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Authors: Rhyannon Byrd
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“Disappointed?”
Seth narrowed his eyes. “I’d hardly be wasting my time trying to keep you alive if I wanted you dead, Raine. I’m just trying to understand you.”
I T WAS HIS TONE , more than the words themselves, that rattled something inside her. Something Raine had thought safely buried, where she wanted it. A strange desire to want to connect with someone on a level that went deeper than mere friendship, or even sex.
Realizing he was still waiting for a response, she managed to say, “I guess I was still hoping that something would happen. That something would stop them.”
“You got lucky.” His hands clenched into fists on the armrests of his seat, and she could sense his internal struggle as he forced himself to relax, his voice a bit rougher as he said, “I might not have found you.”
The train made its next scheduled stop, then resumed its long trek, and she was thankful for the interruption, not wanting to think about how close it had been with the Casus…or how much she owed the soldier for bailing her out. After a few tense moments of silence, she turned toward him again. “When you found me in the club, you said all hell was breaking loose for the Watchmen. I’ve only been gone a week. What’s happened?”
Some of his tension eased, and the corner of his mouth twitched, as if he was fighting back a smile. “Actually, they won’t be the Watchmen much longer. Kierland’s finally put his master plan into action.”
She knew that Kierland Scott, a gorgeous auburnhaired Lycan, was regarded as the leader of the Watchmen unit currently stationed at Harrow House, and that he was also one of Seth’s friends—but she had no idea what the human meant by a “master plan.”
“What are you talking about?”
With a frown, he asked, “Didn’t anyone at Harrow House tell you about the meetings?”
“No one at Harrow House would tell me anything.” As soon as the words left her mouth, she winced, thinking she sounded like a bitter old hag. But damn it, she’d hated the way all conversation had ceased the secondshe walked into a room at the Watchmen compound, as if they were afraid of saying the wrong thing in front of her. With a wry tilt to her mouth, she leaned her head back against the seat and closed her eyes as she went on to say, “And I’d obviously be lying if I said it hadn’t been extremely annoying.”
He gave a rough bark of laughter, the deep, gritty timbre spilling deliciously through her veins. “Yeah, I can understand how that could grate on a person’s nerves. But the condensed version goes something like this. The Watchmen have known for some time that the Consortium leaders are failing to do their job. So they’ve decided to make a break from the organization.”
She didn’t need him to explain who the Consortium leaders were. Anyone who was a part of the ancient clans—the nonhuman races who walked the earth—knew that the Consortium was a kind of preternatural United Nations, its purpose to keep peace among the clans and ensure the secret of their existence from the human world. The Watchmen reported directly to the Consortium, serving as their eyes and ears around the world. But it appeared the organization was no longer viable, the Consortium’s policies plagued by indecision and bureaucracy.
“Kierland’s convinced the other Watchmen units to break with the Consortium and form a new organization?” she asked, assuring herself that she was only staring at him so intently because she was interested in the conversation…and not because he looked incredibly gorgeous sitting there in the soft glow of light, the goldenstubble on his cheeks and jaw bringing the rugged angles of his face into sharper definition.
He nodded in response to her question, saying, “He didn’t have much choice. The Consortium’s refusal to take action against the Casus has stripped them of respect. They’re now viewed as a bunch of frightened old men, too bogged down in
Seth narrowed his eyes. “I’d hardly be wasting my time trying to keep you alive if I wanted you dead, Raine. I’m just trying to understand you.”
I T WAS HIS TONE , more than the words themselves, that rattled something inside her. Something Raine had thought safely buried, where she wanted it. A strange desire to want to connect with someone on a level that went deeper than mere friendship, or even sex.
Realizing he was still waiting for a response, she managed to say, “I guess I was still hoping that something would happen. That something would stop them.”
“You got lucky.” His hands clenched into fists on the armrests of his seat, and she could sense his internal struggle as he forced himself to relax, his voice a bit rougher as he said, “I might not have found you.”
The train made its next scheduled stop, then resumed its long trek, and she was thankful for the interruption, not wanting to think about how close it had been with the Casus…or how much she owed the soldier for bailing her out. After a few tense moments of silence, she turned toward him again. “When you found me in the club, you said all hell was breaking loose for the Watchmen. I’ve only been gone a week. What’s happened?”
Some of his tension eased, and the corner of his mouth twitched, as if he was fighting back a smile. “Actually, they won’t be the Watchmen much longer. Kierland’s finally put his master plan into action.”
She knew that Kierland Scott, a gorgeous auburnhaired Lycan, was regarded as the leader of the Watchmen unit currently stationed at Harrow House, and that he was also one of Seth’s friends—but she had no idea what the human meant by a “master plan.”
“What are you talking about?”
With a frown, he asked, “Didn’t anyone at Harrow House tell you about the meetings?”
“No one at Harrow House would tell me anything.” As soon as the words left her mouth, she winced, thinking she sounded like a bitter old hag. But damn it, she’d hated the way all conversation had ceased the secondshe walked into a room at the Watchmen compound, as if they were afraid of saying the wrong thing in front of her. With a wry tilt to her mouth, she leaned her head back against the seat and closed her eyes as she went on to say, “And I’d obviously be lying if I said it hadn’t been extremely annoying.”
He gave a rough bark of laughter, the deep, gritty timbre spilling deliciously through her veins. “Yeah, I can understand how that could grate on a person’s nerves. But the condensed version goes something like this. The Watchmen have known for some time that the Consortium leaders are failing to do their job. So they’ve decided to make a break from the organization.”
She didn’t need him to explain who the Consortium leaders were. Anyone who was a part of the ancient clans—the nonhuman races who walked the earth—knew that the Consortium was a kind of preternatural United Nations, its purpose to keep peace among the clans and ensure the secret of their existence from the human world. The Watchmen reported directly to the Consortium, serving as their eyes and ears around the world. But it appeared the organization was no longer viable, the Consortium’s policies plagued by indecision and bureaucracy.
“Kierland’s convinced the other Watchmen units to break with the Consortium and form a new organization?” she asked, assuring herself that she was only staring at him so intently because she was interested in the conversation…and not because he looked incredibly gorgeous sitting there in the soft glow of light, the goldenstubble on his cheeks and jaw bringing the rugged angles of his face into sharper definition.
He nodded in response to her question, saying, “He didn’t have much choice. The Consortium’s refusal to take action against the Casus has stripped them of respect. They’re now viewed as a bunch of frightened old men, too bogged down in
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