56

“Oh?” He tilted his head, his eyes quizzical.

I nodded. “Apparently my mate wishes you to return me to my former beauty. And I also need you to contact Conri. It seems I’m in need of his assistance.”

I wrinkled my nose, haunted by the odor of wet dog already.

“He won’t come here,” Jason said, and I nodded.

I’d expected that.

“I’ll meet him at The Pour House.” I patted Leia’s hand as I felt her flinch at the mention of her business. “Please don’t worry. No danger will come to your property.”

I couldn’t exactly promise that, but I’d do everything in my fucking power to ensure it remained standing and undamaged.

Conri wasn’t a friend or even really an ally. None of the Baton Rouge shifters were allies to vampires, and who could blame them? We had years of wrong and hurt between us. But with Francois encroaching ever further into our mutual territories, we had a common enemy and that would have to be enough.

Not for the first time, I spared a thought for how my sireling might have come to be on such good terms with the shifters, but really that didn’t matter. I just needed somewhere neutral…ish to have a meeting.

“Oh, and warn Benedict.” I gestured toward Kyle and he slid his phone from his pocket.

Leia stood. “You need to sit so Jason can look at your face.” She slipped her hand in mine. “You can squeeze if it hurts.”

We switched places and I gripped her hand. I didn’t need the reassurance, and I wasn’t afraid of the pain. I just wanted the contact with my mate, but whatever meaning she felt most comfortable with was fine by me.

 

   

I glanced around The Pour House, realizing I might have lost Ben forever. He looked completely at home behind this bar, chatting to regulars like he’d opened the business himself. He poured drinks before people even gave their orders and shared smiles and jokes… And every so often he swung a concerned gaze in my direction, but he needn’t have worried.

Leia was in the back office with Jason outside the door, Kyle was on the front porch of the bar, although knowing him, he’d actually found some nearby shadows to melt into, and we had a few younger vampires at various points in the woods around the area.

No doubt Conri had men of his own stationed outside too. The smell of wolf was too strong to only be emanating from the massive man sitting opposite me.

His meaty hand grasped his beer, the glass nearly disappearing in his fist, and the fine hairs of his thick beard fluttered every time he drew breath. “Why am I here?”

I half-smiled. He wasn’t one for pleasantries, but that suited me. I wanted Leia safe as soon as possible. “Well, I guess time is money,” I started, and Conri nodded.

This meeting hadn’t come cheap—two million dollars—but I’d pay any amount to assure Leia’s continued safety and that of my people.

“It has probably come to your attention that Francois Ricard has recently stepped up his activities in the bayous around New Orleans, and he’s attempting to stretch his field of influence toward Baton Rouge.” I paused. Territorial matters were a hot button issue for the shifters because of the distances they roamed and considered their own.

Conri lifted an eyebrow but his expression didn’t change beyond that. “I heard something about it. Heard you have a pet human you’re wasting time not turning, too.”

It was like a game of poker. We each had information we had no intention of sharing unless disclosure became absolutely necessary. And we were pretty evenly matched. My only wild card was Jason. As a friend to Conri’s beta, I was unsure how much Jason had already said, and what Conri truly knew about my situation. Regardless, I’d proceed like he knew nothing and see what he revealed instead.

“I need to protect the human at all costs,” I said, side-stepping the issue of who and what she was. This part was hardly likely to be confidential information. The fact I even had her anywhere near me was enough to broadcast to every vampire and shifter nearby that her survival was important to me. “And currently that means protecting her from Francois.”

I nearly spat his name out, and the syllables left a nasty taste on my tongue.

Conri nodded. “I heard something ‘bout that too.”

I smiled, though I was sure the effect wasn’t pleasant. “And I’ve heard of wolf-owned properties. Well-protected properties that act as safe houses to those in need. Something that is little-known outside your pack.”

He didn’t confirm or deny or my words. Instead, he sipped his beer before responding. “I would imagine a good many things are available to those with the means to afford them.”

I’d expected as much. The shifters took their territory very seriously, but there wasn’t much they wouldn’t do for the right price—including sheltering a vampire king’s true mate. “I’m sure that can be negotiated and arranged.”

Conri nodded, and we were in business. Benedict sent replacement beers to the table whenever we ran low, but over the course of the evening, we hammered out an agreement. Conri was an easy guy to underestimate—looking far more like muscle than brains—but he had both. Maybe earlier in my life, when arrogance would have won out over care, I would have believed myself better than the shifter alpha, but we were closer matched than probably either of us would have ever wanted to admit.

“Are you going straight there?” he asked.

I hesitated. I hadn’t actually planned for him to agree so quickly. I thought he’d need at least one night to consider my proposal. “If that’s agreeable,” I hedged.