Jace’s POV
“Hey, you’re here!” Cayden greeted .
Sothing about his burst of energy was a little unnerving, and I wasn’t sure what was going on, but I was curious to find out why he seed to be in a good mood.
“Yes, Alpha. I left the training grounds as soon as I heard you needed .”
“How is training going?” he asked, watching with an intense gaze as he leaned back in the black leather chair behind his desk.
“Very well. The new recruits are doing excellent. Perhaps if you’re free tomorrow, you would like to co down and take a look? You’ll be happy with their progress.”
He sat for a mont watching , and couldn’t help but feel like he was up to sothing. “That I will, but I have sothing else I called you here for.”
There it was. The true reason why he summoned .
I leaned closer, trying to be more attentive. “What is your request, Alpha?”
Cayden looked at and seed to find amusent in my reaction. “Will you calm down? I don’t need anything.”
His actions completely baffled , and that was sothing I didn’t take lightly. He was acting abnormally.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
As soon as the question left my lips, I watched his deanor change.
He crossed his arms. “Excuse ?”
“No offense, Alpha. You just seem to be in a good mood this morning, and, please excuse my honesty, but that’s rare.”
Cayden quickly snapped his narrowing eyes to . “I’m just glad we’re prepared for the upcoming battle.”
Yeah, like I believed that.
However, there was no point arguing it, so I quickly agreed, “Of course.”
“Alpha Marcus from Silverwood Grove is coming with his daughter Sophia to visit the king. They will rest here three days before continuing on their journey.”
I was taken a bit by surprise because visitors were generally not welcod by Cayden, due to security concerns and his dislike for aningless social events. Plus, people feared us. Even if Cayden extended an invitation, they would most likely decline it anyway.
“Oh...okay.” I quickly adjusted my attitude. “I will make sure their rooms are sorted.”
Cayden looked at , raising a brow. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Just surprised, really. It isn’t exactly like you to host anyone.”
“Trust , I’m not thrilled about it, but he was adamant, and I don’t want the king to be upset. I’m not offending a guest who is helping us with the war.”
I understood how things had escalated. Cayden was under quite a lot of pressure to build up the defensive line and the alliance. We were preparing as much as we could, but Black Shadow was only one pack, and we were already spread thin.
This Alpha’s visit wasn’t sothing Cayden was happy about, but at this point, any help would count. Otherwise, Cayden would never allow such potential distractions into our territory.
“Okay. I’ll make sure dinners are properly arranged during their stay, as well,” I added, knowing that it was customary to do so.
“Yes. I suppose that would be the polite thing,” he said through gritted teeth.
All right, that was the Alpha I knew.
I began to turn away and then stopped. “Alpha, may I ask a question?”
“Go ahead, but make it quick.”
“Miss Tori... What would you like done about her situation while the visitors are here?”
He didn’t want to share her presence with anyone if he didn’t have to. Another Alpha coming in was going to complicate things.
He thought over the question, and then quickly said, “She is in my wing, and can remain there for the days they are here.”
“Very well. I will let Kas know as well.”
As I turned to go, his voice stopped
“I don’t want anyone from Silverwood Grove to know why she’s here, Jace.”
“Understood.”
***
As expected, the arrival of the Alpha ca quickly. As their car pulled into the long driveway of the pack house, Cayden and I went to greet them. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but, of course, they were all the sa in the end.
Alpha Marcus was a tall man, but not as big as Cayden. As he stepped from the blacked-out SUV, his wealth was on full display. From the expensive designer clothing to his shining jewelry, everything dripped money.
“Alpha Marcus, welco,” Cayden said firmly. It was clear Cayden wasn’t pleased about the Alpha being on his territory, but he was doing what needed to be done to keep the peace.
“Thank you for having us,” Marcus replied, his grin showing off all of his pearly white teeth.
As he turned, he held his hand out to a tall brunette girl who had been behind him.
She was pretty. The short, revealing clothing she wore scread ‘problem.’ There was a glint in her eyes when she stared at Cayden, and sothing deep down inside told I was going to have to run interference for Cayden because otherwise, he was likely to go off on a young girl seeking his favor.
“This is my daughter, Sophia,” Marcus stated with a smile. “We are hoping to find her a good match when we go to the capital. She is of age, and has a strong bloodline to support any eager Alpha who wants an adequate mate.”
The tension running through Cayden rubbed off on , and I quickly smiled. “We welco you both. Please follow , and I will show you to your rooms.”
I knew better than to allow Cayden to continue with small talk. He wasn’t a chatty kind of person, and it was obvious from Marcus’s comnt that he was going to try and throw his daughter at Cayden—who was not interested at all.
“We will be hosting a dinner tonight to welco you both,” Cayden said flatly as we entered the main hall of the pack house. “I have business to attend to, so I will let Jace get you settled in.”
As I turned to walk up the stairs, Sophia’s chipper voice rang from behind . “I look forward to seeing you later, Cayden.”
My eyes widened as I turned to look at them and then at Cayden. He didn’t like anyone to address him by his first na unless allowed to.
I watched him stop in the middle of the hall, but I stepped in to correct her before he could react. “Miss Sophia, in this pack he is addressed as Alpha by all. Never his first na.”
Cayden hesitated, but instead of turning to confront her, he kept walking away. She got lucky this ti.
“But I am an Alpha’s daughter!” she exclaid, but her father quickly held up a hand, stopping her mid-sentence.
“Yes, Sophia, you are, but we are in Black Shadow. Not our ho. Be a polite young lady and respect his wishes,” Marcus said. The scent of hesitation flowed off of him. “My apologies, Beta Jace... My daughter is still learning how things work.”
Reaching the top of the stairs, I headed left toward the wing farthest away from Cayden. He wanted them nowhere near him or Tori. That was clear.
“Don’t worry about it.” I put on a professional smile. “This room on the right is yours, Alpha Marcus. Miss Sophia may take the one across from you.”
“Why aren’t we being placed in the Alpha’s wing?” Sophia asked as I turned to look at her.
“Miss Sophia, Alpha Cayden often has late etings, and his wing may not be the quietest for our guests. Don’t worry, the rooms we have for you are equally beautiful,” I stated, trying to smooth the situation over.
Marcus nodded with a small smile, seemingly quite accepting of the situation, but his daughter didn’t seem happy.
“I hope the rooms are nice. I was hoping to be closer to C—Alpha Cayden.”
I gestured to both rooms. She huffed and brushed past into the room I directed before slamming the door.
“She will be better behaved at dinner,” Marcus said roughly, staring at his daughter’s closed door.
“I have no doubt. Long journeys tend to wear people’s patience out. I will leave you to get situated and see you at seven in the grand dining room.”
Walking down the hall, I took a few deep breaths and loosened my face from the smiles I had forced myself to put on.
Despite knowing that Cayden did not like to host events, Marcus still insisted on staying instead of just continuing. It was more than obvious that they ca here for a reason—and his daughter was that reason.
I sighed and walked towards the Alpha’s wing of the pack house. Now, it was even more clear that I needed to make sure the Silverwood Grove pack did not find out about Tori.
I raised my fist and knocked on the door of the Luna suite. Tori opened it, her smile widening upon her face.
“Jace...is everything okay?”
“Yes, Miss Tori. I just wanted to make sure you had everything you needed for the rest of the night.”
Kas had told her that we had visitors for a few days. Smart as Tori was, she imdiately understood that her friend was implying she shouldn’t leave the room. I felt bad making such a request, but thankfully, she didn’t seem to be too offended.
“Yes, I have everything I need. Thank you for checking.”
I looked at her with so guilt. “This is out of concern for your safety. I hope you understand...”
She looked in the eye, and I had to admit, she had the clearest eyes I had ever seen. I just wished Cayden could see that, too.
“You don’t need to explain, I understand,” she assured . “And don’t worry, I will stay in the room.”
“Well, then, in that case...have a good night.”
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