I dish him up a big plate of steak, potatoes and green beans. He barely looks at me before he sits at the table, taking the fork and knife in hand.
“You have as long as it takes me to eat this and then you have to get the fuck out of my house,” he tells me gruffly.
He still hasn’t looked at me and I don’t know why, but I want him to. I want his eyes on me. I sit down gently in the chair next to his. With my hands on the table in front of me, I ask him, “How would you feel if any of the Eaters wore one of your New Law patches as a trophy?”
He takes a big bite of steak and I watch his jaws move as he chews it and then his throat bobble as he swallows it down. Without looking at me, he cuts off another piece of steak. “Your necklace isn’t a New Law patch.”
I reach my hand across the table, but he moves away from me. I sigh, knowing that I should give up. He’s not going to give in. “It is to me, Klaus.”
As soon as his name leaves my lips, he looks at me. His dark eyes are menacing and calculating. I should be scared of him. My wolf and I are no match for him and his bear. But the longer he stares at me, the more he seems to soften, so I persist. “It has been a badge of honor in my family for generations. It was passed down to me and Mandala took that from me. He took too much from me. Not just my body, but our land, the respect of my family, and he stole away the last piece I had of my mother with that necklace. I can’t let him keep it.”
The more I talk, the more he glowers at me. But I can’t back down. “I didn’t come on a suicide mission. I know I can’t get it back without help. If you can’t or won’t help me, who will?”
Klaus lifts his head from me and looks to the front of the cabin. I don’t know how I didn’t hear his bike, but Ronan is standing at the open doorway, staring at us. I was too desperate to get Klaus to help me, I suppose, and that’s why I didn’t hear him. Usually I’m better at staying guarded, especially now.
“What the fuck is she doing here?” Ronan wants to know.
“I broke in and cooked this meal for Klaus to thank him for what he did for me. He didn’t invite me and since he’s almost done eating he’s probably about to kick me out,” I tell him, not wanting Klaus to get into even more trouble with his brother.
Ronan walks toward us and wraps his meaty hands around the back of the chair in front of him. He leans over us and his height and build is intimidating, but I don’t dare move. “Mandala’s heard that Mona’s back in town. He’s looking for her. She shouldn’t be within New Law territory,” Ronan says. “We don’t need to stir things up any more than we already have with the Eaters. Certainly not for a wolf shifter.”
I start to get up. Just the thought of Mandala looking for me makes me want to get on the move. But Klaus stops me. He covers my hand with his, holding me steady. I’m shocked not only by the action but by the feeling that pumps through my body at his touch. It’s something that I thought Mandala took from me that day too.
Ronan raises his arms in frustration. “You can’t do this again. You can’t side with her against the orders of New Law. Don’t you want to ever stop being such a disappointment to our father?”
I flinch, knowing that he’s on the outs with his family because of me. I may have had a rough five years, but it seems he has as well.
Klaus stands up, holding my hand, threading our fingers together. His hold on me is tight, but I’m not complaining. It’s almost soothing to be held like this by him. “You want me to act like an obedient, no-brained soldier, but I won’t. I’ll do what my conscience dictates. But you go ahead, run and tell Dad on me.”
I’m afraid to move. The tension between them is so thick, it’s almost too hard to breathe. I look between the two of them and when I’m sure that neither is going to give up, Ronan stands down. He backs away, giving one last look at Klaus, then me, and then at our combined hands. He looks like he might say something, but he doesn’t. He just shakes his head and walks out the door.