"You have no idea then when he'll have to relive it?"
Lex turned frustrated lavender eyes on me. "No. If I knew, I'd tell you."
She picked up a box load of tracking devices and radios, as well as a box of earpieces which the team leaders and several others would be wearing to communicate and co-ordinate. Then she turned towards the store room door.
To be fair, it wasn't surprising she was getting irritable. I'd been harassing her for hours. There'd been little else to do but prepare and worry during the day. Sleeping hadn't been an option for me as my mind whirred, and feeding hadn't taken long or been nearly enough of a distraction. I couldn't help that worry for Conn was tormenting me, however. No more than I could help that my anxiety over Will's fate was increasing with every passing hour.
"Sorry, Lex," I murmured as I lifted a box of stakes, weapons which hadn't made it into the dojo cupboard but which could prove invaluable against Osgar's vampires. "Just stressed," I added as I followed her out of the store room, closing and locking the door.
The store room was in the corner of the car park, next to the plant room and the industrial bins where the waste of an entire community was temporarily stored. My eyes flicked automatically to the pile of canvases which had been stacked up against one of the blue bins, but I didn't have the heart to go and look at them. Instead, I followed an unusually sullen Lex back to the main house, passing the line of motorbikes which were a momentous sight as they heralded the arrival of a full contingent of wolf guards and their welcome into Milbank House. I doubted such a thing had ever happened previously.
Katie was waiting for us by the dojo door, kitted up for a fight and looking every inch the determined sentry and partner, even if Will hadn't accepted her as such. "He's come down," she warned me. "Conn's here now."
I nodded, more grateful for the advanced warning than I wanted to be. The tension whenever he and Fenn were together was palpable, even when they seemed to be getting on, and I needed to tread carefully if I wanted to avoid a war beginning inside Milbank. Of course, that was easier said than done when everything I felt had a nasty habit of showing in my expression, or in the descending of my fangs.
They were stood side by side, although Abroðen was deep in conversation with Cáfgar, and Leof was speaking with Gunner and Glenn, who'd returned to guide him to Will. It would be difficult to decide which, between Conn and Fenn, was more stunning. Too difficult, if I were honest. I wanted it to be simple.
Fenn was impressive in a rugged, devil-may-care kind of way. Shaggy black hair and strong, stubble covered jaw made me want to touch him, feel the roughness of bristles against my skin as I kissed him and knotted my fingers in his hair. A scuffed leather jacket and faded jeans with shredded cuffs only added to his 'I don't give a damn' look, a look that was undeniably sexy and sent all the right messages to my core, especially while knowing how deeply he actually cared for me and for his people. His almost unnatural height was emphasised by his breadth, and I couldn't deny that I loved how sheltered it made me feel to be in his arms. He was my shelter. My safe place. My retreat.
I didn't ever want to lose that.
But I didn't want to be without Conn either.
It almost made me laugh to see how similar and yet how different they were. Conn had changed out of his suit and on the face of it, his outfit was not so different to Fenn's. His leather jacket hung from his hand and he'd decided on jeans as well. Only where Fenn's outfit showed signs of wear and tear, in the best possible way, Conn's clothes were clearly the possession of someone with enough money to enjoy the finer things. Yet that didn't detract the way it may once have.
