It could be a lone wolf, and it might damn well be someone who has his eye on our territory. If that’s the case, we’ll deal with it. But if it’s something bigger, like one of the northern packs sending down their scouts, then we could be looking at a war.”

“That’s just an urban legend,” Ben said, setting his glass down. “We’ve been hearing about a land war for years. Some of the ancients like to run their mouths after a few beers to rile up some of the new blood. Then it’s forgotten.”