Silva responded, "The second one is on me."
As much of a beta wolf as he appeared to be, the miner Joe Kelly appeared sad that he hadn't spoken out first, but he probably wouldn't say anything to irritate Darien. The only exceptions would be Darien's brothers, and Silva appeared to be free to act whenever she chose.
Darien remained silent. His simple gaze conveyed control; he was dangerous and unlikely to agitate others. More than any words, his actions—or lack thereof—spoke for themselves. The tavern would have been covered with blood by Bruin.
In place of Darien. If she had stolen his seat, Bruin would have instantly called her out, humiliated her, and physically thrown her out of the establishment to show that he was the pack leader and that no one would defy him. But even a single glower from Darien represented a grave threat, and she would do well to pay attention to it.
Everyone was enthralled by the explanation for Silva's interest in Lelandi. They must have assumed Silva knew something about her. Silva appeared delighted by the fact that Lelandi was a red lupus garou posing as a person. Lelandi at least thought the woman had discovered her.
Where are you staying, sweetheart? Silva's tone was considerably more soothing, and the sweetness was artificial.
The unexpected frog in Lelandi's throat was expelled. "On my way through."
Silence. The woman's eyes grew gloomy, and she sent a fleeting glance Darien's way. He was staring at Lelandi with widening eyes. Shit. The way she spoke, the tone—something must have reminded her of Larissa this time.
While Sam whipped up Lelandi's margarita, there was quiet talk at the table across from Darien's and among the grays at the bar, but no one said a word at Darien's table.
The situation repeated itself again until the establishment was busy and rowdy. More customers entered the pub, all hoping to welcome their leader. However, when they saw a dead ringer for his slain mate sitting at his normal table, they turned to see Darien. Yet, nobody ventured to eat at her table. God is good. She couldn't hear the gist of the more crucial conversations because they were held quietly, but she only needed to hear the beginning.
Identify the words being spoken. The clone of a dead sister appears at the grays' hangout to exact retribution. Everyone of them would be trembling in their boots. Right.
Lelandi finished her margarita and immediately felt the need to go to the restroom. The atmosphere had become extremely warm, so she shed her jacket. Huge error. The moment they realized how small she was, the room fell silent once more.
Lelandi was expecting another bottle of water, but Silva rushed over with another margarita for her.
This time the woman actually said, "On me, honey." Even in her four-inch heels, she was short for a gray woman, standing at almost five feet ten.
"Thanks." The woman's expression sank when Lelandi stood up, perhaps believing that she was being snubbed for the drink and that Lelandi intended to depart. I need to use the girls' bathroom. "Oh." Silva's lips rose just a little. "That way back," she said with a hand motion.
"Thanks." When everyone started acting so curious about her, Lelandi had never given any thought to how it might feel to go through the tavern to the women's restroom. She walked to the bathroom with her chin cocked up, shoulders straight back, and body ten degrees hotter than usual.
Several males gave each other friendly head nods. A few of them respectfully removed their cowboy hats. Yet nobody grinned—not even Joe this time, as would be expected. Most would give her a quick once-over before their pack leader made her feel welcome, but they wouldn't do anything to be excessively kind. If Sam revealed to Joe that the miner had paid for her first drink, Darien would likely confront him.
She was being frowned at by three women who were sitting at one of the larger tables with several men and looked like they wanted her dead. Has someone actually killed Larissa like they threatened to?
Without glancing at them, Lelandi entered the bathroom, but as soon as she sat down in a stall, she heard the door to the outside squeak open. Her body went rigid. She realized it was too late to stop the danger she was going to face.
When she exited the restroom, the three women were waiting for her with slightly evil smiles on their faces. They were all in their mid-twenties, had dark hair, and were probably all vying to be Darien's new partner and scared that she was new competition.
When Lelandi came up with this scheme to discover Larissa's killer, she had no idea that anyone would think she would be interested in hunting the pack leader. The idea of really mating with a bigger gray seemed intriguing. She gave him a mental headshake.
What's your name? The woman in the cowl-neck sweater and jeans said, her western boot thudding on the tile floor, her voice intimidating. Her amber eyes narrowed, her orange-painted lips curled in an ugly way, and she took a long breath, trying to smell Lelandi or whatever she was. Lelandi thought for a moment that her face might horribly freeze in that way. Someone remarked, "You're not one of us, and you're not from around here."
Hey Ritka, what say we give her a nice send-off? The shortest one, despite being shorter than Lelandi by several inches, said
Lelandi brushed past her to wash her hands.
Don't plan on sticking, bitch, a meatier one hissed, flailing her waist-length, muddy-colored hair around.
She spoke while encircling Lelandi. She was bigger than the other two and would be challenging to overcome if she engaged them in a fight to become Darien's bitch. Lelandi was finding it difficult to maintain her composure because she was no longer being bothered by red-colored female Lupus garou.
"Avoid making long-term plans to stay. If you're interested, I'm just taking care of some little family business.
Red, we know you, and you can't have him." "Lelandi's breathing space was being invaded by Ritka's whiskey breath as she hissed in her ear. You are knowledgeable about what happened with the other. Get out of here, honey, before it happens to you as well.