He’d found the kitchen occasionally used by Sebastian’s lycanthropes or for visitors and was cooking breakfast. The mouthwatering aroma led Ari straight to him. Sizzling bacon. Scrambled eggs. And, bless him, coffee. If any of the locals had been around when Mike arrived, they must have left when the Riverdale recruits started to wander in. He had drawn a noisy crowd, and the hungry group jostled for spots in line, clutching plates and forks.
A delicately handsome werelion at the center of the commotion abandoned his place in line to give Ari an enthusiastic hug. Benny, another member of Daron’s security team, was a big flirt. In spite of that, he was also a favorite with Ari. The grin on his face and his excited chatter proved how exited he was to rejoin his former colleagues. The remainder of the crowd drooling over Mike’s feast were weretigers whose family had been in service with Andreas for two hundred years. Relieved to be surrounded by friends, Ari’s spirits lifted immediately.
As soon as the initial greetings were over, everyone dug into the stacks of pancakes and platters of steak, eggs, bacon and potatoes Mike placed on the tables. Ari headed straight for the coffee pot. Except for clanging forks and smacking lips, the room was quiet for several minutes as the food steadily disappeared.
Eventually, appetites were sated, and Benny demanded to be told the story of Sebastian’s defeat.
“I can’t believe I missed the excitement,” he said. “I want to hear every word that was said, every detail.”
“Every detail?” She sighed. “OK, I’ll try. Maybe Russell and Lilith can fill in anything I miss.”
Ari repeated the story, some parts several times, as their questions brought new facts to mind. She described the awesome power in the room and Andreas’s athletic flip over the older vamp’s head. She described Andreas catching the knife and talked about the barrier dust, a weapon most of them had never seen. She downplayed the appearance of the fire spirits as just an anomaly of her witch fire. Gabriel or someone else might question it, but she wouldn’t encourage the speculation. For now, the questions began to wind down.
“So does that really make Andreas the new prince?” Benny asked.
“He has the best claim,” she said. “So far he has taken charge, and Sebastian’s vamps have accepted him.” She went on to talk about Gabriel, Marta, the potential challenges, and her concerns that they didn’t know the real loyalty of anyone. “Andreas thinks he can trust Gabriel. I just don’t know. On the other hand, for sure keep an eye on Marta. Oh, hell, keep an eye on everyone, and stay close to Andreas no matter what he says.”
The kitchen door banged open and a female werewolf entered. The she-wolf stopped when she saw the assembled group, then headed straight to Ari.
“There’s a call for you,” she said. “On the lounge phone.”
Ari looked at her sharply, immediately wary of anything that separated her from her companions on this first morning inside Sebastian’s compound. The she-wolf was a stranger, and Ari didn’t know if there was anyone they could trust among the wolves. Sebastian’s pack of wolf assassins had set up two ambushes in Riverdale. The first had killed her mentor; the most recent had almost killed Ari. She wasn’t about to give their friends a third try.
Still, a landline call wasn’t unusual. Cell phones were forbidden within the compound due to the threat of GPS tracking, and she had turned hers off last night. To reach her, anyone would have to call the main lines.
“Who are you?” she asked. “And, who’s on the phone?”
“I’m just the girlfriend of one of the vamps, and I didn’t ask who it was. Do I look like an answering service?” The wolf’s tone was indifferent rather than hostile.
“No,” Ari said, rising from the table. “You look like one of Sebastian’s wolves, and I don’t trust any of you.”
“Suit yourself. I
A delicately handsome werelion at the center of the commotion abandoned his place in line to give Ari an enthusiastic hug. Benny, another member of Daron’s security team, was a big flirt. In spite of that, he was also a favorite with Ari. The grin on his face and his excited chatter proved how exited he was to rejoin his former colleagues. The remainder of the crowd drooling over Mike’s feast were weretigers whose family had been in service with Andreas for two hundred years. Relieved to be surrounded by friends, Ari’s spirits lifted immediately.
As soon as the initial greetings were over, everyone dug into the stacks of pancakes and platters of steak, eggs, bacon and potatoes Mike placed on the tables. Ari headed straight for the coffee pot. Except for clanging forks and smacking lips, the room was quiet for several minutes as the food steadily disappeared.
Eventually, appetites were sated, and Benny demanded to be told the story of Sebastian’s defeat.
“I can’t believe I missed the excitement,” he said. “I want to hear every word that was said, every detail.”
“Every detail?” She sighed. “OK, I’ll try. Maybe Russell and Lilith can fill in anything I miss.”
Ari repeated the story, some parts several times, as their questions brought new facts to mind. She described the awesome power in the room and Andreas’s athletic flip over the older vamp’s head. She described Andreas catching the knife and talked about the barrier dust, a weapon most of them had never seen. She downplayed the appearance of the fire spirits as just an anomaly of her witch fire. Gabriel or someone else might question it, but she wouldn’t encourage the speculation. For now, the questions began to wind down.
“So does that really make Andreas the new prince?” Benny asked.
“He has the best claim,” she said. “So far he has taken charge, and Sebastian’s vamps have accepted him.” She went on to talk about Gabriel, Marta, the potential challenges, and her concerns that they didn’t know the real loyalty of anyone. “Andreas thinks he can trust Gabriel. I just don’t know. On the other hand, for sure keep an eye on Marta. Oh, hell, keep an eye on everyone, and stay close to Andreas no matter what he says.”
The kitchen door banged open and a female werewolf entered. The she-wolf stopped when she saw the assembled group, then headed straight to Ari.
“There’s a call for you,” she said. “On the lounge phone.”
Ari looked at her sharply, immediately wary of anything that separated her from her companions on this first morning inside Sebastian’s compound. The she-wolf was a stranger, and Ari didn’t know if there was anyone they could trust among the wolves. Sebastian’s pack of wolf assassins had set up two ambushes in Riverdale. The first had killed her mentor; the most recent had almost killed Ari. She wasn’t about to give their friends a third try.
Still, a landline call wasn’t unusual. Cell phones were forbidden within the compound due to the threat of GPS tracking, and she had turned hers off last night. To reach her, anyone would have to call the main lines.
“Who are you?” she asked. “And, who’s on the phone?”
“I’m just the girlfriend of one of the vamps, and I didn’t ask who it was. Do I look like an answering service?” The wolf’s tone was indifferent rather than hostile.
“No,” Ari said, rising from the table. “You look like one of Sebastian’s wolves, and I don’t trust any of you.”
“Suit yourself. I
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