Aside from getting my pack to safety, I was worried about my mother. She wasn’t into parties and neither was Maddox, so they’d looked content with spending time alone together. Judas was right—time made people comfortable, and they let their guards down. We had initially assigned two wolves to protect the property, although Ben’s wolf often counted as one of them. But last month, he had stopped coming by. When the Council pushed the Northerners out and there hadn’t been any incidents, we stopped the guard rotation. Managing everyone’s schedule had become a nightmare.
And now, of all things, my father reappeared. I had a built-in coping mechanism that got me through a lot in life, but this was one situation I was losing control of, and I couldn’t afford to break down in front of my pack. Not now. I was skeptical that a man like Judas would care enough about his blood daughter to risk coming into the city, but it was clear his motive was to intimidate everyone in the territory by showing how quickly he could slip a small army inside city limits. Every Packmaster at that party must have been stirring with rage.
I hurried into the kitchen through the back door and came to a full stop when a wolf snarled at me.
Reno punched his snout. “You better keep that in check around this alpha female.”
We found Trevor sitting naked in a chair in the hall. Reno tossed him his pants, and he put them on without standing up.
I ran my fingers through his unkempt hair. “Are you hurt?”
“One of the alphas helped me shift again; I think everything’s healed up. Holy hell—what happened? A wolf came out of nowhere and jumped me while I was bending over to pick up my plate.”
“Northerners.”
He took the dress shirt from Reno and glowered at it. “Ruined. That shit pisses me off more than the fuckwad who tried to tear out my throat. I special ordered this shirt; it’s a limited edition.”
“Where’s William?”
He gave me a quizzical stare. “How would I know? Last I saw, he was talking to some of his old packmates, and that was over an hour ago.”
Poor Trevor. He must have really been out of it when William had brought him into the house, as he didn’t seem to remember any of it.
Katharine appeared and helped Trevor up. “We’ll take him home. George is pulling up the car.”
Butterflies circled my stomach as I made my way through the crowd, searching for Austin.
Lorenzo cut through the room, a gust of air lifting the ends of his long hair.
I gripped his arm. “Where’s Austin?”
He nodded toward the front door, and I rushed outside.
Some people were leaving, while others were taking a seat in front of the house with a drink in hand.
“Austin?” I called out, searching the faces in the crowd. “Austin!”
“Hey,” a warm voice said from behind me, familiar arms wrapping around me as I turned around. “I’m right here.”
I sank into his embrace, the comforting feel of his pounding heart against my ear. Sometimes late at night in bed—after he’d fall asleep—I would rest my head against his chest, soothed by the rhythmic beat of my alpha’s heart. It was the best sound in the world.
He smoothed his hand down my hair and kissed my forehead. “I’m sorry.”
I lifted my chin. “About what?”
Austin lowered his voice. “That your father had to be a bastard. I should have helped you find him earlier so he wouldn’t have made such a public display to humiliate you in front of the packs. Christ, Lexi. I don’t even know what to say to that.” He cradled my head in his hands, his eyes resolute. “I’m not going to let him take you away from me. You got that? It’s you and me to the end—no matter what happens.”
I kissed him slowly, reverently. The world melted away until all I heard was Austin whispering against my lips that he loved me.
“Did William come by?”
Austin leaned back. “No, I haven’t seen him. Reno! Round up the troops,” he yelled over my shoulder.
I turned around and scanned the crowd, but Reno had already vanished. Austin’s hand moved down to my stomach and remained there, his fingers splayed protectively.
Lorenzo swaggered out and gave Austin a judgmental stare. “You have a notorious track record for drama-filled peace parties; I just didn’t think you’d bring the circus with you.”
“I’m going to let that slide,” Austin said. “But another word and—”
I elbowed him in the ribs and gave him a scolding glance. The last thing I needed to do was break up a fight between Packmasters over something petty.
Lakota appeared behind Lorenzo and clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Mother’s upstairs with Hope, calming her down. She was frightened by all this. Good thing I brought the dreamcatcher.”
“What dreamcatcher?” I asked.
He folded his arms, which were two shades lighter than Lorenzo’s. “My mother gave me a dreamcatcher years ago to protect me from evil spirits. It works. I’m a man now and have little need for protection, so I brought it down as a gift for my sister.”
Lorenzo sputtered with laughter. “You are hardly a man.”
Lakota lifted his chin and puffed out his chest. “I went through the change two years ago.”
Lorenzo stepped aside and folded his arms. “Tell me, Lakota, have you bedded a woman?”
Lakota’s cheeks blazed, but he didn’t avert his eyes.
Poor kid.