Burning

Chapter TWENTY-FOUR

The pack was going to win. She trailed the story laid out across the lavish tapestries and was put in mind of art history textbooks or those travel shows her dad used to fall asleep watching showcasing room after room of commissioned art. They were as common as wallpaper to anyone with enough money. Here the embroidered silver bodies crept across the first drape, moving into a lurching gallop behind a beautifully rendered smoky elk, antlers sharpened to fearsome boney points. In each tapestry they grew closer to the animal, and each other, until the room looped back to the door.

A triumphant trio of wolves stood over their kill, lips coated in gore the color and texture of strawberry jam. The artist took their time with that part. The wolves, she noticed were very distinct from another. One was white, smaller, with yellow eyes. It was still baring it's teeth, one paw half buried in a flowering bush. The one on the right was gray and stood a distance from the others, watching the carnage. The central one was positioned to appear it was wearing the animals antlers in death. It's green eyes and bright silver coloring looked familiar. If this were art history class she'd be expected to pick apart the meaning. She doubted it was supposed to make a human guest feel welcome.

Her hand went nervously to the uneven iron bracelet strapped firmly around her wrist, waiting for the Alpha to complete her examination of their proposal. Normally this was something completed verbally in front of a much larger crowd but given Gabby's human-ness apparently it was better to have the Sheira review it first and present as a fact.

Not that things hadn't improved. Gabby's work on art certainly increased her status and gave her the opportunity to meet many beterni one on one. They tended to use their time with her as an excuse to spill their guts about all the things they weren't free to talk about from their human lives. In fact she may even know more about them than their own kin. But that didn't mean everyone had softened their views. The very fact that a babysitter was waiting for her just outside the door proved, as the tapestry reminded her, she couldn't let her guard down. At least not until this mission was over.

Sheira licked her thumb to turn a page and pushed her reading glasses up on her nose, something so pedestrian it nearly put her at ease. Nearly. Scott who still made a point of avoiding sitting at the same table as her, stood above his Alpha with the usual scowl on his face. Sometimes it was directed at the proposal, sometimes at her, but mostly he glared at the mentor and apprentice sitting next to her.

Mariah may not have noticed since her head was tipped back and Gabby was positive she'd been snoring at one point. Chris however was sitting rod straight, long fingers entwined. He wasn't distracted by tapestries and it occurred to her she shouldn't be either. Not if she was trying to prove she was up for this. Afterall he was still against her doing this at all.

Jerk. He insisted it wasn't about being over protective, only about advancing his own interests but either way his involvement mucked it up. Hence the proposal. It was one thing to let a human go on a suicide mission, it was another to let a pack member, a promising Candidate at that, to be in harms way. They'd needed to come with a back up plan. And a back up to the back up plan. And a back up to that as well.

It made for an awkward work environment this last month having to work together on a project neither wanted the other to join.

She copied his pose of intense interest. He must have been stealing glances at her since he was currently giving her an intently annoyed look when she caught his eye. He nodded towards her hands and frowned. She shrugged mouthing 'what?'

It looked like he said something along the lines of 'don't mock me'.

'I'm not doing anything' she lifted her hands to demonstrate.