Loyal to me

This had been the man at Apollo's side all along. The voice I had heard talking to Apollo in his suite that night that I pulled the gun on him. Jackson had been the Alpha's right hand and was planning to kill him.

Jackson turned to me abruptly. It took all my willpower not to leap at him when he put his hand out to shake mine.

I remembered my life of faking smiles and infiltrating all kinds of groups. My training fell into place in the back of my mind and a fake smile curled my lips, but I knew for him it would appear sincere.

As my hand fell into his meaty one, I curled my fingers and gripped him hard. Almost too hard. Enough to hear his knuckles crack.

"Wow," he yanked his hand back. "Some grip she has there."

Apollo gave me a side eye, and I widened my smile, baring my teeth. A silent threat that the Alpha I was bonded to could pick up on.

His throat bobbed as he swallowed hard.

"She's very strong, you'll see." Apollo's tone held the promise of pain. I felt bad for him and what would come next. This had been the man he trusted more than others, and he would let me kill him.

Even from the corner of his eye, I could see the pain quickly melt into his resolve. The bond connecting our souls tugged at my ribs like a string, and the feeling of his pain washed over me. It felt so profound, and yet he wore a mask as well as I did.

"Fantastic!" Jackson was still rubbing the ache in his hand as he turned back to the partially open door of the conference room. "Well, everyone in here is so excited to meet her."

Apollo lifted his head, and the dimple that appeared in his cheek made my heart lift. "Let's not keep them waiting."

We both waited a beat as Jackson went ahead of us. Our hands once again entwined, and we faced forward, looking toward our next fight.

"I pray to the gods that this ends well." He whispered, and I don't think that a human would have heard him.

"You know, my idea of help from above is usually a sniper on the roof, not the gods." As soon as I said it, Apollo made a strangled noise, as if choking himself to stop the laughter on the tip of his tongue.

"Fucking hell, Callie," he chuckled.

He pulled my hand and swiftly pecked my lips before we followed Jackson. "Let's get this over with."

"Time to meet the pack." As soon as we were through the door and the heavy wood closed behind us, I went on high alert.

My eyes scanned the face of every wolf in the conference room, comparing them to faces I had seen on my nights watching the wolves move Mist at the docks. Within seconds, I had my targets. Jackson would be my first.

Apollo led me through the small crowd. I watched their pupils' glow with their wolves and their noses scent the air as I passed. A strange excitement and confusion rolled through them as they tried to assess me.

If Apollo had his way, I would be their Luna. Not human, but not entirely wolf. Unlike anything they would have ever met before. A hybrid.

There was a temporary stage on the back wall as we ascended. Apollo held his hand out for me, and my leg slipped through the impossibly high slit in my dress as I climbed the few stairs to the top. All eyes were on me, and I was reading the expressions and hidden emotions of every wolf assembled.

This was only a small fraction of Apollo's pack, but this is where the traitors were. All the fuckers who wanted to kill my mate and run his pack into the ground for some half-brained plot to make a profit on a product that could kill.

A growl pushed at the back of my throat, and I swallowed it down. Apollo's hand squeezed mine, and I angled my face to smile reassuringly at him. We shared a glance, and he turned his gaze back on the wolves.

"You know, I never thought that when we came to New York to meet with other packs from around the country, that I would find my mate. It's wild to think that anything can happen. Every day we walk blindly into the unknown and you never know what you're going to get." My eyes were drawn to the sight of him drawing his bottom lip between his teeth as he paused. "For those of you who are loyal to me, this is your Luna and my mate, Calypso Mathison."

My heart was thundering in my chest. A new mix of excitement flooded me as I tensed for the incoming confrontation, but also the last name attached to my chosen name. It hadn't occurred to me until that moment just how much soulmates were a greater deal to the werewolves than marriage ever could be for a human.

Calypso Mathison. A smile jerked the corner of my lips, and I knew pink was spreading across my cheeks. I welcomed it.

But some wolves seemed to have caught on to Apollo's mention of loyalty. Jackson was trying poorly to hide a frown, his eyes shifting around the room.

"One day you could meet your mate," Apollo continued, "and one day you can find out that someone you trusted your entire life is planning on killing you."

Jackson stiffened and looked up at Apollo with wide eyes.

"It's disappointing, really. But I don't need a traitor at my side." Several wolves slowly lowered into crouches. The air vibrated with latent power as tensions rose.

"Apollo." Jackson put up his hands and stepped closer to the edge of the stage. "Whatever you heard, I promise it's not what you think it is. Some of us have just been trying to expand business, and I thought you would appreciate a little more money coming into the pack."

"Oh, so Shane was lying when he admitted you were going to lead a coup against me?" Apollo snarled, eyes glowing gold.

Jackson's face remained stone cold as he locked eyes with his Alpha. "Shane was a fool who didn't know what he was getting into. No one here is sad that he ran off. He most certainly was lying!"

"He didn't run off," I purred my first words to the wolves. Stepping closer to the edge of the stage, I caught their attention. "I killed him."

Then the room erupted into growls. I stood straighter and stared down my nose at them. Jackson's mouth fell open as he gaped at me.

"A human mate who kills your pack members! Apollo, are you out of your mind?" Jackson shouted, gesturing at me.