“You said it,” Kim agreed.
The males in the room, except Connor, ignored both women. Sean met Dylan’s gaze, his face quiet. “I’ll do it. I’ll fight Fergus.”
A chorus of shouting drowned him out. Liam huffed a bitter laugh. “What, Sean, you’ll kill me, then Dad, then go after Fergus?”
“No.” Sean’s face was white. “I’ll just kill the gob-shite. I can shoot him, can’t I, and then stick him with the sword. Fergus is dust, no more problem.”
“And then by Shifter law I’ll have to take you out,” Liam said in a hard voice. “Bad plan.”
“What does it matter?” Sean asked.
The others fell silent, and Kim couldn’t contain herself. “Are you all crazy? Why would you let Sean even think of that?”
“Stay out of this, Kim,” Dylan said without looking at her.
“No, Kim has a point.” Glory folded her arms, her perfect br**sts straining against her pink shirt. “Sean, why should you sacrifice yourself?”
“To keep the peace,” Sean said in a tired voice. “I would be the logical choice to be the assassin and pay the price. Because I’m mateless.” Sean shot Liam a hard look, and Liam, surprisingly, dropped his gaze.
Glory said, “Listen to the human girl. If anyone should pay for this, it’s Fergus himself. Let him be the sacrifice.”
“Good idea,” Connor echoed.
Dylan let his voice roar through. “There will be no argument. We do what Fergus says.”
Kim opened her mouth to protest, and so did Glory, but suddenly Glory shut hers, as though she understood something. Dylan was staring hard at Liam, those nonverbal cues flying between them. Dylan’s eyes were feral white, Liam’s not much better.
Liam dropped his gaze and turned. Dylan gave him a look of almost disappointment, then swung away and slammed himself out the back door. Glory took a deep breath, but to Kim’s surprise, she didn’t follow Dylan.
“I really don’t understand,” Kim said into the silence. “Why would your dad stand back and let Fergus win?”
Liam shot her a quick look. He was worried. “I don’t know.”
“Because Dylan isn’t ready to die,” Glory said. “He’s not that old, and he’s completely virile. Besides, he has me.”
Her smug statement broke the tension a little. Connor even gave a nervous laugh. “Sure, that would be worth living for,” he said.
“You’re a cub, youngling,” Glory said. “You’ll learn.”
Liam remained silent, the smiling, damn-your-eyes man Kim had come to know fading into a bleak, angry Shifter. When he looked like this he was scary as hell, but Kim walked to him and ducked under his arm. The others had backed off, and for the first time since she’d met this group, they were giving another Shifter space.
Kim sensed that Liam didn’t need space right now; he needed touch, reassurance. She melded to his side, and Liam finally looked down at her, the feral white-blue of his eyes darkening to human blue once again.
“We’ll fix this somehow,” Kim dared to say. “Without anyone dying or Sean shooting Fergus in the back. Although I wouldn’t mind doing that—after I give him a piece of my mind.”
“Don’t you dare,” Liam said, lips flat. “Or I’ll chain you up in the basement.”
“Are there spiders down there?”
“Possibly.”
Kim lifted her hand. “All right, I’ll try to be sensible. I see that I need to speed up my campaign to free Brian, and I have a few ideas about that.”
Liam’s gaze flickered, as though suspicious about her ideas, but his fangs and claws had retreated.
Glory snorted. “The little kitten has teeth, Liam. Watch that when she goes down on you.”
Connor laughed out loud. Liam gave Kim a little smile. “I’m willing to risk it.”
Glory stepped past them. “Excuse me. I think Dylan’s had time to cool from killing rage to an even simmer. Time for me to go be a good little lapdog.”
“I don’t even want to know about that,” Connor said in disgust, as Glory sashayed out.
Connor came to Kim and put his arms around her in a smothering hug. “I’m glad you’re Liam’s mate, Kim, and I’m glad you came home. The full-moon blessing tomorrow night is going to be some party. Me and Sean have invited everyone.”
Kim remembered Liam saying something about his father pronouncing his blessing under the moon, but she hadn’t paid much attention. “Party?”
“Mate blessings don’t happen very often, so all of Shiftertown will want to see it,” Liam said. “Don’t worry, we dress casual.”
“Oh, thanks.” All of Shiftertown, coming to stare at her. Then again, it might be a good time to put some of her ideas in motion. If Silas was dying to learn about Shifters, she could give him a glimpse, and he could help Kim’s cause at the same time. “Do you mind if I invite a friend?”
Liam’s eyes narrowed. “Friend?”
“Someone I know who’s helped me out in the past. Is this blessing something humans can witness?”
Liam gave her a nod. “Sure. It won’t make Fergus happy, but screw him.”
“That’s what I keep saying.” She smiled up at Liam. She knew she couldn’t ease all his tension, but she could tell how far she’d made him relax. “I need to make a few phone calls. Mind?”