Free Riven by Dean Murray Page B

willing to tell us what
it was for yet."
    I checked the
clock on the wall and then sighed as I reached for the door.
"Actually, they are past due to be back. I'd better make a
call."
    The sound of angry
footsteps out in the hall was unmistakable, but if any of us had been
too slow to figure that out, Jaclyn's tone would have easily made the
point.
    "Don't bother
with a call, Alec. Instead tell me why you thought you could get away
with sending eight of your people down into my area unannounced with
an invitation to come here that was little more than a veiled
threat."
    I pulled the door
the rest of the way open and motioned Jaclyn and Tasha inside. James
gave me a questioning look from a few feet behind them, but I waved
him off. Donovan's office was already filled to capacity. We were
going to need to go about getting a larger room ready for these kinds
of councils. I made a mental note to ask Donovan what room my father
had used and then turned back to Jaclyn.
    "The group I
sent down was under instructions to extend an invitation, nothing
more than that. I would have called ahead, but Tasha isn't exactly
taking my phone calls these days. As to the size of the group, it
didn't seem fair to bring you up here and leave your pack uncovered.
I thought you'd appreciate the four who remained down there to help
protect your territory."
    There was a
challenging look in her eye. "And the four who escorted me back
here?"
    "Believe it
or not, they were for your protection. You don't have anything to
worry about from a normal opponent, but given the state of things
right now, it's entirely possible that we'll see a rash of werewolves
come through this little corner of the state before all is said and
done."
    Jaclyn seemed a
little mollified. She dropped down into the chair next to Tasha,
who'd so far refused to meet my gaze. "Fine, your actions
weren't quite as unreasonable as I initially thought, but I'm not one
of your lackeys to just jump on a plane whenever you call."
    I sighed. Things
were moving too quickly and I didn't have enough manpower to jump
through all of the hoops that tradition stipulated. I'd hoped that
our past history together, tenuous though it was, would stop Jaclyn
from being quite so offended.
    "I truly am
sorry for being so high-handed, Jaclyn. I would have just flown down
to see you, but my hands are tied right now. I owe guest protection
to a number of people and while I can't magically stop a horde of
werewolves from decimating the estate, there is a very real
possibility that my presence is the only thing keeping the Coun'hij
from sending in twenty or thirty enforcers to level everything in the
area."
    Jaclyn steepled
her fingers and then looked at me over the top of them. "Okay,
you're sorry and I'll overlook the offense this time. What do you
want?"
    "Two things.
Firstly I want to complete the joining we discussed last month."
    "I'm not sure
Tasha will take you at this point, Alec. Besides, I've heard talk of
an engagement to some human."
    Jaclyn was trying
to rile me up, but she wasn't going to succeed. I held all of the
cards right now and we both knew it.
    "While I have
the highest respect for Tasha, you're right that a wedding is out of
the question, but that's no longer a prerequisite for the kind of
alliance that I'm after. Frankly, I'm not overly concerned with the
form of the alliance. Within certain limits I'm game for just about
anything you're interested in proposing, but I need the Tucson pack
and you in particular."
    Jaclyn shook her
head. "You absolutely care what form the alliance takes. This is
nothing like we discussed unless you're really offering to come down
off of the little throne you're building yourself and join the Tucson
pack."
    My beast took
exception to that comment, but I forced the surge of power down to
something barely more than a flicker and offered Jaclyn a cold smile.
    "This is
exactly what we were discussing previously. The weaker pack will join
the stronger pack in return