Page 19 of Taming His Vampire Mate

“Let me guess.” I let out a long, angry breath. “Emma wants me to round up the others. Throw my weight around, rough up the ones who won’t fall in line. Make them all fight again.” I laughed, bitter and sharp. “She’s barking up the wrong tree. I’ve made some shit choices as alpha, but I’m done getting my people killed.”

Lindsey snorted. “It’s worse than that. She wants you to make nice with the vampire king of Seattle.”

That startled me so much I forgot to be angry. “What? Why?”

“They’ve put together a joint council. Vampires, shapeshifters, old souls, witches—”

“Vampires and witches getting along? Last I heard, they were about to take each other out.”

“You’ve been gone a long time.”

“I tried to kill the king’s progeny. They’ll attack me on sight if I step into their territory.”

She shrugged, uncomfortable. “Apparently that’s forgiven. They called Emma to invite the pack.” She paused. “Rumor has it Nathaniel Bailey’s not especially bloodthirsty, for a vampire king.”

“They’re vampires. They’re all monsters.”

“That’s not true.” Lindsey scowled. “What our dad taught us was wrong. My closest friend is a vampire. And Aiden’s actually a nice guy once you get to know him. Practically a teddy bear. Especially now that he’s met his fated mate.”

I didn’t believe it. Vampires were cold predators who stole vitality from the living. They weren’tnice.

But I couldn’t help wondering if maybe the blond vampire was a teddy bear too. Somehow, I doubted it.

“And how is making nice with the vampires going to do a damn thing?”

“Emma thinks he’ll convince the council to send help. If our alpha explains there’s a place, practically in his backyard, that spews out monsters, she’s betting the king will station backup in Crescent Springs. It’ll buy us time to reassemble the pack.”

“It’s a bandage, not a solution.”

“It beats everyone—including you—dying at the hands of nightmare creatures from the void.”

“Lindsey—”

“Are you really going to fucking argue with me?”

“I’m not arguing. The answer is no.”

“Fine.” Her expression hardened. “Then I’m staying.”

My eyes widened. Fear rippled through me. “What do you mean, you’re staying?”

“If you don’t do this, the pack will need an extra wolf,” she said with a thin smile. “If Emma and Daniel are right, and the bleeds are about to start again, they’ll need me.”

“But your job—”

“I’ve got vacation time. And my job isn’t as important as a whole town. Crescent Springs is five miles from the nearest bleed. You know how fast these things move. They’ll go straight for the town and everyone in it.”

The image of the deer dying alone swam up again. I gritted my teeth and glared anyway.

She was right. And she knew it.

“I’ll come with you,” Lindsey said more gently. “Reed will too, I’m sure. No one’s saying you need to walk into the lion’s den alone.”

“When is this council meeting?”

“Tonight. In a few hours.”

Of course they’d strong-arm me without giving me time to change my mind. Oddly, the wolf in me stirred at that, clamoring to say yes.