Andrei clicks his tongue, puffing on his smoke before flicking it. “I just want to talk to her, nothing more.” Andrei shrugs, leaning back and folding his arms across his chest.
“Why would I give you anything you ask for? I came to you to warn you of an upcoming war, and then you fucking join it, on the wrong damn side. We had alliances, and you just tossed them away. You should be careful, Andrei. You don’t want to make an enemy out of me.”
Andrei scoffs. “Alliances still stand, that hasn’t changed.” he states.
“You fucking betrayed me, am I supposed to overlook that?” I snap.
“I never joined Jackson’s side. We just had a common goal, nothing more. The alliances still remain, Ezra.” I shake my head. He is fucking insane if he thinks I am keeping business with him now.
“So are you gonna share what this common goal was? You nearly killed my mate,” I snarl, my rage reaching boiling point.
“Katya was never the target, Shirley was. An eye for an eye. Katya was on Jackson’s list, not mine, I have nothing against your mate.” Andrei explains dryly.
“What nonsense are you spewing now, Andrei? Jackson’s intentions have always been to get Kat, so you band together with him and kill her mother?” I need a fucking drink, this shit is turning into a never-ending fucking headache.
“I have my reasons, ones I will share if you bring me, Katya. I just want to talk to her. The markings on your neck suggest that she broke the curse. How is she enjoying being a Gemini wolf?” I pause looking at him, and Andrei smirks. “You can’t help her, but I can, bring me your mate, Ezra. Or you can explain why you let her father die if you refuse. As I said, I have no issues with you. I never have, my pack has always kept to themselves, I mean her no harm.”
“You’re asking for a war, Andrei.” I warn him.
He shrugs, uncaring. “We’ve always teetered on that edge, Ezra, maybe some things are worth starting a war over.” he retorts.
“Kat has suffered enough, Andrei. She already has Jackson wanting to use her, get in fucking line. Let me finish that war first before you take the next spot.”
“As I said, she was never the target. Shirley was, we have a common enemy. Kat has barely reached the outer edges of what she is capable of. Don’t pretend you aren’t stumbling blindly through that curse. But I may be able to offer her some help,” he offers, before opening his car door and reaching into the glove compartment. He pulls out some old parchment scrolls. He waves them at me and clicks his tongue. “I couldn’t believe my eyes when you were stupid enough to bring your mate to the Alpha meeting, I recognized her instantly. I knew exactly whose daughter she was,” Andrei tells me before handing me the scrolls.
Upon opening them, I found that they were written in a foreign language that I wasn’t familiar with. But I did recognize the symbolic mark on the top of the page, it was the mark on Kat’s neck.
He snatches them from my hands. “You want to know what they say? Bring me your mate. You and Mateo are welcome to come with her, but I will be seeing her one way or another, Ezra. She will need answers, and my help. So be grateful I am offering. Think about it Ezra, you would hate for her to come looking for me, and she will once she learns I have her father, you know it and so do I,” he smirks, and I growl at him, Maddox tries to force the shift.
“What the fuck could she possibly need you for?” I snap at him.
He smiles, his eyes sparkling back at me. “Bring her to me, and you find out. If not, I may just burn these,” he says, holding up the scrolls.
“Where did you get those?”
“Shirley gave them to Jackson after she killed her sister. I helped Jackson get on to your pack in return for these. As I said, Katya was never my target. Shirley was. My men were never going to allow Jackson to take her. I just want to protect her the same way you do,” he tells me. He passes the scrolls to one of his men, who places them back in the glove compartment. “Bring her to me tomorrow, I heard your men excitedly talking of the pack run happening tonight. Go ahead with your celebrations. My men will keep watch of the borders for tonight.”
“And why would you do that?”
“Because after tonight, Kat will realize something is wrong, and when she does, she will have questions. Questions only I can answer,” he taunts me before getting in his car. “I will wait for your call,” he tells me with a chuckle. He shuts his door and I watch him leave.
Fuck!
Katya
Ezra is gone most of the day, only returning before the pack run. I can sense something is going on with him. Mateo is also acting strange, like he knows what is happening, yet he always avoids answering when I ask. Hearing Ezra’s car pull up as I am coming downstairs with Angie, I rush to open the door.
Ezra is so consumed in his thoughts, he almost runs directly into me as he reaches for the door handle. Instead, I’m sent stumbling forward as I reach for the door, and his hands grab me as he catches himself on the door trim. “Sorry, Love,” he says, his arm pulling me closer.
“You’re in a rush,” I gasp at him, yet his face gives nothing away.
He peers down at me, tugging me closer, brushing his nose against mine. “Just something came up,” he apologizes, his lips brush my cheek when he suddenly growls, looking up, his eyes are trained on Angie as he peers over my shoulder. “Why are you still here, and where is Mateo? I told him not to leave you alone with her,” he snarls.
“Right here,” Mateo interrupts, walking downstairs in just shorts as he went to get ready for the pack run.
“Still doesn’t explain why Angie is still here,” Ezra growls, giving her an unwelcoming look. Angie flinches, stepping further away from him.
“She is my friend,” I warn him, and Ezra growls low and deep in the back of his throat.
“You trust too easily, Kat.”
“No, she used her Alpha voice. Angie asked her to, in order to prove herself,” Mateo objects, hurrying down the last of the steps toward us.
“You used your Alpha voice, so everything is okay with Kora then?” Ezra asks, giving me a perplexed look.
“Kora? No, she is being quiet. I haven’t spoken to her since this,” I answer, pointing to my neck. Ezra seems to think before nodding and shutting the door behind him. His brows furrow in confusion, and I try to read him through the bond, only to find him shutting me out again.
“Everything okay?” I ask, and he seems to shake himself out of his thoughts and lets me go.
“Everything is fine. Go outside and start meeting everyone as they show up then. Mateo, follow me,” Ezra orders him, stalking up the steps. He stops halfway, turning around and looking back at us, Ezra’s eyes dart to Angie. “Try anything, Angie, and I will give you to Maddox,” Ezra warns, the calmness of his voice sends chills up my spine.
Angie bares her neck to him. “Yes, Alpha,” she stammers out.
Ezra nods, his eyes falling on me. He gives me an indecipherable look before turning and heading back to the third floor with Mateo hot on his heels.
“Well, he didn’t kill me, so that’s a bonus,” Angie mutters, nudging me with her elbow.
I nod at her. That is something, I guess, but there is definitely something going on that they are hiding from me.