Old Secrets by R.J. Blain

Author:R.J. Blain [Blain, R.J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pen & Page Publishing
Published: 2023-11-22T18:30:00+00:00

THIRTEEN

Moving forward, things would be better.

I appreciated the conference room with its regular chairs and solid wood desk, although the crowd of thirty people crammed into the space less than thrilled me. Jake sat beside me, and he defeated my father for the spot using a low growl promising violence.

Jake’s display pleased my parents, although my mother’s raised brow won her the other chair beside me, forcing my father to sit across from me to be somewhat close. The drama amused me, and I kept a firm hold on Jake’s hand so nobody would unseat him as the victor.

Mellisa claimed one of the seats next to my father, and she spoke to him in a soft, soothing tone. Of all the people in the world, I suspected my parents needed therapy more than anyone else.

So many years, the loss of all children but one, and their trials would have broken anyone else. In a way, I’d inherited their resilience—and I held a better understanding of how so much had gone wrong in my life.

Moving forward, things would be better.

If we played every card right, there would be a future with all of us in it. My life could never make up for the loss of their other children, but I represented more than mere hope to them.

I refused to disappoint them.

As time favored none of us, I turned my attention to the two Chinese delegation members seated at the far end of the table. They spoke with Aiko, as they had from the moment of their arrival.

Jake squeezed my hand, and he nodded his head in Amelia’s direction.

Several Japanese Fenerec males did their best to charm her, and for the most part, she proved immune to their posturing.

Jake asked, “See the short one in the corner?”

I did; the morning’s basic briefing indicated he was the eldest of the Fenerec wolves, an unmated Alpha old enough to worry the Inquisition. “He’s been quiet. Aiko warned me to step lightly around him.”

“Not for the reason you think. He’s an enforcer, much like Desmond, and he lives for puppies. He views us as abused puppies in dire need of strong familial structure, but Amelia distracted him. He doesn’t view her as a puppy because his wolf is panting as much as the others are. If he can launch a successful courting, I bet Amelia would fit well with the Japanese packs. She wants the isolation they can offer her, and the packs here have quiet places off the beaten path she would like. And she’s strong enough to stand up against him.”

Uh oh. “Won’t that cause us problems?”

“If we can get him to go with us, not at all. That should be one of our plays—to convince that Alpha to join our ranks for this. Amelia’s been unstable for a while, and he’s strong enough to keep her wolf on the right side of the line.”

A chill crept through me at the thought of Amelia losing control of her wolf. “But she’s been fine with us.

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