Page 113 of Vampire Kings Box Set

“Yeah. The boys are here to help out. Not to piss you off.”

“Really.”

It was hard to maintain dignity while crouching on the floor, clutching pastry, but that didn’t matter to Will because he never had any dignity anyway. That was regularly stripped from him by almost everybody he came into contact with. At this point, he counted himself fortunate if they didn’t hit him.

“Who are they, then?”

“Members of my pack. My betas…”

Will snort-laughed at the term.

“My seconds in command,” Henry corrected. “I’d like to introduce you to them.”

Will was guarded, but he did appreciate that Henry was at least trying to show him a little respect, even if it was way too fucking late.

“I don’t really feel like meeting anyone, thanks. I don’t know what’s going on. The house is full of bloody werewolves, and Lorien’s back…”

“If you meet them, we can start explaining what’s happening.”

That sounded reasonable. Will also wanted some milk to soothe his mouth burns. They were really getting in the way of enjoying his meal.

“Fine.”

Will came back downstairs with Henry, somewhat surprised that the alpha had managed to talk him down so easily. He’d certainly changed his tune from before, less of the hard-ass demanding respect. That had never worked with Will. Apparently, Henry was smart enough to change his approach to make things work.

“Men, this is Will,” Henry introduced him, speaking as if they hadn’t all met one another twice already in the last hour. Will didn’t say anything. He was still thinking about the toaster upstairs, and the pastries, and eating. If he snagged a plate while he was down here, that would make it a worthwhile trip.

“This is Dante.”

“Hey,” Will said. Dante was a massive dude. He had to be at least seven feet tall, more than six five for sure. He was also broad and muscular and Will knew none of that actually mattered because they were all wolves. Who cared how much of a massive monster you were as a person. The kind of wolf you were, that was what mattered. At least that’s what he figured.

“Nice to meet you, William.” Dante had a deep, melodious voice, and a bearing that put Will somehow at ease at a time when absolutely nothing put him at ease.

“This is Jake.”

“Hey there,” Jake drawled. He was from somewhere they had that kind of accent. Will couldn’t really place it. Somewhere from the south. There was a faint aura of pine about him, not quite a smell, more like an essence. He felt wild. Not in the way Ivan was wild, out of control and feral, but the wholesome kind of wild.

“And this is Norris.”

Norris winked and flashed Will a grin.

Norris was about Will’s age. He seemed deviant. Will immediately liked him and loathed him. Liked him because he seemed like a kindred soul. Loathed him for the same reason. He had close cropped dark hair and blue eyes. They even sort of looked like one another, Will realized, though he was more muscular and not quite as tall.

“So what are you guys supposed to do to help me?” Will looked around them all. “I know why you’re here,” he gestured at Henry. “But it’s not going to take four of you to babysit me. Is it?”

“We’re a little more than babysitters,” Norris smirked.

“Are you, though? Maddox is shit scared I’m going to break out of here and go on a rampage. He can’t watch me on his own. So Henry shows up, takes one look at me and suddenly the whole pack’s here. I must have scared the fuck out of you.”

He was looking at Henry now with a very clear and intense expression of challenge. He couldn’t see the others very well thanks to his intense stare, but he could feel them looking at him. He wasn’t making a good impression, and he really didn’t care. There was no way they were here for any good reason. Not smelling the way they smelled, or vibing the way they vibed.

“Ahem.” Maddox cleared his throat. He had come up behind him while they were all talking, moving silently as vampires were wont to do when they wanted to sneak up on their mates.

The sound was supposed to send fear through Will, but Will was still scenting that blood and he was almost certain he knew what it was. He’d smelled it before when he’d split Ivan’s nose.

Suddenly, it dawned on him. He was shocked it had taken him this long to work out what was happening.

These men… all these men… were covered in his father’s blood.