“Is this the proper way to greet the prodigal son, Conall?”
Pushing to her feet, Vivienne trained her eyes on the wolf, whose slow and stealthy pace had not changed. He looked like a caged jungle cat, stalking back and forth behind iron bars, but there was no cage, and this creature was definitely no cat. The man, whom she recognized as Rafael, was also watching Conall, turning so as never to give Conall his back. They looked like they were gearing up for an epic fight.
“Rafe!” Vivienne didn’t have to look to know that Conall had halted, and trained his burning gaze on her. She could feel his displeasure as much as if it were her own.
“Ah yes, Vivienne. You can vouch for me. Tell Conall that I was nothing but a gentleman when I walked you home last night.”
The growl grew fiercer, louder. The circling resumed once more.
“Er—right,” Vivienne replied, sending a quick glance to Conall. She took a few steps in his direction, wondering why he was reacting like this to Rafael, and why Rafael was even here. The man seemed to have some type of death wish. Shaking her head, she concentrated on Conall.
Conall, I’m tired. I really want to lie down.
A particularly vicious snarl left his lips and he came to a stop directly before Rafael. She was thinking of throwing in a “Conall, I feel sick” when the familiar bright light erupted and Conall, in human form, appeared where the wolf was, his body in a crouch. He rose quickly, and stormed over to Rafael.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
Vivienne took it upon herself to move even closer to the two. Now that Conall the wolf was safely tucked somewhere inside Conall the man, it seemed less likely there would be an all-out brawl. And then she remembered Conall and Max lugging each other all over the place in the lobby of that apartment building, and decided the best way to prevent the fight was to get them away from each other—but how?
“My family’s here, and so is my pack,” Rafael responded, a trace of anger in his voice. At that moment, his gaze left Conall and landed on her. She saw something burn in his green eyes moments before Conall released a warning growl. It caught Rafael’s attention because he looked warily back to Conall.
“My pack, not yours.” Conall took a step closer, and Vivienne did the same, trying to get close to the two men without getting in their way. She was trying to prevent a fight, but at the same time, she wasn’t trying to get caught between Conall and the person pissing him off. “Leave!”
Rafael scoffed and shook his head. “I just got here. Last night, as a matter of fact. I’ve been hearing all sorts of things about this pack, and I just had to see for myself that they’re true.”
“Hearing things from whom?” Conall demanded. “Your father or your sister?”
At that moment, something clicked in Vivienne’s mind and she gasped. That was who he reminded her of: Samia. Rafael looked like Samia. Well, not exactly, but if Samia were a man, she’d look like Rafael.
Green eyes narrowed. “What does it matter, if it’s all true?”
“The only reason you’re not dead right now is because it would offend my mate to see your entrails laid out on the ground.”
She’d always assumed people who said things like that were joking, because who would be strong enough to pull someone’s entrails out and scatter them about on the ground? But when Conall spoke, it was a finality that attested to his violent capabilities, and a confidence that said he would see it through.
“That’s assuming that you can kill me,” Rafael retorted with a vicious little smile.
Conall’s reply was immediate. “I can, and if you don’t leave now, I will.”
“Well, you’ll get a chance to prove that all over again, won’t you?” Rafael replied before taking three steps back. “Only reason I’m here is because some of the Elders think its time for a change in leadership. You’ve been alpha for a long time without challenge, and some are thinking your judgment’s been off of late.”
Vivienne gasped. What? A feeling of foreboding settled in on her. Why did she have the distinct feeling this was all because of her?
“Are you challenging me, Rafael?” Conall asked quietly, so quietly shewas certain she wouldn’t have heard it without her new druid senses.
“That’s the only reason I’m here,” Rafael replied, and then he seemed to think about that as he looked past Conall to Vivienne. A grin touched his lips. “Well, that’s one of the reasons I’m here. I’ve just found another.”
A feeling of rage reared inside Vivienne and she gasped, forcing herself to breathe through it. She wasn’t angry, but Conall was. She could feel his emotion, almost as if it were her own. Closing her eyes, she savored it. And then she blinked. Why was she savoring his rage? She was supposed to be talking him down!