There was no telling, if I went by Damon’s expression. He simply didn’t make one. That hard face was impassive as all get out. So far, nothing that had taken place at the meeting had caused much of a reaction.
Somebody called his name and he canted his head to the side, stayed sprawled in his seat for a minute.
It wasn’t until somebody said Alpha Damon Lee that he bothered to rise and he did it with all cagey, coiled grace.
The video image just didn’t do him justice, I thought, crossing my arms over my chest.
When he spoke, there was an odd sort of power in his voice that I hadn’t ever really noticed before. I knew he kept the brakes on around me, but he wasn’t bothering with these guys.
Of course, the Assembly was all about power. The more you had, the more they respected you.
“I present myself as new Alpha of the Cats in the Southern Region,” Damon said. Despite the power rolling from him, from his voice, his tone was…bored. Very bored. Like he’d rather be anywhere but there.
“So noted,” one of the Councilors said—I recognize that voice. One of the Green Road witches. Her name was Anice, I thought. Stern. Borderline mean, but fair. She didn’t like me, but she wasn’t cruel with it. All in all…fair.
“Why did you just now decide to take these actions?”
I studied the video screen, hands braced on the desk until I found the person speaking that time. A fairy’s voice. That witch, I knew. Max. The dead witch. Seer abilities. She had her legs crossed, hands folded neatly and resting on her knees as she studied Damon.
And the look on her face was the kind of look you’d expect to see on a cat’s face when it had a mouse corned.
Idiot.
You don’t play cat and mouse games with another cat.
He flicked a look at her and went to sit back down. “To my knowledge, I’m not required to answer to the independents,” he drawled.
“Perhaps not.”
My lip curled when I heard that voice. I didn’t even need to look for him. It was Jude. The son of a bitch who’d been behind the hunting games—the bastard who’d broken seven of my ribs not that long ago. I still hadn’t made him pay for that.
“But the house of vampires is curious about it. Alpha Annette had long been our ally. We’ve yet to determine if you will be. Why was she taken out, Alpha Lee?”
A slow smile curled Damon’s lips as he stretched his legs out in front of him. The indolent way he sat there, the look in his eyes, everything about him pretty much screamed fuck you . “I guess maybe I was tired of having a crazy bitch run my fellow cats into the ground when I could do better,” he said easily, with no sign of anger.
Maybe nobody else saw it.
But it was there.
Damon hated Jude about as much as I did.
“There have never been formal complaints against her,” Alisdair MacDonald said quietly. “Are you certain this was a legitimate action and nothing to do with…personal reasons?”
“Oh, it was entirely personal.” Damon shrugged. “And it was entirely legitimate. It was a fair kill. I challenged her in view of witnesses and she lost. She tried to bring in three others at my back and I could have killed them. I chose not to. It’s over and it’s done—the pack is mine now.”
MacDonald nodded. “I, for one, have no complaints.”
“I’m curious how much this has to do with the assassin.”
I didn’t know that voice.
It was low and insidious. Deadly cold, iced poison dripping against my skin. Even though I was just watching a fucking video , I felt my heart jump into my throat and lodge there, swell up and choke me as a man moved into view.
Old. He was old. I could feel the punch of his power even though it wasn’t him I was facing. It was just a digital recording.
He was pale, in that way the old vampires are—his skin hadn’t seen the sun in centuries, and his hair was black as coal, pulled back to reveal a face that was harsh and blunt and unyielding.
I’d seen his picture just
Somebody called his name and he canted his head to the side, stayed sprawled in his seat for a minute.
It wasn’t until somebody said Alpha Damon Lee that he bothered to rise and he did it with all cagey, coiled grace.
The video image just didn’t do him justice, I thought, crossing my arms over my chest.
When he spoke, there was an odd sort of power in his voice that I hadn’t ever really noticed before. I knew he kept the brakes on around me, but he wasn’t bothering with these guys.
Of course, the Assembly was all about power. The more you had, the more they respected you.
“I present myself as new Alpha of the Cats in the Southern Region,” Damon said. Despite the power rolling from him, from his voice, his tone was…bored. Very bored. Like he’d rather be anywhere but there.
“So noted,” one of the Councilors said—I recognize that voice. One of the Green Road witches. Her name was Anice, I thought. Stern. Borderline mean, but fair. She didn’t like me, but she wasn’t cruel with it. All in all…fair.
“Why did you just now decide to take these actions?”
I studied the video screen, hands braced on the desk until I found the person speaking that time. A fairy’s voice. That witch, I knew. Max. The dead witch. Seer abilities. She had her legs crossed, hands folded neatly and resting on her knees as she studied Damon.
And the look on her face was the kind of look you’d expect to see on a cat’s face when it had a mouse corned.
Idiot.
You don’t play cat and mouse games with another cat.
He flicked a look at her and went to sit back down. “To my knowledge, I’m not required to answer to the independents,” he drawled.
“Perhaps not.”
My lip curled when I heard that voice. I didn’t even need to look for him. It was Jude. The son of a bitch who’d been behind the hunting games—the bastard who’d broken seven of my ribs not that long ago. I still hadn’t made him pay for that.
“But the house of vampires is curious about it. Alpha Annette had long been our ally. We’ve yet to determine if you will be. Why was she taken out, Alpha Lee?”
A slow smile curled Damon’s lips as he stretched his legs out in front of him. The indolent way he sat there, the look in his eyes, everything about him pretty much screamed fuck you . “I guess maybe I was tired of having a crazy bitch run my fellow cats into the ground when I could do better,” he said easily, with no sign of anger.
Maybe nobody else saw it.
But it was there.
Damon hated Jude about as much as I did.
“There have never been formal complaints against her,” Alisdair MacDonald said quietly. “Are you certain this was a legitimate action and nothing to do with…personal reasons?”
“Oh, it was entirely personal.” Damon shrugged. “And it was entirely legitimate. It was a fair kill. I challenged her in view of witnesses and she lost. She tried to bring in three others at my back and I could have killed them. I chose not to. It’s over and it’s done—the pack is mine now.”
MacDonald nodded. “I, for one, have no complaints.”
“I’m curious how much this has to do with the assassin.”
I didn’t know that voice.
It was low and insidious. Deadly cold, iced poison dripping against my skin. Even though I was just watching a fucking video , I felt my heart jump into my throat and lodge there, swell up and choke me as a man moved into view.
Old. He was old. I could feel the punch of his power even though it wasn’t him I was facing. It was just a digital recording.
He was pale, in that way the old vampires are—his skin hadn’t seen the sun in centuries, and his hair was black as coal, pulled back to reveal a face that was harsh and blunt and unyielding.
I’d seen his picture just
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