He traced his thumb along my bottom lip. “I will accept your wrath. I deserve it.” He kissed me again, so incredibly open in his physical intimacy at the moment, which he would have usually shut down by now.

“What should I expect from what just happened?” I pulled my hands down his chest, realizing I didn’t want to pull back. I didn’t want to step away. Keeping my distance from him for the last month and a half had been excruciating. Just work and no play made this former Jane a very dull girl. I was going crazy with only the Ivy House staff to hang out with. That way lay insanity. I’d end up asking to be retired like Edgar always did.

Shadows passed over Austin’s eyes, but before he could answer, I said, “I want you back. I want our friendship back. I’ve missed you. I want you hanging around again. And I want to help you with your territory…if you’ll let me.”

His gaze was deep. “What can you expect from what just happened? Nothing. Once they challenged me, their lives were in my hands. Every last one of them. I could’ve killed them without remorse.”

I frowned at him. “No, I meant, will you freak out that you got lost to your dark side?”

The shadows returned again, and he looked at me for a long moment, as if debating. “Yep,” he finally said. “And you are the only soul who will hear that truth. I trust you won’t pass it on.”

“Okay, well…how do I help with that?”

His smile was soft. “You already did. You pulled me out of it. I can’t remember a single person, besides my little niece, who has ever been able to do that. You are a remarkable woman. But I’ll need to think on what happened and why. I have to make sure it doesn’t happen again, or I’ll need to step down as alpha. These people deserve more than someone who loses control.”

I nodded slowly, basking in his heat, seeing the cool logic return to his eyes. He took a step back.

“As for our friendship… I’ve missed you too.” He shrugged, a smile flitting across his lips. “Maybe we’re just friends who kiss from time to time. It happens.”

I released a breath I hadn’t known I was holding. “Yeah. It’s worked for us so far.”

“Thank you, for pulling me back,” he said seriously. “For knowing when…and how.”

“You’ve had my back enough; the least I could do was return the favor.” I turned and headed to the bar. I needed a drink after all of that. “Ivy House took your side, by the way. When I was mad.”

“Oh yeah?” He pulled out the seat Sebastian had been using so I could sit down. It was my regular seat. Sebastian would have to understand. Surprisingly, Austin took the one next to it.

“Yeah. She says she really needs you, which apparently means you can get away with almost anything. I mean…she said I should beat the crap out of you, but that I need to forgive you in the end.”

“That’s a comfort. Do you want to let everyone back in?”

“Oh yeah, sorry. Are you…?” I nodded at the chair.

“Taking the rest of the night off. I need to catch up with an old friend. I might even get to slip in a smile or two. After what I did to that guy with the terrible haircut and all his friends, I’ll get a few days’ leeway before someone else acts the fool.”

It was clear he hadn’t processed everything. He was trying not to think about what had happened, but I knew he’d turn a corner at some point and find himself in that dark place. The best thing I could do for him now was stay by his side and help make that transition as easy as possible. Because, honestly, that had been crazy. I’d never seen Austin react like that, like some kind of movie villain. And yet…I hadn’t been afraid for one moment, not for myself and not for the people tucked into the other room. I’d only worried about the man hanging from his vise grip.

No, that wasn’t quite true. I’d mostly been worried about Austin, and how far into the shadows he’d charged.

I had caused him to do that. I had to own that. He’d only lost control when the conversation had turned to me. I’d caused it, and I would help fix it.

Niamh was the first to stomp back into the room, her glass empty and her expression closed down in irritation. “What took yis? Stop playing with your food, Austin Steele, or do it somewhere else. I’m choking with thirst!”

Sebastian drifted in slowly with his hands in his pockets, slightly bowed, his hair still sticking up all over, and his gaze rooted to Austin.

“I want to thank you,” he said when he got within range. “I haven’t felt proper fear in a very long time. I was a little afraid when I saw all the fierce muscle in the bar, just knowing what could happen, but seeing it…” He shook his head, then shivered. “Thank you for reminding me what it’s like.”

“He’ll fit in with Ivy House at least,” Austin murmured, turning away as Donna bustled in behind the bar.

“What can I get ya, alpha?” she chirped, as though nothing had happened.

Everyone else filed in from outside, and I was surprised when there was even less room in the bar than before. I’d expected people to go home in fear or boredom. From the looks of it, they’d called their friends.

After Austin ordered a round for everyone on the house, I reached in my back pocket and pulled out a bent invitation Mr. Tom had given me a couple of hours before. It had come by courier, apparently, something I’d totally missed in the midst of my twelfth attempt to explain my newfound magic to Jimmy.

“Okay, let’s get down to business. Two things…” I pointed at Sebastian. “Are you up to speed regarding Ivy House and my role there?”

“Not your role, but Niamh did tell me about your introduction to magic,” he answered.

“Yeah, I don’t even really know much about my role. I’ve been avoiding it. Good call. Okay, so I’d like to beg your help in training, because I need to get ready for this.” I straightened the thick, smoky-colored card stock. “For the first time, an interested party isn’t planning on attacking. They are, instead, formally inviting me and my people to a weekend at their estate. Apparently he wants to…get to know me.”

“Form an alliance, maybe?” Niamh asked, peering over. “Did he say how he heard of ye?”

“No, no information. Just a meet-and-greet situation.” I shrugged. “To get to know me,” I repeated. “It’s a chance at a friendship, maybe. Or at least make a connection. Maybe I can get my foot in the door with mages.”

Sebastian leaned forward, peering over my shoulder at the swirling font. “Domino Kinsella would stab his granny in the back if she had something he wanted.”

Eight

“If something goes wrong, or his intentions aren’t pure, we don’t have the numbers or the setup to make that visit.” Austin took his drink off the bar, swirling the dark brown liquid. The people trying to get to the bar for their free drink gave our group a wide berth, but several of them shot furtive glances at Austin and me. “I have a few guys who can operate well in small spaces, but they won’t show well in an affair like that. They have more raw talent than honed skill. Do we know anything about this guy’s magic or power level?”

“Mid-level mage, I think.” Sebastian put his hand up and teeter-tottered it back and forth. “I know him only by reputation. He’s made it farther than a man of his stature normally would, and it’s because of pure viciousness.”

“I really need to stick me head out of me arse and get better acquainted with the magical world again,” Niamh murmured.

“I was just thinking the same thing,” Austin said, his expression troubled. He glanced to the side as someone slowly shuffled by, watching Austin with tightly pressed lips. His expression smoothed over into the hard mask.

“My side of the link is going to stay open now, I hope you know.” I reached for my bottle of beer, the dark brown glass sweating. I felt like something a little lighter than my normal glass of wine. “It’s only fair.”

“Oh, ye worked that out, did ye?” Niamh twisted her mouth to the side in distaste. “I wanted to see that go down.”

“What would be the downside of putting off the visit?” I asked. “Would he lose interest, do you think?”

“Are ye jokin’?” Niamh tsked. “He’ll surmise ye don’t have the forces to keep yerself safe. I may not know much about the current players in the magical world, but I doubt the game itself has changed. Ye are new and untested, mostly. So far as he has heard, anyway. He wants to get a gawk. He wants to size you up. If ye snub him, fine, but ye better have the power to swat him away if he takes offense and paints a target on yer back.

“Now, maybe he doesn’t know if he wants anything a’tal. Maybe he’s just sizing up the new kid. A few vicious shifters led by Austin Steele will make a statement. Then there is the house staff. We have a lot of experience. We might be able to make it seem like we are— Well, no.” She batted her hand through the air. “I’m full of shite. Earl has lost his marbles, I’m out of the loop, and Edgar will just make them feel sorry for us. We’re not enough. We need a few more powerful fliers, another mage or two who’s not so wet behind the ears, and some stronger units on the ground for Austin Steele. We go like this, and we’ll look like a rinky-dinky, two-bit circus they can hang upside down by the ankles and shake all the money from our pockets.”

The digits from the ledger rolled through my mind. A cold sweat broke over me. “Would they actually try to steal Ivy House’s money?”

“If there was enough of it, yes,” Niamh said. “Or…they would’ve back in the day. Not sure now. Maybe there’s a different commodity the magical world is into.”

“Money and power will never go out of style,” Sebastian said, looking at his feet. “I didn’t realize at first how much power you had, Miss Jessie.”