The Midnight Watch

Chapter 34

"I don't appreciate being summoned like a stray kitten, Kaeden," Isaiah Silveryn snarled. His appearance matched his tone: dark practical clothes built for combat and all his weight on his toes. Those cold unfeeling eyes burned with a jade fire this morning, and I could guess why.

Kai was throwing his weight around. Until now, he'd let Isaiah play top dog (or cat, I supposed), but this meeting marked a U-turn in that arrangement. Instead of entering the Shadowcat camp and talking on his terms, we had sent Nate to bring his father a mile into the woods.

My patrol stood in a tight formation around the 'King.' I was watching his back, while Ben, Becky and Alex ringed his left side. There was no guard on Kai's right because there didn't need to be. Rhys had claimed that spot and no one had even considered arguing. They stood on even footing, as equals, but I suspected it was accidental. The rogue stood wherever he felt like — there wasn't a political agenda.

The Shadowcats, however, were overly cautious about their positioning. Isaiah had brought two minions, one of whom was Niamh, and they flanked him like statues. Nate had placed himself between the two sides, although whether as  mediator or simply indecisive, I didn't know.

I watched Kai shrug carelessly and resisted the urge to grin like a hellion. "You'll appreciate it a lot less by the time we're through. But your feelings aren't my principal concern today, if you'll excuse that."

Rhys Llewellyn had the nerve to snort. Then all the eyes were on him, and he didn't seem to like that much. He was shuffling and grinning and challenging anyone to hold his stare. Isaiah did a double take — a welcome change from his usual smug manner. He had known there was a mainlander with us, but he obviously hadn't expected him to be so blatantly Llewellyn.

"Who is this?" he inquired. It wasn't really a question: Niamh would have told him everything already, although we had to pretend otherwise for politics' sake.

"This guy?" Kai's question was laced with innocent curiosity. "Here I was, thinking you'd recognise him straight off. It really is a remarkable resemblance."

By then, Isaiah was rebuilding much of his icy demeanour. I watched the mask slip back into place. "To whom, can I ask?"

"My uncle, of course."

The mask vanished altogether, and the conversation backlashed. It was a remarkable act of astonishment, really. Isaiah turned to Rhys — excluding Kai in the process, an intentional accident — and frowned. "You claim you're Rhodric's pup?"

Claim. Oh. Niamh had made her report, and her boss hadn't believed it. This would be an interesting argument, then.

"I like to think I've outgrown my pup days, but yes," the rogue drawled.

"Do you have any proof?"

"Other than my outrageous good looks?"

"I would prefer a birth certificate," the Shadowcat said snidely.

The cousins exchanged a conspiring glance, and Rhys cracked his knuckles. I could've sworn I heard Kai murmur, "Make it dramatic."

I rolled my eyes in preparation for what I was sure would be an exaggerated performance. I wasn't disappointed. Rhys didn't mess with his scent or shift in broad daylight — either of which would have proved his lineage decently. No, he extended an innocuous mind-link to everyone there.

Including the Shadowcats.

I didn't fully understand what had happened at the time, and I sure as hell couldn't make sense of it afterwards. Probably because it didn't make sense. This wasn't supposed to happen. Shadowcats and werewolves weren't supposed to mix — wasn't that why they were isolated on Anglesey in the first place? Hybrids were a dangerous anomaly.