“That’s part of the allure,” Georgia agreed. Then she looked around, clapped her hands together. “All right,” she said. “Now that everyone’s here, let’s eat before this gets cold. Grab a dish, and we’ll put it all on the table, eat family style.”
I grabbed a cloth-covered basket of buttery rolls, while Connor picked up the platter of chicken. And we headed into the dining room to have our fill.
TEN
Cassie brought Will, now in a onesie dotted with spot-eyed puppies, downstairs. He sucked drowsily on a blue pacifier.
“Dinnertime was a success,” she said, placing him in a white reclining contraption that looked like it might have been engineered by NASA. He stirred when she moved her hands away, opened his eyes wide and verged on a fuss, until Wes tapped the top of the device, and it began to swing gently back and forth.
The baby’s eyes drifted shut, his little body relaxing.
“Do they make those for adults?” Alexei asked.
Miranda walked in with a glass bowl of green salad, stopped when she saw Connor. Their eyes met, magic rising as they watched each other.
“Miranda,” he said.
“Connor.” She put the bowl on the table with an extra snap of sound, slid her gaze to me. “I see you followed through on your promise to bring a vampire onto clan property.”
“I always follow through. Thank you for stocking the refrigerator. Very thoughtful.”
Her smile went thin, mean. “I hope I bought something she can drink.”
“You did great,” I said. “She’s very appreciative.”
The cheer in my voice just made her scowl more, which, of course, had been the point.
“Are we going to have a problem?” Connor asked, tone mild.
“No,” Miranda said. “As long as you remember your place.” She moved a step closer, anger burning in her eyes. “You aren’t Apex, and you aren’t in charge here. And they don’t take kindly to input from strangers.”
This time, Connor moved closer, so the tips of their shoes nearly kissed, but looked over her shoulder, as if he couldn’t be bothered to meet her stare. “You remember that our memories are long. And I won’t forget your sowing discord in the Pack.”
“Our memories are long,” she agreed. “And I won’t forget your disloyalty to the Pack.”
“Children,” Georgia said, moving into the room with the bottle of wine Miranda had found. The word was part question and part warning, and the magic between Miranda and Connor shattered like glass.
“Sit down,” Georgia said, this time the words softer, and we all moved around the table.
I followed Connor’s lead, taking a chair beside him. Georgia took the seat at the head, Wes and Cassie on the other side near the baby. When Miranda, Alexei, and Carlie took seats, Georgia looked at Connor.
“Is there anything you’d like to say?”
“About the food?”
She worked to hold back a smile. “About the occasion?”
“Oh, well.” He put his hands on the table, looked around at everyone, settled his gaze on Wes and Cassie. “I’ve already said congratulations, so I’ll just say that we’re glad to be here with you celebrating this moment. It’s a big deal when the Pack gets a new member. And especially when the new member is family.”
“’Cause it changes the odds in his favor,” Alexei murmured, and the others chuckled.
“That helps,” Connor acknowledged with a warm smile. “But it’s not the only reason. Family is family; family matters. It’s good to be here with you, and we appreciate the warm welcome.”
Miranda coughed an objection.
“Very subtle, Miranda,” Connor said quietly, voice flat.
She just rolled her eyes, looked away.
“We appreciate it,” he said again, looking at Georgia. “And this food. So let’s eat.”
“Hear, hear,” Georgia said, and we all raised our glasses.
I didn’t think it was an accident that none of them held the Alpha Stout.
* * *
* * *
The meal was one amazing dish after another. The chicken was juicy and perfectly flavored with butter and herbs. There were warm yeast rolls, carrots and asparagus, and a casserole dish of cheese potatoes covered in crispy tater tots.
If this was hot dish, I was in. And I felt very much like my mother’s child.
The conversation flowed naturally, from Grand Bay news, to Pack updates from Chicago, to very polite questions about my parents and Cadogan House.
“The idea of living in a giant dorm always seemed suspect to me,” Georgia said, stabbing an asparagus spear.
“Masters and Novitiates have a special relationship,” I said. “A kind of connection that makes them more like family than roommates.”
“Does that make it better?” Wes asked. “That’s like living at home with your parents.” He gave Georgia a wide smile.
“Very funny, child. Maybe you should go visit the vampires. See how they live.”
He looked at me. “That a possibility?”
“Probably so. As long as you aren’t afraid of fangs.”
When the eating slowed and Carlie excused herself to go back to the bakery, Connor pushed back his plate and took a contemplative sip of Alpha Stout he’d finally managed to convince some of them to try. Only the Chicago shifters—Miranda and Alexei—took him up on it, and Alexei made it only halfway through his glass.
“I don’t want to ruin a lovely evening,” Connor said, “but I’d like to talk about Loren.”
“We’ll talk,” Georgia agreed, picking a tater tot from her plate and popping it into her mouth. “Someone should.”
Connor looked at Cassie and Wes. “I’m sorry to bring this up, but he was left at the initiation. Were you having trouble with anyone?”
“We’ve discussed that,” Wes said, draping his arm protectively across the back of Cassie’s chair. “And the answer is no. We don’t have issues with anyone, and no one has issues with us, at least that we’ve seen. We’re family people. We tend to keep to ourselves.”
“We think it’s more likely they wanted to make a statement,” Cassie said, gaze on Wes. “The clan was together. The event was special. You leave the body there, you make a statement.”
Connor nodded. “Did anyone have any particular problems with Loren?”