This Sunday wasn’t my favorite. Not only were there a bunch of new people, but someone in particular caught my eye as I made my way between the large round tables.
Imogene Hoel.
She’d helped her father nearly tear the pack apart a month and a half ago, and she was the whole reason we were having the Tribunal. Sure, I’d attacked her, but she’d gotten in my face. And it wasn’t like she hadn’t tried to kill me in return. If Claudia and Raphael hadn’t stepped in, she might’ve succeeded.
Her father, Rupert Hoel, was still on the run. No one had heard from him since his failed attempt to take over, but that didn’t mean he was gone for good. His wife butted into the whole Luciana thing last night—sponsoring the coven for the Tribunal and at the ceremony—and now his daughter was back from her mandatory leave of absence. That whole family was trouble, and I had a feeling I’d be hearing from Rupert before long.
It was stupid to be blindsided by the sight of Imogene, but I’d totally forgotten that she would be here for the Tribunal. Or maybe I’d been hoping I wouldn’t see her. We’d kind of made peace with each other before she left, but I still didn’t trust her. It was one thing to forgive, but another to forget.
And now she was sitting with Dastien. My Dastien. Her hand was on his arm.
“Calm down,” Meredith said. “No need to rip her throat out again. We all know Dastien’s yours.”
I took a breath. “Yeah, but does she know that?”
“She’d be dumb to not know that now.”
Meredith was right. I’d forgiven her, so I needed to stick by that. The only reason she was bugging me was because I hadn’t seen her since she left, and her parents were trying to make my life miserable. This was not the time to act like a jealous girlfriend. Even if I kind of was one.
Dastien looked up, and his glowing eyes met mine. He scooted away from Imogene. I don’t like what you’re feeling right now.
“Me neither,” I muttered to myself. Jealousy sucked. It made me feel petty and weak and insecure. I didn’t like it one bit.
There’s nothing to be jealous of. You’re my mate. It’s not a secret.
Sorry. I started toward him. I’m feeling a little unsettled after last night, and she’s not bringing out the best in me.
Dastien pushed out the chair next to him. As soon as I sat, he brushed his lips against mine. “I was going to come get you in a few if you didn’t show up.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.” He held up his phone. “You barely made it.” The countdown had less than a minute on it.
“Why the time limit?”
He sat back in his chair. “You wouldn’t eat on our run again. You’re still going too long between meals.”
Ripping into a live, fur-covered Bambi wasn’t something I wanted to do, no matter how natural everyone else thought it was.
I kissed his cheek. “Thanks.”
Meredith plopped down next to me. “Hey, Imogene.”
“Hey.” She drew out the word a little too long for it to be mistaken as anything nice. “Well, I’m going to get going. Good to see you Dastien.” She put her hand on his arm again and squeezed. I wanted to rip her hand off her body.
I shoved a giant bite of omelet in my mouth to keep from talking to her.
“See you, Tessa.”
“Mmm-hmm,” I said around my bite.
Dastien leaned back in his chair. “You’re kind of adorable when you’re jealous.”
My cheeks heated. Shut up, I said through the bond. I glanced over to Meredith, who was nodding and staring off into space. “How’s Donovan?” I said when I was done chewing.
She jumped a little in her seat. “Oh. He’s fine. He’s on his way. Sorry, was I doing it again?”
“Yeah, but I’m just as bad.”
“He wants to talk to you two.”
I dropped my fork. I didn’t like the sound of that. “Anything bad?”
“He didn’t say.”
Perfect. The way the last twenty-four hours had been going, chances were on a scale from one to ten the news ranked somewhere around fifteen, a.k.a. mega-terrible. I just knew I wasn’t going to like whatever he had to say.
Before I could worry too much, Donovan appeared at the table and settled into the chair next to Meredith. He didn’t say hello. Instead, he put his arm around her, drawing her close. “How’re you two doin’ today? Feeling okay?”
Dastien stiffened beside me, and I put a hand on his leg. “We’re going to be okay, provided that we don’t have the same problem next month.”
