Chapter Thirty-Six
The Pride Before The Fall
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The dream had ended as abruptly as it had begun. One moment I was studying Liam, desperately trying to commit his every feature to my memory because I wouldn't be able to see him for so long, and the next I was lying on my bed, my sheets and quilt lying at the base as if I had kicked them there during my sleep. I rolled over and nearly groaned aloud when flaming pain sparked in my leg muscles and biceps. I lay still, praying that I wouldn't cramp, and blinked away the moisture in my eyes from sleep. Each time I closed my eyes I saw Liam's determined face behind my lids.
I slowly sat up and pushed myself off the bed, my muscles seizing in protest but no rippling cramps appearing. I needed to move, warm my body, or my limbs would turn stiff and hard like setting concrete. I checked the time and found it to be half past eight. What had happened to my early morning session with Fletch? I showered quickly, using the steaming stream of water to melt the rigidity of my muscles.
I was near to falling asleep again, the heat sapping my energy, so I didn't sense someone nearing the bathroom door and jumped when someone banged on the door.
"Kayli?" Luke's voice came through the wooden door. "Emergency meeting. There's been another blood-draining of one of my pack-people."
"Erm, okay, I'll be out in a moment."
** **
I felt like I was at a business meeting and that I should have sheets of paper and a pen before me. We were in the dining room and, instead of notes, I had my breakfast on the table in front of me. I couldn't eat, however, due to the several pairs of eyes that kept glancing at me with either suspicious or wary looks. They were a part of Luke's leadership group, most of them older than him but they didn't seem to hold the same dominant aura as he did. Garth sat across from me, smirking as I used my fork to move around the scrambled eggs but didn't eat any. I couldn't even eat to defy him, my stomach was rolling nervously. Where was Luke? It seemed like these men would pounce on me at any second. He wasn't kidding when he'd said that his pack didn't trust easy. They were watching my every move.
The door opened and Luke, finally, entered. None of his usually playful appearance showed. He was all business. He swiftly appraised the stiff and hostile air in the room and rested his gaze on me.
"Kayli, eat," he ordered. I sensed a smidge of magic in his voice and wasn't surprised when I began to eat unconsciously. He took his seat at the head of the table and glowered at his council. He placed his hands on the table and leaned forward.
"Right. Before we get started I want to make something clear." He glowered around at the different faces. "As long as Kayli is staying in my home, she is part of the pack. If any of you have any problem with that, take it up with my second. I don't have the time to be bothered by you."
Garth straightened in his chair and looked menacing, handsomely menacing. Yeah right, I scoffed silently. He wouldn't help me out if such a thing occurred.
"She is helping us and she must be trusted. I was given a recommendation by the Fletcher. He cannot lie to me."
Suddenly the air cleared of hostility and they all relaxed. Except for me. Questions flooded into my mind. What had Luke done for Fletch? Why was he called 'the' Fletcher? And why couldn't he lie to the Lion?
Answers would have to come later because Luke continued.
He slid an A4 sheet down the table. I flinched away from it as it slid past. It was a photo, obviously at the crime scene, of a man with pale skin and deformed features. The latest victim. Murmurs erupted around the table.
