Page 71 of Assisting the Alpha
“Not fully, but I’m at thirty percent.” Probably. “Besides, I don’t need magic to go through these. It’s just a lot of Latin and eye strain.”
If I did need magic I’d connect to a ley line and get topped up fast, but there’s no need to go that far just to read a few ancient texts. It’s far safer to refill the natural way.
“At least let me make you another cup of tea.”
It’s a strong bargaining chip and he knows it. I really would love a fresh cuppa, and since I won’t allow any food or drink near the grimoires I’ve got spread over Ethan’s kitchen island, it means moving away from the stool I’ve claimed.
Sighing, I relent. “Fine. That would be nice, actually.”
He presses a kiss to my forehead, probably trying to hide that smug little smile he always gets whenever I let him have his own way. He thinks I don’t notice, but I do.
I get off the stool and stretch while he goes and puts the kettle on. The rest of the team are combing through the evidence the task force submitted, as well as the data Jet and Kit acquired. Apparently, Raj and Wren managed to get a shifter judge to sign off on a special warrant, so the data acquisition was legal.
“Here, sweet thing.” Ethan holds out a cup of tea and I round the island to take it from him, then we head to the sofa. I snuggle in happily when he puts his arm around me.
“How come your dad knew all these stories if these are your mum’s family grimoires? Was he a historian?”
I smile at the many memories of my dad with these grimoires. “Nah, nothing like that. It’s always been family tradition that anyone marrying into the family takes the Muroyi name because we’ve produced a long line of coven leaders. Purity of the legacy and all that bullshit.
“Anyway, my dad had it in his head that if he was taking another last name, he wanted to know everything about it. Mum said he got totally fixated on absorbing every bit of those grimoires, even though she herself hadn’t read half of them. When he wasn’t doing work as a ward weaver, his spare timewas spent with the grimoires. That meant I spent a lot of time in there too.”
Ethan hugs me tighter, mindful of my tea. “So he started telling you stories?”
“Yeah, apparently I begged him to. He was a creature of routine, my dad, so because he got so absorbed in what he was doing, Mum said they could be my bedtime stories. There was actually a big armchair in that room at the time. I used to curl up on his knee and listen to his stories until I fell asleep. Between that and the times he read to me in Mum’s office, I don’t think I fell asleep in my own bed until after they died.”
That was one hell of a shock to the system. Nyoka and Qadir were grieving the loss of their own mum, my aunt, at the same time, so bedtime stories for a ten-year-old were the last thing on anyone’s mind. I was probably too old for those stories by then anyway, but my dad never cared about stuff like that. He loved sharing his knowledge, and he was a great storyteller.
I’ve actually come across more than a few familiar stories already today. It’s giving me hope that my memory of the mage-who-could-shift story is real.
Ethan’s phone rings, and I ease off him so he can take it out of his pocket and answer. He puts it on speaker, Raj’s name lighting up the screen. “Did you find something?”
“Wren just called. The cat shifters have organised a protest in the neutral zone, demanding Xana’s release. It’s supposed to be peaceful, but the task force have reacted strongly. Instead of ensuring nothing gets out of hand, they’re antagonising the prowl. The mayor is concerned it’s going to escalate in ways we won’t be able to hide from humans.”
Goddess, that’s not good. Teo is really protective of anyone he considers his, so I can see how this could go completely to shit.
Ethan immediately switches into work mode. “All right, let me call the mayor and offer our peacekeeping services. How large a group are we talking, do you know?”
“Around fifty protestors and the entire task force.”
“Shit. We’ll need all of us.” Ethan darts a glance at me. “Right. Thanks, Raj. I’ll call you back or come downstairs if we’re moving out.”
He hangs up and immediately gets up, pacing the small room while he makes another call.
“Hello, Ethan. I take it you’ve heard about the protest?”
“Yasmine, hi. Yes, we’ve been made aware. I’d like to offer our services. We’re neutral in this and have a lot of experience peacekeeping with civilians around.”
The mayor sighs. “That might be a good idea. I’d like to say the task force can handle fifty protestors, and normally that would be true, but there’s so much tension out there that one spark will set them all off. Teo’s people are blaming the task force for wrongful arrest, and the task force are showing their bias against shifters. It’s a disaster waiting to happen.”
“My team and I will head down there, see what we can do to calm things down and contain the situation if necessary. Do we have to worry about the human police?”
“No, I have a contact high up in the human police, a fellow lion shifter. That’s all taken care of. Thank you, Ethan. We’ll talk invoicing later. Keep me updated.”
“Will do.” Ethan hangs up and swears creatively.
I put my half-full tea aside and stand, putting my hands on his waist to stop him pacing. “I’ll stay here, keep searching the grimoires.”
Half the tension leeches out of Ethan’s body. “Are you sure?”
