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Memnon gives me an amused smirk, his eyes twinkling. “Is my soul mate growing vicious? I do approve.”

Before I get a chance to respond, Memnon stands, pulling me to my feet. He cups my face.

His eyes glitter. “Thank you, Empress,” he says.

I take a deep breath and nod. “Of course.”

His expression turns amused. “Now let’s go meet these wolves.”

CHAPTER 31

When Memnonand I drive up to the cabin on shifter territory, the place is unsettlingly quiet. There are cars parked outside it, but there’s not a soul around, nor do I hear the bereaved howls that cut through the air earlier.

Memnon and I get out of the car, shutting the doors behind us.

“You sure there’s a meeting tonight?” Memnon asks.

No sooner has he spoken than the cabin’s front door opens, and Kane comes out. I catch a glimpse of the room inside, and I notice the solemn, silent crowd.

It might be quiet here, but there’s a crowd inside.

Kane’s eyes are red-rimmed as he closes the door and approaches us. “I didn’t think you were coming,” he says.

We’re more than twenty minutes late.

“I had to drop Nero off somewhere safe,” I say, forcing myself not to think too hard about my familiar, who’s likely stalking some cute, fluffy forest creature in the woods behind Memnon’s place.

He’s safe, the sorcerer reassures me.

“How is he doing?” Kane asks.

Plumes of Memnon’s magic unfurl out of him then, a clear sign his agitation is rising.

“He’s okay,” I say softly.

“I’m sorry we didn’t come,” Kane says. “My alpha forbid us from crossing?—”

“Kane,” Memnon cuts in.

Just the tone of the sorcerer’s voice has the lycan tensing. I can hear low rumbling from Kane, like he chafes at the power in Memnon’s voice.

“Enough,” my mate says. “Your apology is an insult. This whole meeting is an insult.”

Hell’s spells, here we go.

A menacing growl rumbles deep in Kane’s chest. “How dare you?—”

Memnon steps in close, his eyes beginning to glow. “Yes, I dare. You and your pack left my mate to be attacked. They were outnumbered, and when I found them bloody and brutalized in the woods, they were alone. Why were they alone?”

Kane’s growl has deepened, and his eyes have shifted. “We cannot cross?—”

“You failed her. All of you failed her. And now you have the audacity to use your useless friendship with her to call me in?—”

“Is everything alright out here?” Vincent, the Marin Pack alpha, stands on the front porch. Despite his easy words, his body looks tense and his translucent magic is thick in the air around him.

Memnon’s cruel gaze flicks up to the lycan. My mate looks ready to unleash on him as well.

“Everything is fine,” I call out while Kane’s growl dies down a little. “We were just getting ready to come in.”