Chapter 565 Chapter 565
She’d cleaned the panels, shoveled a path to them, cleared the road with the snowblower, cleared the deck, and checked the battery storage—twice. She’d even stalled by taking a long hot shower and now she was out of things to do to avoid sitting here looking at Griffin.
He had saved that happening a short while ago by asking if he could make dinner. He liked cooking. Blaise was happy not to have to come up with a meal for them. Feeding him when he was in a cage was one thing, but preparing a meal now felt too intimate—or something close to that.
She couldn’t get his words out of her head, what he’d said about slaying dragons when they’d been in that metal box. What did that even mean? He breathed her in and wanted to kill things. Her cat rubbed against her to get her attention. Blaise ignored it and went over to check that everything was charging properly. Her animal crushing on Griffin was not something she wanted to deal with.
When she turned around, he was standing outside the kitchen.
“It will be a few minutes yet.” He ran his hand through his hair, was it thicker now? “You don’t have a lot of spices, so I had to improvise.”
“I’m sure it will be fine.” She wasn’t a picky eater. Food as long as it was edible, worked for her.
“You don’t live with your clan.”
She went over and looked out the window to see if there was any movement below. “No, I don’t.”
“Is that safe? Shouldn’t clan live close?”
Instead of turning around and looking at him, she kept her eyes on the vast whiteness outside, seeing if anything or one was out there. “Most clans do, but you don’t have to.”
“I didn’t know that, but every clan has an Alpha and a second family, I think it’s called.”
She glanced at him, “yeah, that’s how it works.” She looked back outside again. A few birds took flight, she kept her eyes trained on the spot they’d flown from to see if there was a reason on the ground that spooked them.
“I heard clans were locked down. What does that mean?”
A fox came running out of the trees, a small fury victim in its mouth. Turning, she went over to the other window. “Travel is restricted. The kids are doing online schooling until the Alliance is certain there are no information leaks.”
“Smart. It pissed Aiden off.”
She saw him grin, very pleased by the fact that his one-form brother was upset. “How did you hear that?”
“A conversation between Aiden and someone on the phone.”
“How long ago?” She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against the windowsill.
“A few months at least.”
She nodded, “good, so not since we shut down his access to our systems.”
“Yeah, that really pissed him off.”
Blaise smirked.
“What do they do now for money? Don’t they have jobs?”
She knew he wasn’t pumping her for information, he looked too sincere, but she wished for quiet. Looking out the window, she scanned the treeline for any trails in the snow. “Those that can still work safely do.”
“What team are you on with the Alliance?”
Blowing out a breath, she went over to the table and checked her phone. Kenzo needed to message soon with a new game plan. This one was going to drive her crazy. “Special operations.” She could feel his eyes on her back and knew he’d stand there staring at her until she answered.
“How many teams are there?”
She bit her lip briefly, trying not to lose her patience with the chatty one. “Ten, maybe twelve, I’m not sure. I mostly interact with the four main ones.” Turning, slowly, she gave him a look asking if that was all.
“Sorry,” he glanced into the kitchen, “I know nothing of normal life and even less about how a clan unit functions.”
“I guess it’s an adjustment.”
“It is, but this is the most freedom I’ve ever had, which considering I was captured, is saying a lot.”
She could only nod. What was she supposed to say to that?
“The two that got me—”
“Tripp and Amari.”
“Yeah. They’re mates?”
“That’s what I’m told.”
“They seem like a good match.”
She smirked, “they’re both a little out of control if that’s what you mean.”
“Are they on the same team as you?”
She shook her head, “Tripp is, Amari is on the co-ord team.”
“Co-ord?”
“Clan co-ordination,” she shrugged, “I don’t know their exact job.”
“Your team’s tasks are usually violent?” He motioned to the knives attached to her.
Just the way I like it. “We go in when it’s the last resort most times. Lately, all teams are working to free those from your brother—”
“Please don’t call him that.” His expression darkened, “we may share a bit of blood, but there are no positive feelings on either end for each other.”
“Fair enough.”
“Hold on, I think it’s done. We can talk more while we eat.”
Blaise looked at the small table in the corner. She had two chairs, only because the table came with two. She didn’t want to sit face-to-face with him while they ate. She went into the kitchen and watched him heap a plate with food. It was some sort of casserole, and it smelled amazing. He motioned for her to take the plate and filled a second one. She thought it was good she had two plates as she grabbed a fork. “Thanks.” Picking up the plate, she went out and sat on the couch. He was free to sit wherever he wanted.
When she sat on the couch, she looked down at it. This was also her bed. She had no idea where they were sleeping.
Griffin came out, looked at her, and then went and sat down at the table. He looked even larger sitting in the small chair.
She took a bite and then nodded and gave a thumbs up. It burned her tongue, but she didn’t care. She couldn’t remember the last time she had anything that wasn’t from a package or takeout. It was good. Why did food you didn’t have to make always taste better?
He ate in silence for a few minutes, and she thought it would continue that way for the duration of the meal.
“Where’s your family live? With your clan?”
She swallowed the food in her mouth and then pointed, “on the Manitoba border, with our clan.” She got up, went to the kitchen, and grabbed a bottle of water out of the case on the floor. Sighing, she picked up a second one and went back out. Without comment, she set it on the table and returned to the couch.
“Thanks.” He opened it and took a drink. “Your teams, they’re doing good. At least they were before I was captured.”
“They still are.” She sat back and looked at him, “we should have done more sooner,” she snorted, “years ago. If we had, then some clans would still be around.”
“I don’t understand.” He set the fork down and turned in the chair, giving her his full attention.
He was so schooled in manners it made her feel awkward. “Twenty-five clans,” she looked at the bottle in her hand, “it could be more now, but at last count, twenty-five entire clans are completely gone.” She looked back at him, “vanished, their lands abandoned.”
His brows creased. “They didn’t just relocate?”
She shook her head.
“I didn’t know that.” His chest rose and fell as he took a deep breath, “I mean, I knew it was bad—that my father and Aiden were acquiring large numbers, but I didn’t know it was that bad.”
“Well, it is. One clan was down to one member, and then we found a bunch of them at those houses.”
His expression lightened slightly, “I’m glad they were found.”
Blaise studied him for a moment, “how did you manage to survive it? You don’t hide your emotions very well.”
Amusement filled his eyes, “with you. Standing in a room with Aiden and five of his lackeys,” he shrugged, “trust me, I’m completely emotionless. I had to be.”
“I’m happy,” she motioned at him, “that you survived it.” She nodded, “you’re the ace we needed to bring it all down.”
He smirked, “last time I checked, one ace isn’t a very good hand.”
Blaise couldn’t help the smile on her face, “it’s a good start though.”
Griffin nodded, “hopefully, the information I shared will lead you to a few more aces, so you can have a strong hand.”
Blaise picked up her fork, “don’t worry about that; we’ve been annihilating all the lower deck, and now we can work on the higher cards.”
He held up his bottle in a toast, “here’s to watching Aiden fall off his tower of blood and concrete.”
She laughed, “and go spligack at the bottom.” He gave her a strange look, and she shrugged, “that’s like a splat, only messier.”
Griffin smiled, “I like it. Spligack.”