The Rogue

XIX

*Faye*

"You both need to go call off your little armies right now," I insisted.

The wolves both stared at me, glared at each other, and then turned defiant looks back at me.

"Rian," I warned, though I wasn't sure what I was warning him of. "This is insane. Go call it off. Right now."

Whining, he shook his head.

"Are you kidding me?" Clenching my jaw, I turned to face Maxen. "Will you at least negotiate with me?"

Maxen's dark eyes appraised me carefully. At last, he sat back on his haunches and nodded. I took a step closer to him, but Rian spat out a bone-chilling snarl. When I glanced over my shoulder at him, his hackles were raised. Maxen growled back.

"If you are going to willingly put your pack at risk for no apparent reason," I told my boyfriend-wolf, "then you don't get the right to talk to me. Okay?"

Turning back to the reasonable one, I rubbed my hands together. "What do we have to do to make you call off your wolves?"

His tongue lapped at his furry muzzle while he thought about it. He nodded once at me. It then occurred to me how difficult communication with these animals would be. How could I sort out a negotiation if I couldn't understand him?

"I don't know what you're trying to say," I admitted.

In point-blank, Maxen had shifted into a human. The transition happened so fast that I didn't have time to shield my eyes. I caught a full visual of his naked frontside. Gasping, I squeezed my eyes shut. Rian transitioned behind me.

"Faye, come here," he ordered. "I'm not—"

I held up my index finger behind me, not wanting to see him naked either. "Let me do this, Rian."

"No—"

"I will negotiate with you," Maxen told me, raising his voice as to block out Rian's. "But you aren't going to like what I have to say."

"Well, that's why we negotiate. Name your price."

A smirk eased across his face. "You stay another week."

"M-me?"

"You are sick," Rian spat. This time he grabbed my shoulder and pushed me behind him. "If you think I would let her stay another week with you, then—"

"I wasn't talking to you." Maxen's eyes had narrowed into a vicious glower. "Let the girl decide for herself."

I peeked my head out from behind Rian's back. "Why? I don't get it. I hardly did anything for you."

"Exactly. I was supposed to have you at my disposal for a week. I got half of that."

"You and I didn't even get along. Can't you go find someone else?"

Another surly snarl breached his lips. "This is my condition. Take it or leave it."

"There must be something else that you want," I insisted.

"No."

"Do you want me to hire a housekeeper for you? I can find a replacement—"

"No!" he roared.

Rian snapped ferociously at him as I hid again. This wasn't going the way I had hoped this would go. In fact, this was going about the exact opposite way I had hoped. I thought the loathing I had for Maxen was reciprocated. Clearly, it wasn't. If it was, he would be glad to have me gone. More than glad.