Page 19 of The Reluctant Alpha

"Unusual how?" Matthew asked, his arm protectively around Isla's shoulders.

Phoenix nodded to Bayer, who pulled out the wooden bear carving and placed it on the table. "The bodies were slaughtered then arranged in a ritual pattern. And this was left at the scene," Phoenix said.

Ben leaned forward, fascinated despite the grimness of the topic. "Is that a bear? With its throat cut?"

"Yes," Bayer said quietly, his deep voice sending an involuntary shiver down my spine. "We believe it's a message."

"For the bears," Isla concluded, her expression hardening.

I shifted uncomfortably on my stool, feeling out of place in this war council. I wasn't pack. I was just Danny, the human who'd been a complete asshole to the one person who'd gone out of his way to help me.

"Rhys," Phoenix turned to the young silver-skin. "Any chance this could be one of the silver-skins? We caught no animal scent there at all.”

"This wasn't made by a silver-skin," he said definitively. "We don't leave...calling cards."

"Could it be a rogue?" Matthew asked.

Rhys shook his head. "No. We don’t disturb bodies, and we certainly don’t savage them. It goes against everything I’ve ever been taught."

“How many were left alive when you left the coven?” Matthew said.

Phoenix shrugged. “We only killed Valentin and Alessandro. All the others fled.”

My pulse picked up. I hadn’t realized that. I thought they’d all been killed.

“Then could they be amassing again?” Isla asked.

“No.” Both Emery and I glanced at the door where Esther and Estrelle stood, and I was surprised to hear Estrelle's firm voice. Bayer was already getting two chairs for them, and I realized that only Em and I were surprised because the shifters would have heard them, or smelled them, which was seriously freaky.

Em got up to rescue his second batch of cookies and check that the bread was rising. Phoenix got them all drinks. Simeon very solicitously helped Estrelle sit, which was cute. I’d heard they were mates.

Everyone fell on the cookies like a pack of wolves—wolves, hah—except Bayer, who went back to standing in the corner. I saw Ben stand and walk away. I thought he was going to fetch something, until he didn't come back.

“No?” Simeon asked Estrelle, who dragged her gaze from the kitchen and Ben. I puzzled over that. I'd seen Ben be friendly with Esther, so where had he gone?

She shook her head apologetically, her glance for Rhys. “Please tell me if I’m wrong.” Rhys nodded, but he didn’t look angry. She took a deep breath, and I guessed this must be so hard for her.

“Only Alessandro had the ability to compel, certainly among the silver-skins I met. Not just humans, but the other silver-skins, except in a different way. Silver-skins are generally only loyal to themselves. Covens are formed simply to make hunting and the gathering of wealth easier. Maybe Alessandro inspired loyalty, which is unheard of.”

“What about Rafael?” Emery asked with a shudder, and Phoenix put an arm around him, pulling him close. I understood. Em had told me Rafael had been there with Alessandro and Valentin when Valentin was going to rape Emery.

"Rafael," Rhys spat out, and everyone looked at him in surprise. "He wasn't of the blood." What did that mean? Isla reached over and squeezed his hand, and I saw the sudden tension drain from him. “Sorry,” he mumbled.

“None of this is your fault,” Simeon insisted. “If it hadn’t been for you, we wouldn’t have been able to free Estrelle and Emery.”

“What do you mean by ‘of the blood?’” Phoenix asked.

Rhys hesitated, his eyes meeting Isla's briefly before he spoke. "There are bloodlines among the silver-skins. Families, if you will, with different abilities. Alessandro was from one of the oldest, most powerful lines. His ability to compel wasn't just a skill; it was inherited."

"Like royal blood," Esther added, her expression thoughtful. "That's why his control was so strong."

Rhys nodded. "Exactly. Rafael was turned, not born. He has strength and speed, but none of the deeper powers." He huffed. “He will have been an asshole as a human as well. The coven will have destroyed all the silver-skins Alessandro created when he returned to the earth. It is the way."

I managed to keep my mouth closed. Not just to avoid upsetting Rhys but because as far as I was concerned—sparkly Edwards aside—the only good vampire was a dead one.

"So, if it's not the silver-skins," Phoenix pressed, "then who—or what—is responsible?"

Estrelle's voice was barely above a whisper. "I think...I think it might be a revenant."