“Leana is under my protection,” Azazel said. “Not that she requires it. It’s a long story. Maybe I will tell you sometime.”

Why did the thought of him sharing his story with me make me feel all gooey?

He held out the plate with the bun on it. “Take it.”

I plucked it from the plate, tore it in half, and handed him a piece. “We can share it.”

Our gazes met, and gentle warmth unfurled in my chest. He took the offered half of the bun and, holding my gaze, took a bite. I did the same. We ate, gazes locked in a strangely compelling and intimate moment.

A rap on the door broke the spell. Azazel sat back in his seat and turned to the entrance. “Come in.”

A three-foot-tall man strode in, his ruddy cheeks quivering with suppressed indignation. I caught Azazel stifle a long-suffering sigh.

“What can I do for you, Huck,” he said calmly.

“Well, ya can stop those fecking piskies from urinating all over me crops, that’s wha ya can doo.”

What the fuck was that accent? Some kind of outlier dialect no doubt, and from the studying I’d done in the quarters’ library, this dude was definitely fae, a hobbit maybe?

“An who the feck is that?” He jerked a thumb my way.

He looked like a pissed-off baby with facial hair. I bit the insides of my cheeks to stop myself from laughing.

“This is Dominus Dawn,” Azazel said, “and you will address her with respect.” His tone was a whiplash of icy air, and the bristling hobbit instantly shrank.

“Sorry, Azazel. I’m just so pissed.”

“Sit down, and let’s get some details,” Azazel said in a slightly warmer tone.

The hour passed quickly. After Huck, we had a couple of boggarts and then a beautiful half-demon who was being harassed by a local gang of Loup. A motorcycle gang that lived in the Rising Pack territory.

Azazel promised to speak to the alpha of the Rising Pack.

The door closed behind the demon, and Azazel stood and stretched. His T-shirt rode up, and my gaze slid to the exposed strip of flesh. He was more tanned than Mal or Conah.

“How often do you feed?” The question fell from my lips before I could think.

He froze mid-stretch and then slowly lowered his arms to his sides. “Why do you ask?”

“Curious. I’ve seen Conah drink blood and Mal too, but not you.”

“You want to see me drink blood?”

A rippled passed over my skin. No, I wanted him to sink his fangs into me and drink my blood. Shit! Where had that come from?

He’d stilled again. “I don’t need to feed as often as the others. Once a month is enough for me.”

“Because you’re older than them?”

“Because—”

The door slammed open, and a beast of a man strode in. He was dressed in a suit, some kind of designer shit, but there was no disguising the monster inside. Loup. He was Loup. No doubt about it. His menacing dark eyes skimmed over me and then latched onto Azazel.

“He’s not here.” He sniffed the air. “Coward.”

“I’m no coward,” a familiar sexy voice said.

A bolt of electricity shot up my spine, forcing it straighter.

Grayson walked into the room, casual in dark denim, cream shirt, and a dark jacket that looked like it was made of soft leather.

“Hello, Monty,” Grayson said.

“Larson to you, you bastard,” the angry-looking Loup snapped back.

“The alpha was supposed to come,” Azazel said. “That was the arrangement.”

I was confused.

“Hunter has better things to do with his time,” Larson sneered. “Now, let’s get on with the negotiations.”

But Grayson’s gaze was on me, drinking me in. “Seraphina …”

My mouth was stupidly dry, so I raised a hand in greeting.

“This is the bitch that caused all the trouble.” Larson’s lip curled, and he took a step toward me.

My muscles tensed, ready to react, but I didn’t get a chance before lightning flashed and Larson was flat on his arse. Shit, what was that? And then it hit me. This place was warded to be a no-aggression zone.

Azazel crossed his arms over his broad chest and looked down on the Loup. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

Larson spat a few choice curses and slowly pulled himself to his feet.

The fact that the wards had attacked him told me he’d meant to harm me. Anger rose up my throat. Forgetting Azazel’s warning to keep my mouth shut, I pulled myself to my feet.

“You want to fight me, then we can go outside right now, hair bag.” I shrugged. “I need a workout anyway, and your face will do just as well as a punch bag.”

Larson’s eyes narrowed, and then he smiled. “Maybe some other time, reaper.”

“Dominus,” Azazel reminded him. “And aggression against one Dominus is an aggression against us all. Now, sit down.”

Larson tore his gaze from me and took a seat. Grayson did the same.

“You have your terms?” Azazel asked Larson.

At first glance, Grayson looked relaxed, but on closer inspection, I noted the tension around his eyes and mouth as he waited for Larson to speak.

“We’ll take your two females,” Larson said.

Grayson let out a sharp breath. “They’re only fourteen.”

“If they can bleed, they can breed.”

Was he implying what I thought he was? What the fuck was happening here?

“One month of miasma,” Grayson said.

“No,” Larson said. “Why should we settle for rations when we can have two batteries?”

Azazel’s jaw was tight, telling me he was pissed and that he found this whole thing distasteful, but he looked to Grayson for a response.

“Do you accept the terms?” Azazel asked.

Grayson closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I can’t hand over our children to you. I won’t.”

Larson looked genuinely surprised. “Then your men will die.”

Grayson nodded. “Faced with the alternative, I know Dean and Maddox would choose death.”

Larson’s aggression seemed to peter out a little. “You’d let them die?”

“The Regency Pack protects its young,” Grayson said.

Larson stood. “One moment.” He strode out of the room and closed the door.

“What’s happening?” I looked from Azazel to Grayson.

“The final negotiations after the museum raid,” Azazel said.

“I thought you said that was sorted.”

“It was.” Azazel pressed his lips together. “Two of Grayson’s pack offered themselves up to the Rising Pack as payment for the breach.”

Grayson ran a hand over his face. “Hunter accepted the partial payment. Now, he wants our only two full-blooded Loup females for breeding purposes, or he’ll reinstate the law of blood recompense.”

“But they’re just kids.” I stared at him, horrified.

“Full-blood Loup females are rare,” Azazel explained.

“A wolf needs miasma to shift,” Grayson said. “That miasma is like red blood cells, but instead of being produced in the marrow, it is produced by a chemical reaction in our brains. A reaction that only occurs when we have regular proximity to Loup females. But there are fewer and fewer Loup females being born, and we’ve been forced into an arrangement with covens to provide us with amulets to aid in miasma production.”

“But the amulets need to be charged,” Azazel said, his lip curling in disgust. “And the Loup pay heavily for that privilege.”

“So, Larson wants the females so they can produce more miasma?”

“If only he just wanted them around … No, he’ll have them mated with his men in the hopes of producing miasma-rich cubs and hopefully more females.” He shook his head. “They don’t deserve to be treated like cattle. They deserve to be allowed to mature and have a choice.”

“I don’t understand … How do you give them miasma?”

“They’ll have contact with the females once a week. Being in the same room as them for a few hours a week will be enough for their betas to produce miasma. It’ll be done on neutral ground, of course.”

It sounded reasonable to me. But whether the Rising Pack accepted was another matter.

The door opened, and Larson entered. “Three months of miasma,” he said. “Your men will be returned to you but will complete six months of contracted work for us, unpaid.”

Grayson exhaled in relief and nodded. “I accept.”

I guess miasma was more important to the Rising Pack than blood recompense.

I’d wanted to speak more to Grayson. To learn more about his world, and I sensed he felt the same. Larson left quickly, but Grayson didn’t seem to be in a hurry.

“Thank you for saving my life,” he said.

“It wasn’t me. It was the scythe.”

“The scythe?” Azazel asked. “You used the scythe to heal him?”

I nodded.

“It gave me the boost I needed to eradicate the silver from my bloodstream,” Grayson said. “By the time I got to the healer, she barely had to do anything. You took a huge risk coming for me.”

“There was no other option.”

“Why?” He searched my face.

Why? Dean had asked me the same thing, and I gave Grayson the same answer I’d given his second. “Because you don’t walk away when you can help someone.”

“We need to go,” Azazel said curtly.

Grayson nodded. “I’ll see you around, Seraphina Dawn.”

He closed the door behind him, and I turned on Azazel. “You didn’t have to be so rude.”

“It’s getting late, and I have more rounds to do. I need to drop you back to base.”

I stifled my annoyance. I was being ridiculous while he was simply trying to do his job.

As we made our way out of Lumiers, my thoughts shifted to Cora and our night out, and excitement bubbled in my tummy. I so needed to let my hair down.