Ridge pauses by Amora and asks her to track down a few shifters to prepare food and drink for Gwen and her wolfish escorts, and I leave them chatting quietly to fall into step beside the witch.
She seems to miss nothing as Archer, Dare, and Trystan lead us through the villa
ge. I can almost see her calculating an escape route and planning her method of self-defense, should the need arise. And I can’t really blame her. It’s honestly surprising Amora was able to convince her to come. Now she’s surrounded by strangers who hate her for the magic she wields.
Which means it’s my job to make her feel safe. I brought her here, and I’ll be damned if I let her feel uncomfortable without at least trying to fix it.
“Thank you for coming. The journey went all right?” I ask, glancing over at her as I keep pace with her long strides.
Gwen nods. “Unremarkable. Your friend Amora is a gracious host.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” I say, and I mean it. “Did she tell you why we asked you to come here?”
“A bit,” Gwen says. “Mostly, she made it quite clear that you’re in trouble with Cleo, and that was enough to convince me to come.”
I nod. The hardness of her voice when she says the coven leader’s name only reinforces my hope that she’ll side with us. “Thank you for that. I know you don’t know any of us, not really, and you have no reason to take our side over hers.”
The witch’s jaw tightens. “I’ve got reasons to take anyone’s side over hers.”
Before I can respond to that, Archer holds the door open to the meeting house and motions us through. The interior is dim and cool, a nice respite from the growing afternoon heat outside. I motion for Gwen to take a chair at the large round table, then seat myself across from her so that we can see eye to eye as we chat.
My men station themselves around me—Ridge and Archer in the chairs on either side of me, and Dare and Trystan standing guard behind me. An edge of unease thrums through the bond we share, telling me without words that they’re on the fence about Gwen’s presence.
I know that most people don’t do things for others unless they get something in return. Hell, I learned that lesson the hard way, living under my uncle’s iron rule. I’m just hoping the bargain I have to offer her is enough to convince her to stay.
As soon as we’re seated, a team of shifters arrives carrying snacks. They pile pitchers of iced tea and lemonade on the table, cold bottles of water, and an array of finger foods they likely pilfered straight from their own kitchens on the fly.
Once we’re all sufficiently fed and watered, I set my own glass of lemonade aside and fold my hands on the table as I catch Gwen’s gaze. “I won’t beat around the bush. I know you don’t want to get involved in our fight with Cleo, but I’m hoping that once you hear what our plan is, you’ll be willing to help us.”
Gwen nods. She keeps her fingers wrapped around her already condensing glass, as if the cool surface on her fingers can chase away the hot, dusty feeling she must have from the journey here. “I’m listening.”
“We’re going after her.” I say the words bluntly, doing my best not to color them with any of the dozens of emotions bouncing around inside my chest. “We know where she and her coven hide, and we’re gunning for her.”
Gwen raises an eyebrow. “This is sudden. Before you showed up at my cabin, you didn’t even know who Cleopatra was, much less that you share a bond with her.”
“She’s discovered the bond,” I say, “just like you feared she might. She’s tried to kill me through that connection more than once—but that’s the least of her crimes against us since we last saw you. You already know that she kidnapped one of our wolves and tortured him for information regarding our defenses. Then, armed with the knowledge that she tortured out of our shifter, she and her witch army showed up and tried to destroy us all.”
“Tried to?” Gwen says, her brow rising higher.
“Yeah. Tried to.” A smidgeon of pride fills my voice, although the memory of that day will always haunt me. “The three packs banded together to fight, and we held them off. We kept them from wiping us out, and we made them pay for the attack with their own losses.”
Gwen readjusts in her seat to lean forward and look at me curiously, eyeing through slightly narrowed eyelids as if I’m an oddity. The last time she looked at me this way, I was leaving her cabin to race home before Cleo attacked the East Pack village.
“It sounds like you have this well in hand,” she says finally. “So why am I here?”
“We’re going to march on the coven’s hideout and finish this once and for all.” My jaw tightens a little as I speak the words. “But in the meantime, we can’t leave our children and elderly here alone. And we can’t spare any of our best fighters to remain behind to protect them.”
“Of course not. They’ll need to be part of the front lines,” Gwen agrees, though there’s an undercurrent to her tone that says she sees where this conversation is going. I can’t tell if she’s intrigued or irritated by the prospect of what I’m going to ask her. I did, after all, drag her from the safety and security of her cabin to ask for a favor she has every right to deny.
I take a deep breath and calm my nerves as much as I can. “I’m hoping you’ll be amenable to a mutually beneficial relationship.”
She huffs a breath, regarding me somewhat warily. “What could you possibly offer me?”
“Well, for one, I think you hide in the mountains because you’re afraid Cleo might find you,” I point out. “If Cleo’s out of the picture, I imagine you’ll feel safe again. The coven has become strong and cruel under her reign, and we think they need to go. I’m pretty sure you feel the same?” I lift the last few words into a question, asking for verification that I’m on the right track, but she remains mute and expressionless. So I go on. “Even if you don’t want or need to leave your mountain, if she were gone, you could. I think there’s something to be said for having that choice.”
Gwen taps a finger against the side of her glass, her face thoughtful. “Keep talking.”
“Secondly, I’m offering an allied partnership. If you remain in the village and protect our families, we’ll protect and provide for you no differently than if you were a member of this pack. We’ll trade goods with you. We’ll provide you security, should you need it once you feel safe to leave your mountain. And most importantly, we offer you friendship and a place to turn to when you need it.”