Amalgamate

Chapter 48

Rowan was the last to arrive at Kester's office. As she entered, she sensed the wolves were on edge, chompin' at the bit. They knew a battle was on the horizon, and they were anxious to get a move on. She nodded at them as she entered, but her face gave nothing away. She couldn't afford to let her plan come to light. It would just mean more loss of life, and she couldn't be responsible for that. Time to work on that poker face.

"First things first, Rowan. Did Declan bite you while you were with him?" Kester had to know. They were all thinking it because if he did he'd know where she was and descend on them with lethal force.

"No." Totally disgusted and ashamed with herself, it was the only word she could get out in front of them, but she never dropped her gaze from theirs.

"Good, then, let's get on with it." Kester moved to his desk.

"Hey there, Rowan. How ya feelin'?" Maitland was the first to speak to her. He knew exactly how she was feeling. He recognized self-hate. He'd worn that hat many times.

"I'm alright. Thanks for yesterday." She smiled at him knowing he wasn't this kind to everyone. Even though his phone call had been the antecedent to the ass kickin' she'd received in the vampire lair, she would do it again because knowing the truth about things was always better than living behind a veil of ignorance or deceit.

Nodding a ' You're welcome' gesture in response he secretly hoped she would sit next to him so he could stop worrying about her for a few minutes. What was it about her that put him in this protective mode? She wasn't his mate, but something was different about her.

Maitland was a man of few words, so she knew she'd be wise to listen when he spoke. He'd been right about Declan. She perused the room for a seat, Tearlach had made room for her on the love seat, but she wouldn't go there. She felt like a lab rat working her way toward cheese when she decided to cross the room and sit on the window ledge. She was on a mission and nothing was going to get in her way. She wasn't here for Tearlach. She was here to find Dermid.

As the alpha, Kester spoke first, "Dorian's got Antaine. We're gonna hide him and Lileas with some allies. It's just too dangerous for them here. We can't take a chance that Declan or Vertigen will find them and use them to get to Rowan. We've got to be strategic. They outnumber us by more than twenty to one."

A wave of nausea rolled over her. It was all she could do not to throw up right there. 'Did he just say twenty to one?...And these were vampires and sorcerers?' The wolves would be slaughtered, and their numbers were already diminished.

Suddenly, she found herself empathizing with the decision Lileas had made to run to Declan. Rowan decided that she shouldn't have been so quick to judge Lileas that night in Declan's office. That was all it took. Her decision was cemented. She would definitely be flying solo. If she died, her problems died with her. She wouldn't take anyone with her. She remained quiet, looking at each of them in turn as they discussed their intel and their options.

"Somebody had to know what Dermid was up to. You know how he is. Big mouth either talked to someone when he was drunk or in the throws of passion with one of his many ladies. I'll talk to Cuan and Callum. They've been looking into things in their own backyard and with their spies in the other demon camps." Sloane liked to problem solve out loud.

Mil weighed in, "That vampire hunting party found Dermid pretty quickly. Somebody was talking to them, too." He looked around the room, "Sounds like somebody's feeding someone else intel?"

Rowan hadn't thought of that, the vampires had ambushed Dermid and killed Gavina. "Who are your allies?"

"You're looking at em'." Sawney spouted off sarcastically. "We don't have allies Rowan. Counting on outsiders is how our people get killed."