We sat in the Sanctorum, sipping rare fifty-year Macallan that Mallory had left out. He usually kept it hidden from us. Maybe he’d left it out as a gift since he knew we were heading to Hell. He was the only other person I had told about our travel plans. Or Falco’s pregnancy.

Talon was lying on a couch a few paces away near the waterfall that occupied one wall of the massive cavern turned private library. The ceiling was easily fifty feet high and covered in gems to represent constellations, and railed walkways marked each floor – complete with rooms, bookshelves, and furniture. I’d barely managed to explore the entire place. Only in a cursory fashion to make sure nothing dangerous lurked behind one of the closed doors. Some trapped demon or something.

Other than dusty piles of books, manuscripts, and strange artifacts from all over the world, I hadn’t found anything concerning. Some of the rooms seemed more like ancient antique stores than anything, with tan sheets covering the furniture, shelves, and lamps.

On the main floor sat an ornate desk that had belonged to my ancestors, those former Masters’ Temple. Our family had always used the title for the head of the house, but it had only recently come to my attention that it used to have actual meaning. The original Master Temples used to be Makers – those extremely rare beings who shared headspace with a Beast, a creature of unknown origins and powers. One of those Beasts had actually been freed from her partnership and had instead been fused with the mansion we now stood in.

The mansion had even been named after her – Falco.

The ground shook with a faint hum for a moment as Falco acknowledged my thought. I could speak to her, in a way. We kind of had a mental intercom system.

Either Falco was acknowledging my thoughts or she was having another mood swing from her pregnancy. Before Kai had died, he had told me to take care of his coming son. I felt familiar gooseflesh roll up my arms as I thought about that. A baby Beast. What the hell was I going to do about that? Not only was I incapable of taking care of human children, now I had to do so with a celestial baby… thing?

I sighed, shaking my head.

Regardless, this area of the house had been locked away for hundreds of years. Falco only gave access to this part of her… body… to those true Master Temples – those who were or had once been Makers. Since Kai and I had briefly teamed up, making me a Maker, I was the first Temple to see this room since the 1800’s when Matthias had been Master Temple.

I heard a rustling of feathers and glanced up to see two sets of beady black eyes watching me from the third tier. Hugin and Munin, Odin’s ravens.

They were on my family Crest, but I had originally taken that as more of a figurative symbol, not literal. I’d been wrong. The two bird brains loved hanging out with me, not telling me things, not helping me, not making my life easier in any way shape or form – things like that.

Talon glared up at them with open hatred.

They often tried to use him as target practice when defecating. Seeing he was safe for the time being, he turned away, his tail twitching and his ears rotated in their direction. I turned to Alucard. “Well?” I said, sipping my drink.

He looked tired. “The meeting was… enlightening. They were very interested in meeting the both of us. Roland, because of his past, and me, because of the Daywalker thing.”

I nodded. “Anything I need to be concerned about?”

Alucard hesitated, as if debating whether or not to answer. “In a way…” He took a drink as if readying himself. “Have you ever heard of White Fang?”

I frowned. “The book?” He shook his head. “I guess not, then. What is it?”

“Not a what, but a man,” he emphasized, watching me.

My pulse began to quicken, not understanding where he was going with this. “Just say it plainly. No need to drag it out.”

He nodded. “I’m trying. It’s not anything I’ve been able to verify. Basically, someone seems to be planting seeds of discord with each family of supernaturals. But no one knows who he really is because he hasn’t actually taken credit for it. People have begun to call him White Fang.” He grimaced, searching for the right words. “In a way, he’s kind of like an anti… you, I guess. You’ve been gathering various flavors of monster together and giving them a home or support or whatever you want to call it. This man is doing the opposite. Encouraging the weregorillas to break away from you when the Greeks invaded. Telling the vampires that they need to encroach upon their neighbors. And…” he let out a deep breath before meeting my eyes. “Possibly encouraging Zeus to challenge Gunnar.”

I blinked. “You’re kidding, right?” He shook his head, face deadly serious. “Why?”

“I think it’s retaliation against you. This person doesn’t like what you’ve done. He’s trying to break up everything, go back to the way things were before you began knocking people down.”

I grimaced. “He prefers anarchy?” I spat. “Or does he just want everyone to solidify their boundaries? And how many groups are we talking about? I’m not even sure I know all the families in town. Wolves, dragons, gorillas, Greeks, vampires…” I shrugged. “Who else?”

He pursed his lips. “I’m still trying to confirm that. There are supposedly seven families – or nations – in town. But many of them have kept a low profile as a result of your high profile. None of them have wanted to catch your attention for fear that you will roll over them, too.”

I blinked at him. “Roll over them, too?” I laughed. “What is that supposed to mean? I’m not in charge of any of those families.”

Alucard blinked at me. Talon grunted. I turned from one to the other, frowning. “You might not be in charge of them – directly – but you helped put almost all of them in their position of power. Think about it. Gunnar,” he said, holding up a finger, “is your childhood best friend, and he took over the local werewolves as a result of drama that fell on you.” I grimaced, nodding. “Raego. You practically handed him his throne, and not just for St. Louis, but for the world. And you embarrassed his grandmother.”

“That was not my fault. The Academy brought her into it. I didn’t even know she existed.”

“Ah, the Academy. You’ve shut them down repeatedly, even declared war on them.”

I closed my mouth, realizing that anything I said wouldn’t really change the facts.

“You shut down an Angel and his Nephilim, and now the Angel is a guardian for one of your old employees. A fucking Angel, Nate…” he said in a low tone, leaning forward. “The Greeks. You set up their Fight Club, now one of the premier sources of entertainment for all Freaks – those with the invite, anyway – giving them a lot of financial muscle.”

“The gorillas don’t like me,” I said, latching onto one of the other factions.

Alucard shrugged. “Yeah, you fucked up there. You almost had them.” His smile turned amused. “But you scooped up a Beast Master, one who can control all shifters. And she runs a school – that you founded – of independent shifters, beholden to no packs. Some consider them an army in training…” Then he pointed at himself. “And you have a Daywalker Vampire living at your house.” He finished off his drink, letting me absorb everything. “None of this is even considering your other friends – Talon, an Elder, the Horsemen… Or your enemies – the Syndicate, Makers, Athena,” he waved a hand, not bothering to list all the people against me, whether they were now alive or dead.

Talon was watching me, looking impressed. I wasn’t sure I had ever laid it all out like that.

“And now you’re friends with a Kansas City celebrity, Callie Penrose. Who has been making similar waves in her half of the state. And she just broke the Vatican. Do you see why people are concerned? They liked the way things were. Before you. And this White Fang is encouraging that while not taking any credit for it. Basically, lighting fuses all around town.”

“Who is it?” I asked, my voice like a rusty nail scraping concrete.

Alucard shrugged. “No one knows, but everyone talks about a werewolf wandering around town. Big son of a bitch. Gray. I checked with Gunnar before he left. Definitely not a part of his pack. Everyone says he is responsible, but I’ve never seen him. He’s a ghost.”

“What did you mean about him leading Zeus Fletcher here?”

“It makes sense,” Alucard shrugged. “White Fang is stirring up trouble, and suddenly Zeus arrives to challenge Gunnar.” He leaned forward, eyes grave. “I overheard Drake and Cowan talking to Gunnar. They said Zeus had an official invitation to the wedding, Nate.”

I growled at that. Someone had given him an invite? Definitely not Gunnar. “Zeus is dead, now. No more rebellion against Gunnar. Or the Temple throne,” I added sarcastically.

Alucard was silent for a moment, as if not wanting to continue. He finally sighed. “White Fang met with the gorillas today. One of Gunnar’s wolves was on patrol, keeping an eye on Zeus’ pack. He saw White Fang leaving the gorillas headquarters. The wolf tried to catch him but failed. White Fang is rumored to be very fast. As soon as the gorillas heard about the wolf on their turf, they chased him down with tenacity, threatening war if Gunnar’s pack crossed into their territory again.”

I blinked at Alucard, shaking my head. “War? A handful of gorillas threatened war against a pack of hundreds of wolves?” I asked incredulously.

Alucard nodded soberly. “That’s exactly what I’m talking about. White Fang is inspiring people to act. Encouraging them to stand up by feeding their paranoia. Everyone is gearing up for something big, and none of them are working together. Like I said, this White Fang isn’t uniting them behind anyone, just against each other. And against you. And with all the new faces coming to town, everyone is trying to solidify their property lines, so to speak.”

I reached over to the bottle and refilled my glass, thinking. “White Fang…” I took a big gulp of my drink, growing angry. “I don’t want anyone behind me. They can do whatever they want. But it benefits no one to go to war.”

“It’s a little late for that. I’m pretty sure it’s a foregone conclusion.”

I squinted at Alucard suspiciously. “Is this why everyone is pushing me away? Why Gunnar didn’t want me to interfere? Why Raego treats me like a stranger?”

“Pretty sure.” He managed to look mildly embarrassed as he continued. “It’s also why… I was called to the meeting last night with the vampires. They wanted to make sure I’m not one of your pets. Which means… I’m going to need you to give me some space as well. Roland and I are heading to the Sanguine Council tomorrow. To nominate me for Master of St. Louis. The only reason I was picked is because I’m obviously strong, and… I made it abundantly clear that you held no sway over me. At all.”

I just stared at him. I was hurt. Even if Alucard was only doing it to get control over his vampires, it still hurt. Anyone with ties to me was fair game. Because of this White Fang.

“I… see,” I murmured, fighting not to shatter the drink in my hand. Talon also looked torn between murdering Alucard and understanding the big picture. I faced Alucard. “Does this mean you actually want me to get out of your hair, or that you are just doing it for show? To become Master of St. Louis.”

Alucard closed his eyes. “It needs to be authentic.”

“Get out, Alucard,” I said through gritted teeth, setting my drink down. “Just… get out.”

He sucked in a breath – even though he didn’t need to breathe – but I turned my back on him and walked away.

My fucking hands were shaking.