“From what Shelley tells me, Davina may be a lot of things, but a liar isn’t one of them.”
“What else does dear old Shelley tell you Zeke?” Zeke glares at Creed but doesn’t comment.
“I think maybe it is an avenue that you both should think about exploring.” Everyone turns to Meg in shock.
“Mom––“
“Hear me out California, I don’t think much of the woman as you all know.” The three Reeves sibling’s chuckle. “Ifshecan come back from the dead who is to say that Jess and Cairo’s mom can’t as well.”
“If she is alive then she is just like Davina, I will not have anything to do with her if she chose to leave us because she wanted to be with someone else.” The anger in Ro’s voice startles me but if I’m being truthful with myself, I agree with him. If she is alive then she better have a damn good reason as to why she hid from us.
“I still think you two should talk to Davina tonight.” I shake my head.
“Creed and I don’t want Harlem near her– “
“He won’t be, I refuse to attend that meeting, I’m more than happy to stay here and amuse my grandson.” I smile at Meg and thank her; Creed does the same as he stands.
“We better start getting ready then.” Before we exit the room, Creed stops us with a question. “Zeke, I need to know where your loyalty lies.” Zeke glares at Creed before turning to look at my brother.
“I may have been sent to you, but I have always been loyal to you. I did what I did so I could protect you and the pack, I will never go behind your back again Ro, I swear.”
“You need to prove that to me Z and win my trust back.” I’m proud of my brother, Sky walks forward and slaps Z on the chest then gives him a cold callous look that sends shivers down my spine.
“Fuck him over again and I’ll kill you, I won’t hesitate either.” Zeke swallows but nods his head stiffly. “Good boy.”
Chapter Eighteen
Jessica
We follow Zeke to the meeting hall, I expected it to be a dingy looking place but it isn’t. It reminds me of a school cafeteria, tables are all set out in rows and a buffet is set up to one side, Cairo being the bottomless pit that he is has already dished up a plate and eats noisily beside me. Creed hasn’t eased his grip on my hand, he’s been very reserved since we left the house, the more shifters and vamps that fill the room, the more tense he becomes. We managed to snag a table in the middle near the front, Creed and Ro are uncomfortable at the fact that their backs are exposed, I spot Shelley, Dela and Kane as they enter the hall, Shelley’s gaze lands on me and they begin to make their way over. No one offers to shuffle down and make room for them, but I think our group is stating a point. I watch as Dela drops his chin to try and hide his smirk, I don’t know much about him from my minimal interactions with him, he actually seems like a nice guy.
“Davina has filled me in on your…. Problem Credence––“Creed snaps his gaze to Shelley and growls.
“Shut your mouth.” Shelley’s eyes narrow to slits and her upper lip twitches.
“I am not your pack Alpha therefore I do not answer to you, it will serve you well to remember who you are speaking with.” Creed scoffs, the others around the table snicker.
“Look around Shelley, there is no council here and none of us have any pack lands thanks to you and the council taking them from us.”
“I didn’t do a damn thing Creed, I tried to help you all, but you couldn’t tell the damn truth. We are all here because of your lies, if you had of just been honest with Jess––“
“That’s enough!” I cut in, I dart my eyes around the hall and notice we have caught the attention of the others and they really don’t need to know that we are not united. Shelley follows my gaze.
“We will discuss this matter later, tonight.” I nod and watch as the three of them walk away.
“She isn’t wrong you know.” I stare at Sky with my mouth agape, she just shrugs her shoulders.
“You don’t think I know that? I never meant for any of this to happen, I had no idea the amount of control the council really had. We need to figure out what they have over everyone so we can take them out and finally free all the packs around the world from their control.” I open my mouth to reply but snap it shut when I spy Davina and Vince entering the hall, she is flanked by other men I haven’t seen before. I make the mistake of inhaling through my nose and cough to mask my gag, ever since being on the island we have all been trying to get used to this feral stench but its freaking hard. So, we have resorted to breathing through our mouths unless we are at home, smelling rotting flesh everyday isn’t something I want to get used to. Davina moves toward the front of the room, she scans the hall but pauses on our table, her gaze jumps to each of her kids, and I find it odd when I see her shoulders relax. The worry lines that crease her face have me on edge, but she quickly smooths her features and straightens up as she nods to Vince. He places his thumb and index finger in his mouth and lets out an ear-piercing whistle that has my ears ringing, all the shifters in the room turn and glare at the smirking asshole.
“Now that I have your attention, Davina would like to say a few things.” Vince steps back and I focus on Davina, Creed squeezes my hand a tiny bit harder, and I cringe, if he tightens his grip any more, I fear he will break my hand. I try to flex my fingers so he will get the hint, but he doesn’t.
“I’m afraid what I have to say isn’t good news, I had planned to fill you all in on how we do things here and integrate everyone slowly into our way of life but that isn’t the case.” Murmurs break out around the room but are quickly stopped when Vince whistles again, this time growls follow.
“Shut up and listen to what D has to say, you will all have a chance to ask questions soon.” Something is off, Vince seems tense, even his off siders seem taught and on alert.
“Thank you, Vincent, as I was saying something has happened. Two of our boats haven’t returned from the mainland, we have had zero contact from them for 48 hours––“
“Merv isn’t back?” A lady asks, Davina shakes her head, and her eyes take on a hollow look.