The Six were the alphas of the six strongest packs in Eastern America. Each of them controlled carefully protected and policed territories. All the smaller packs in these regions answered to them. Lorenzo Blackburn had remained a threat to them for over three decades. He refused to join their leagues and follow their rules, even though his power and influence stretched far enough for him to be called one of them. For a long time now, they'd been looking for a way and an excuse to be rid of Blackburn for good.
Unable to sleep, Grayson repeated these facts in his mind until the break of dawn.
You can't have feelings for me, that's not how it works.
But what did Bianca know about feelings? Hell, what did he know about them? All he was certain about was that, while he was absolutely revolted by the idea of... Liking? Loving? He'd never met anyone as powerful, strong, or as stubborn as her. Maybe his lack of companionship over the years had something to do with why he'd fallen for the first girl he'd really talked to after things had ended with Kenna. But deep down, a part of himself knew this wasn't entirely the case. Bianca was a queen and a warrior- One who always got on his nerves, but a queen and a warrior, nonetheless.
His life had gotten so messy in such little time.
He wasn't sure how he was supposed to face Kenna now- His plan to use her to keep himself away from Bianca had backfired horribly. But as it turned out, he didn't need to come up with any lies for her behalf. Kenna was in such high spirits when she came down for breakfast that she didn't seem to realize anything was wrong.
It was strange, having somebody to share meals with. Grayson normally skipped breakfast, and even when he didn't, it was always him and him alone in a room filled with a feast of fruits and waffles and smoothies.
"This is incredible, Gray, it feels like only yesterday that you took me on a picnic out there," Kenna nodded through the window, where the sight of his private gardens stretched on for miles. "Everything's the same," she marveled. "Well- Almost everything. I don't remember there being so many bodyguards around before."
Four of those 'bodyguards' were currently in the room with them. All of them were staring at Kenna with mixed fascination and shock. It was no secret Grayson didn't have many friends- if any at all- So obviously, having someone laugh with him and call him 'Gray' was something to behold for them.
Especially after what Grayson had done to the five wolves and Reyes last night.
"Why do you need bodyguards, anyway?" Kenna asked, helping herself to buttered toast.
"I... I don't necessarily do business with the nicest of people," Grayson gave her a half lie. "They're here to keep me safe." Now that was a complete lie. Grayson was an alpha, and there was nothing his guards could protect him from that he couldn't handle on his own. But having them around was like a show of strength to any who visited.
"And that girl from last night?"
Something about Kenna's tone told him that she'd been dying to ask this question as soon as she'd laid eyes on Bianca.
Grayson cleared his throat. "What about her?"
"Who is she?"
"I told you. She's my right hand's cousin."
"And... What does she do?"
As this question seemed to have been created from genuine curiosity and not unwarranted jealousy, he decided there was no harm in telling her the truth.
And by 'the truth', he obviously meant anything but the truth. He wasn't sure Kenna would react nicely to knowing there was a kidnapped high schooler staying in the same house she was now living in.
"She's still in school, but she wants to come work for the- The company," he stuttered.
God, Bianca was so much better at lying than he was.
"So she's here like an... Intern?" he cringed.
It was amazing, how one could have the confidence to usurp a man's throne by killing him and all those loyal to him, but not have the guts to lie to his old friend without giving himself away.
"Cool," Kenna nodded. "So did she go home last night? Or is she here now?"
"She's here."
"And... Why isn't she having breakfast with us? Why isn't her cousin?"
He should've come up with something like, 'They always oversleep' or 'They already ate'. Instead, he gaped at her for five long seconds, then beckoned over one of the guards. "Bring them here," he muttered, cursing himself for not being able to handle the situation properly.
Reyes showed up first. His usual lax posture was nowhere to be seen. He approached the table at a brisk pace and sat down several seats away from Kenna and Grayson. Grayson felt like maybe he should apologize for last night, but... One, he never apologized. And two, Reyes would probably think of Grayson's apology as a joke- Just another way of shoving it in his face that he'd messed up.
Kenna seemed unaffected by the awkward silence between them. "Kenna Chase," she offered her hand to Reyes. "We didn't get the chance to properly meet last night."
Reyes stared at her, apparently not sure whether she was being serious. "Roman Reyes," he took her hand and shook it.
The door opened a second time, and Bianca walked inside. Reyes was instantly on high alert, his murderous eyes not moving away from Bianca's figure as she walked towards them. Grayson, too, couldn't keep his gaze away from her, but for a differently reason entirely. Images of last night flashed into his mind- It had been terrifying. He'd lost control of himself- It had been like an instinct, like he had needed to kiss her and touch her and memorize every part of her with his lips for the sake of his survival.
Bianca's eyes fluttered to him, to Kenna, then to the four guards, and finally to Reyes. This was going to be a challenge for her- She would need to look as vulnerable as possible for his wolves, but not too vulnerable that Kenna might suspect something was wrong.
She slid into the chair across from Kenna's without a word. Taking one look at all the food in front of her, she stared at them longingly, then reluctantly started sipping on a glass of water.
"You okay?" Kenna's eyes widened when they found the bruise marks Grayson had left all over her neck- Some were from when he'd strangled her in front of his wolves, and others... Weren't.
"I'm fine," Bianca said timidly, so timidly that Grayson nearly burst out laughing. The thing was, she sounded so convincing that anyone else might think Bianca Blackburn really was a timid, shy girl. That was what made this situation so funny.
"Are you sure? Look, I know it's none of my business, but could I ask..."
"It's not what you think," Bianca assured her. She then somehow gave a smile that would look like a smirk in Kenna's eyes, but a faltering grimace to the wolves present. "I just... My boyfriend and I are into some... Things."
Grayson choked on his lime juice, and actually had to hack some of it up so that he could get air into his lungs. Everyone else had had their fair share of stunned reactions, too, but none so severely as him- Though Reyes, with his bulging eyes and the look that seemed to be asking Bianca if she'd gone insane, came in a close second.
Bianca went back to sipping on her water.
"Well, I... I'm glad you could make it to breakfast," Kenna grinned. "I was starting to think I was the only girl in this place."
"Yeah," Bianca nodded. Her eyes met Grayson's and an electric shock suddenly shot up his spine. "I never asked: Why is that?"
Why was it that Grayson only had male guards on the premises? Simple. Female wolves and male wolves were almost completely matched in physical strengths, but between a burly man and a beaming woman, people tended not to suspect that the woman was the one who was secretly a fanged predator with a love for blood. Thus, it was more efficient for his female wolves to be out there doing stuff that didn't involve them playing the roles of watchdogs.
Grayson didn't know how Lorenzo Blackburn ran his pack, but for the Briares, this was the way things had been done for generations. It was probably the only detail about the Briare pack that hadn't changed since Vincent's reign.
"You know, Kenna," Grayson tore his gaze away from Bianca's before his wolves could get suspicious. "Some of my business associates are coming over tonight for dinner. Could you join us?"
"What?" Bianca didn't stop herself in time. All eyes turned to her, and for the first time, she seemed unable to pull herself out of the hole she'd found herself in.
"Is there a problem, Bianca?" Grayson's tone was light, but hopefully, his wolves would be able to hear the hidden menace underneath.
"No."
"Good." He directed his attention to Kenna again. "Your answer?"
She stopped looking back and forth between him and Bianca, and grinned at him. "Least I could do." Her eyes wandered to Reyes, who hadn't touched his plate. When he noticed her staring at him, he stared back, at which point Kenna burst up from her seat. "I need to get to school."
"I can have someone take you," Grayson said, standing up as well.
"Gray, you've done enough already. You don't-"
"I want to," he interrupted her. He was about to tell Jackson to get one of the cars on the basement floor and take Kenna to her college, when he remembered he was still pissed at Reyes.
"Reyes? You don't mind, do you?"
Grayson could see Reyes's jaw clenching. It probably didn't help that Bianca was observing her canape with a stupid smile on her face.
"From the second most powerful wolf in his pack to being a nineteen year old girl's personal chauffeur overnight," Bianca murmured so silently that only the ones with supernatural hearing in the room could make out her words.
Grayson tried not to gawk at her. Whatever Reyes must have done to her yesterday must have really riled her up, because she was putting everything at risk by being so bold in front of so many witnesses.
Reyes impressed Grayson by pushing down his urge to punch Bianca across the face. "Miss Chase," he cleared his throat, then held open the door for Kenna so that she could exit the dining room.
As soon as they had left, Grayson did the only thing he could do- He made a great attempt at salvaging the pieces Bianca had scattered over the floors by marching straight towards her and yanking her up by her wrist. He pulled her out of the room, and, ignoring how his fingers were tingling from making direct contact with her skin, he forced her into the nearest room and slammed the door shut.
"Nice touch. You should make Reyes pick up your coffee next time," Bianca grinned.
"Will you please stop trying to wreck everything?" Grayson hissed.
"Look who's talking," she laughed. "Inviting a human to an alpha meeting? Are you trying to get her killed?"
"Since when have you cared about not killing people?" he scowled. "Her presence will force everyone to keep calm during the meeting."
"Unless The Six decide they've had enough and get up to leave. After blowing up this entire estate, of course."
"You're thinking of your father. These people aren't him, they're civilized."
"He's not my father," Bianca gritted her teeth. "Not anymore."
Grayson groaned. "Can we please just get through tonight? How hard can it be to act like a decent person?"
"Are you asking for yourself, or for me? Because I was brought up by a mass murderer, and you are a mass murderer, so-"
"Bianca."
She smirked, and Grayson was sure half of him had melted on the spot.
Are we not gonna talk about last night, then?" she hopped up on the windowsill in the room, and started swinging her feet back and forth. "Unless you're a 'pretend it didn't happen' kind of guy?"
Grayson knew for a fact that there was no way he'd be able to pretend last night hadn't happened. But at the same time, he wasn't going to start talking about how he'd fucked someone who was technically still his prisoner. There were certain lines even he wouldn't cross, and giving a voice to his thoughts would make him feel extremely disgusted with himself.
"Maybe if... If we'd met under different circumstances," he muttered.
Bianca grinned. "Don't get so serious, Gray," she teased him. "Look, you're completely right. It was fun, but it didn't mean anything to me at all, either. From now on, let's just focus on kicking Lorenzo to the curb, okay?"
That wasn't at all what he'd meant, but he stayed quiet. Bianca was right. He should listen to the logical part of his brain that had been screeching at him nonstop for the past three days and should stop thinking about her.
If only things could be that simple.