Page 176 of Ensnared by the Pack: The Complete Series (Destined Realms #3)

BISHOP

My brother was an idiot. I saw the realization in his expression back in his office, knew he knew what he had to do to win Audrey over, and yet we were still in the scheduled alliance meeting.

He should have postponed everything, even for just fifteen minutes, and checked in on Audrey. He didn’t have to grovel and woo her right away, but he needed little acts of consideration, small ways of showing her he was thinking of her to get him going.

Except she hadn’t shown up in the dining room for breakfast, most likely wanting to stay away from the public scrutiny for as long as possible, and Cyrus hadn’t sought her out.

Of course, she also wasn’t in the meeting, and I’d specifically told Eloise and Kira to tell Audrey to join us.

Even more concerning were her muted emotions, making it impossible to tell exactly what she was feeling other than a sense of soft worry — something I often felt from Audrey that didn’t necessarily mean there was anything wrong except she usually wasn’t trying to block those feelings from me.

I ground my teeth, resisting the urge to glare at Cyrus for being an idiot, and fought to focus on the alliance members.

It was just the six of us, along with a translator for Jundar and Pimryl. We sat at a round table so no one looked like they were in charge even though Jundar was supposed to be the one who ensured things remained civil and ran smoothly. And while the setting was more casual, everyone was still dressed as if this were a formal meeting.

“The weapons are amazing,” Jundar said through his translator, the medals on his crisp military jacket catching the sunlight that poured through the open window.

“Those weapons destroyed buildings in one shot,” Folmar growled back, her expression a mix of determination and exhaustion. “They’re dangerous.”

“With the proper training—” Jundar started but Gower cut him off.

“I don’t think we should be debating whether we buy the weapons or not.” The muscles in Gower’s jaw flexed. “If we don’t, we’re opening ourselves up for retaliation.”

“You honestly think Emrys and his fellow merchants would attack us?” Jundar asked.

I took in a breath to tell him of course Emrys would attack — hadn’t the man been paying attention? — when a burst of worry shot through my mating bond before returning to its previous muted level.

What the?—?

“Given how he didn’t seem upset every time he missed with his weapon, it wouldn’t surprise me,” Cyrus said, his tone low and cold. “I know that he’s personally responsible for the deaths of three of my pack.”

Jundar opened his mouth but wisely snapped it shut.

Yeah, arguing with Cyrus about how accidents happen in the kind of fight we’d just faced and how the merchants probably prevented more people from dying wasn’t going to help.

“I understand both your concerns,” Pimryl said, her soft tone always a surprising contradiction with her size — which was bigger than Cyrus who was one of the biggest men in our pack — along with her fierce lizard-like features.

“Speaker Jundar,” she continued. “I can understand how attractive these weapons are for you. Humans are at the greatest disadvantage against grimalkins. But you’re right, Alpha Cyrus, these weapons are dangerous. We need to determine if proper training will improve accuracy or find an alternative to help our physically weaker alliance members. They want to be able to protect themselves and not have to rely so strongly on our warriors.”

Jundar stiffened at Pimryl’s insult — even if it was true — and Gower rolled his eyes.

I shifted in my seat, Audrey’s worry still muted but growing stronger as if she were losing her fight to contain her emotions.

“We should ask Emrys for a more structured demonstration,” Folmar said. “See if we can determine if accuracy is actually a problem or if?—”

Another burst of worry flooded the mating bond— no, fear . The emotion stuttering through the bond as if Audrey were trying to hide it from me was fear.

My heart lurched and I jumped to my feet before I realized what I was doing.

Bishop— Cyrus hissed before his eyes widened, realization hitting him — because the only thing that would make me run out of an alliance meeting was Audrey.

“Recess,” he barked.

The startled alliance members glanced between us, confusion and surprise on their faces.

“We’ll reconvene in an hour,” Cyrus said as I raced for the door. “Pack emergency.”

Folmar raised an eyebrow at us, a knowing glint in her eyes, but I didn’t care if she knew we were rushing off to protect our mate or not. The others would judge us knowing we’d abruptly stopped the discussion for a woman and not a larger problem, but the gryphon alpha knew that we couldn’t deny our primal instincts, not with me so newly mated and Cyrus trying to become her mate.

The fear in the bond tugged at me, and I raced down the hall and out the closest door onto the Residence’s grounds. My pulse pounded with each step, her emotions getting stronger and stronger.

I had to get to Audrey now now now.

I couldn’t let anything happen to her.

The pull around my heart led me deeper onto the Residence’s grounds, past my mother’s seasonal gardens toward the sheer rock wall at the back.

“What’s she doing all the way back here?” Cyrus growled, his gaze scanning the area as the trees and bushes thickened into a more overgrown area.

“I don’t?—”

Determination and a hint of anger flooded around the fear, and a second later Audrey bolted out from behind a shrub and slammed into me.

I grabbed her before she could stumble back, holding her close to my chest, and she melted into my embrace.

“What’s wrong?” Cyrus demanded, his eyes dark with his wolf, his body practically vibrating with his fight to stay in control.

“The merchants have grimalkins.”