“You don’t need to plan your life, brother. Just plan dinner. See where it goes from there. Let your animals decide. They already have decided, I think. Her animal seems volatile, though. Might be fun; might be a nightmare. I’d watch it. Female gargoyles are said to be temperamental.”

“Yeah.” Austin looked up at the house. He waited for a moment, but ultimately, he couldn’t help himself. “It’s a helluva thing, seeing a female gargoyle, isn’t it? I’d thought they’d be as ugly as the males, but it’s hard to tear my eyes away.”

“It literally stopped my heart when she took off into the sky. I wasn’t expecting the light show. That isn’t sexual or anything, so don’t come after me, but…”

Austin couldn’t contain a surge of pride. “I know. I was in a cage with her when she first learned how to change. I nearly fell backward, which would’ve been messy because of the long drop ending in six-foot-high spikes…”

Kingsley just gave him a look.

“Long story,” Austin said, unperturbed. “There’s a lot I haven’t told you.”

“Well, that’s going to have to change, because I plan on shamelessly using both of you to up my status.”

“You might want to wait awhile. I still have a mess of a territory to sort through, or didn’t you forget I had to call you, crying for help?”

Kingsley gave him a hard stare. “You can be modest with everyone else, brother, but don’t try that crap with me. You took down a phoenix.”

Austin blew out a breath, trying not to preen. “I had help.”

“Bull. It was just you against the phoenix, and you won. I’ve never heard of a shifter bringing one down. She was no joke, either. The females are more powerful than the males. This is going to elevate our whole family line.”

He leaned over and mock-punched Austin before climbing out of the Jeep. “And then that crazy woman of yours went after the thunderbird! When she didn’t have to! This territory has taken down a phoenix and a thunderbird, and a basajaun fights beside you. Welcome to the big leagues of status, brother.” He laughed. “I’m not sure I could be more jealous.”

But it was pure pride in his voice. It felt beyond good to hear it—it felt vindicating.

Austin got out of the car and took a long look at his brother, seeing the years he’d missed in Kingsley’s graying hair and the deep lines creasing his face. They’d lost so much time. Austin hadn’t realized how much he’d missed his family. How much it meant to him that his brother had come the moment he’d called. “Thanks, bro. For turning up.”

“It’s good to see you. We’ve all missed you. We purposely gave you space, but we’ve missed the contact, Mom most of all.”

Austin nodded. He needed to call her. To apologize. To explain.

Kingsley put his hands in his pockets, a sign of respect and trust. “Mom is going to want to visit once it’s all set up. Meeting a basajaun would’ve been enough of a draw, but if that phoenix and thunderbird are still here… I think I’m going to lose ‘favorite’ status.”

“It’s about time,” Austin said with a smile. “Let me have a turn.”

They reached the door, but Kingsley turned his back to it, looking out over the grounds and street. “Tell her how you feel,” he said after a moment. “She needs to know. Hell, she’s obviously on board—she must’ve instinctively known you were claiming her, and if she didn’t approve, I think the whole bar would’ve known.”

They turned to face the door, which opened of its own volition. An army of dolls waited inside, sad baby faces or manic Halloween green faces with black stitches, many of them holding real knives.

“What in the…” Kingsley stepped backward.

Austin could barely keep from laughing. Time for a little Ivy House initiation.

“You didn’t think the house could protect Jess. It took offense. Looks like it’s going to show you what’s what. You’ll probably need to submit, or leave the property. I’ll let you decide. Good luck.”

Austin laughed at Kingsley’s bewildered expression and made his way through the dolls. Poor Kingsley would have to learn about Ivy House the hard way.

Twenty-Five

A week after meeting with everyone to discuss plans, I walked down the hall toward the stairs, a million things on my mind. We’d decided to mostly host the coming mages in restaurants or a banquet hall in town, which would make things easier, but a dinner or two might take place in Ivy House, which meant I needed to update the furniture in at least a few of the rooms and hallways. I’d always thought of it as stately and homely, but Niamh had pointed out that I was crazy, and the furniture was actually gaudy and severely outdated. I’d never claimed to be good at interior design.

I could pick a few pieces of furniture, but I didn’t have a clue on how to bring a look together. The whole situation was a nightmare, not to mention I was constantly training with Sebastian, trying to learn all I could in the few short weeks to come.

Information Niamh had been gathering wasn’t easing my mind. Sebastian had been right—it seemed this mage had a reputation for cunning, cutthroat deals and behavior. Lesser mages disappeared after meetings with him, but he was never investigated by the Mages’ Guild. Alliances ended abruptly, usually with an “unexplained” death, and often leaving him the better for it. He seemed underhanded and downright slimy.

To make matters worse, Sebastian said he’d always heard this mage had a fragile ego. The smallest slight would create big issues, and since the mage did have some wealth, he could hire mercenaries if he had to, intent on using force to look like the bigger man.

Bottom line, he didn’t seem like someone I wanted a connection with, but he was certainly someone I didn’t want on my bad side. I’d need to really watch myself in the dinners and meetings, showing him my best face, and aiming to end the week as neutrally as possible. That was the best way.

“Miss, Austin Steele will pick you up in…” Mr. Tom checked his Spider-Man watch. Jimmy had accidentally left it behind and said Mr. Tom could keep it. It was cheap and silly, and I had no idea why my son had had it in the first place, but now Mr. Tom wore it as though it were a priceless relic. “Fifteen minutes. Is that what you’re going to wear?”

I looked down at my jeans and pastel pink blouse. “Yes?”

“Oh no, miss, no. You’re going to dinner with two alphas. You need to dress nicely.”

“I know, but Austin said this was just an informal dinner with his brother.”

“Dinner, though.” Mr. Tom put his hands behind his back and lifted his eyebrows. “With two alphas.”

I sighed. “Fine, what should I wear?”

“How nice of you to ask. Since I am clearly a master on the latest trends for ladies, let me just select something for you.”

The amazing thing was that he wasn’t joking.

Austin had originally asked for me to come over a few days ago, but shifters kept trying to sneak into the territory and cause a ruckus. I didn’t understand the point or the politics—maybe they were trying to see how well the borders were locked down?—but it was keeping Austin incredibly busy.

Mr. Tom picked out a little black dress, simple but elegant, and not at all what I would wear over to someone’s house for a casual dinner.

“Is this a ‘dress for the job you want’ situation?” I asked, changing in my closet while he waited at the little table near the window.

“Yes.” When I came out, he stood and looked me over. “A touch of makeup, a tighter curl, and then we’ll see about some jewels.”

I frowned at him before heading back to the bathroom. Dinner with two alphas was clearly a much bigger deal than I’d thought.

Or maybe Mr. Tom knew something I didn’t. Were Austin and Kingsley having doubts that I could pull off a façade of refined elegance for the visiting mage? Was this dinner a trial run, of sorts, to see what they were working with?

If so, they clearly didn’t know about my past. After attending hundreds of work parties and boring, WASP-y functions with my ex and his parents, I knew how to pull off regal, self-important, and stuffy. Conversation might pose more difficulties, of course.

A little while later, Mr. Tom came back with a stack of long, flat black boxes. He set them on the table and began arranging them.

“How about this?” I emerged from the threshold to the bathroom. “I don’t want to go too formal with makeup and hair because it’ll look out of whack with the dress. I’ve had extensive training on how those things go together. My ex-mother-in-law criticized me every time she saw me for the first five years of my marriage.”

Mr. Tom straightened and turned, scanning me from head to toe. “You are a vision, miss. Perfect.”

I beamed. My ex’s mother had never said anything like that, that was for sure.

“Now. All you need are some finishing touches.” Mr. Tom stepped to the side as he partially turned, looking down at the boxes, then back at me. “Which do you think?”

Stepping closer, I nearly choked on my spit. My ex had been in the habit of buying me nice jewelry—expensive jewelry—which I had always liked. Sometimes a lady needed a little bling. But this!

Four boxes in total, each containing a necklace, earrings, and a bracelet, except for the last one, which didn’t have a bracelet. The first set was a tasteful and elegant design of pearls separated with diamonds. My ex’s mother would highly approve. Those were out.

The next box held a simple strand of diamonds, all the same size on the necklace, studs for earrings, and a tennis bracelet. The third set incorporated rubies, the teardrop necklace ending in a large crimson stone, the earrings a similar design, and the bracelet switching off diamonds and rubies. But it was the last set that stole my ability to speak. The earrings were elegant strands of diamonds, but the real beauty was the necklace: a sort of webbing of black and white diamonds that would drape down the neck, almost to the cleavage. The crisscrossed strands were dainty, the glitter elegant but not overbearing, and the wow factor off the charts. That one would make my ex-mother-in-law green with envy, and if I ever met her again, I’d wear it.