KEISHA’S POV
I got to the eting early and found a seat along the side wall where I opened my notebook and reminded myself that everything would be over soon. Close the proposals. Send Riven ho. Move on.
Pren sat beside . "Short one apparently." He grunted.
"Good." I said.
"Your docuntation from last session was clean." He turned to . "No corrections."
"Thank you." I smiled.
I kept my eyes on my notebook and felt the bond pull from across the room the mont Callum arrived. I didn’t look at him once.
"Do you think they’ll push back on the toll structure?" Pren asked.
"No." I muttered thoughtfully. "The numbers work for both sides. They’d be foolish to push back."
"Agreed." He agreed as he flipped a page. "The passage joint project is the more complicated one. Implentation tiline alone is going to require—"
Soone was looking at .
I didn’t need to look up to know that soone was staring at .
I could feel the weight of the person staring and it made the hair on the back of my neck rise.
I looked up.
Vanessa was near the entrance in a pale coat with her hands folded and her eyes directly on . She had been there long enough to have been watching for a while. When I looked up she didn’t flinch or look away.
Oh.
She had seen sothing when Callum and I arrived. That half second before either of us controlled our faces.
The look that passed between us. She had seen it. But I didn’t know what she was thinking about, or what she even thought about when she saw it.
Her heels clicked across the floor toward the front of the room.
"Good morning." Her voice was warm and bright. "I was hoping to sit in on today’s eting." A small pause. "I’d love to start familiarising myself with how pack business is conducted. For the future."
I didn’t look up.
Callum opened his mouth to say sothing but didn’t get far before he was interrupted.
"Vanessa!"
Nadia appeared from the side corridor moving at a pace that suggested she had been positioned just out of sight waiting for exactly this mont. She walked straight to Vanessa, took both her hands and bead at her with a large smile.
"I’ve been looking for you everywhere." She said. "I wanted to take you through the east gardens this morning before it gets too cold." She tilted her head. "Becca made sothing warm we can take. Co on, I feel terrible we haven’t had proper ti together yet."
Vanessa looked at Callum, her smile turning stiff and irritated. "I actually wanted to stay for the—"
"The eting will be so dry." Nadia said cheerfully. "Numbers and implentation tilines. You don’t want to sit through that." She was already steering her toward the corridor. "Co on. Tell about yourself. Where did you grow up? What do you actually enjoy? I feel like I know nothing about you yet."
Vanessa glanced back at Callum one more ti. He gave her a brief nod.
She looked at but I looked at Pren’s folder.
"Alright." Vanessa said pleasantly. "That sounds lovely."
Nadia walked her out with one arm linked through hers and I heard her voice going bright and interested down the corridor. "So tell everything, what was growing up in your pack like—"... and then they were gone.
I kept my eyes on my notebook.
Pren leaned slightly toward . "She seems nice." He said quietly, referring to Nadia.
But I knew she only did it to get Vanessa away from her father.
"She is." I agreed.
"The other one I’m less sure about." He said.
I said nothing and he went back to his folder while the room filled in around us as more people arrived.
Callum ca to the head of the table and Elder Garic opened the session formally.
Riven’s side of the table presented first. His council mber confird the terms as discussed while Callum listened without interrupting until he was done.
"The electricity routing." Callum said. "We accept the fixed term easent. Twenty years with renewal options. Coldridge bears full cost of installation and maintenance." He looked at his own council. "We’ll implent a percentage-based toll on all infrastructure use of the corridor. Starting rate to be negotiated before installation begins."
Elder Garic nodded as Riven’s council mber wrote sothing down.
"The passage." Callum said. "Joint project. We accept the principle. Implentation tiline to be drafted collaboratively over the next month. Ashveil retains first access rights to all goods moving through the corridor." He paused. "Non-negotiable."
Riven’s council mber looked at Riven briefly and Riven nodded once.
"Agreed." His council mber said.
"Good." Callum said. "We’ll have the formal docuntation drafted and sent to Coldridge within the week for signatures." He looked across the table. "Your delegation is free to depart at your convenience. We appreciate the visit."
Riven inclined his head. "Thank you for receiving us, Alpha." His voice was asured and formal and his eyes moved across the room once and they found .
And it remained there.
I wrote sothing in my notebook that made no sense so that I didn’t have to look at him.
His eyes moved away.
Chairs scraped back and the room broke into movent as people trudged out.
I gathered my things, stood and moved out the door with my head down and my bag on my shoulder and I was close to the next hallway that was quiet and empty, I was genuinely close—
"Keisha."
I stopped and turned around.
Riven was right there.
My heart jumped and I folded my arms. "How can I help you?"
His gaze didn’t falter. "Let’s talk."
"I have to go back to my office actually. There’s a lot of work to do with all the etings and likely changes. You know how all this works and all."
His jaw tightened. "Two minutes." A pause followed. "That’s all I ask."
Reviews
All reviews (0)