“Glad you came,” Ian told Kian, holding back while Shelby and Seth went inside.
“Of course. I never intended to stay gone. I just needed time to process.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you what I sensed about Zane. I should have, I know.”
“No, you shouldn’t. I understand why you did not. He was on the fence, as you said. Not on the bad side yet. There was no need to mention something that hadn’t happened.”
Exhaling, Ian rubbed a hand over his face. “I still feel like I should have warned you somehow.”
Kian was quiet, staring off into the distance, a pensive expression on his face. “Zane’s my cousin. We’ve always been close. He’s my second, my family, my friend. But I’m not blind to his faults, Ian. I know him, perhaps better than anyone. I know he has the capacity to go dark. I’ve just been trying to use my influence to keep him on the light side. And I think sometimes that I have failed him, failed to keep him on the right side of that fence you speak of.”
“That’s not your failure, my friend. You tried. Whatever side of the fence he ends up on, that’s on him, not you. He’s a grown man and can make his own decisions.” Ian wanted to say more, but he knew there was nothing he could say at this moment, so he just clapped Kian on the shoulder. “Now let’s go eat.”
They headed inside, where everyone was gathered in the kitchen. They were all there. Cammie and Alex, Seth and Amelia, Jax and Piper, Kian. And Shelby of course. He wished Holly was there. She’d never been there, never been a part of their crew, but despite that, he felt her absence keenly. Could picture her there with them so clearly. And he swore to himself that one day soon, she would be there, an everyday part of their lives
Food was passed around the table, and they were just starting to dig in when Alex barked, “Stop!”
Everyone froze, and Ian raised a brow at him. “What’s going on?”
“Something’s wrong,” the dragon shifter muttered.
Standing up, he went around the table, studying everyone’s dinner and even picking up plates to smell them. Ian frowned as he stopped between Ian and Kian’s plates. He smelled both, and with a grim expression, he stuck a finger in each one’s mashed potatoes and tasted them. Ian fought the urge to protest, because he knew something was going on.
When Alex hesitated and glanced at Shelby, Ian said softly, “Sweets, why don’t you go up to your room? I’ll call you back down in a few minutes. Maybe start on your homework, if you haven’t already.”
Scowling at him, she replied, “What’s happening? I don’t want to be sent to my room like a little kid. You don’t have to shield me.”
“But you are a kid,” Ian said softly before firming his tone. “Go on now. I’ll come get you in a minute.”
Glowering at him, Shelby sat stubbornly for a minute before shoving back from her chair. They all sat in silence for a moment, listening as she stomped up the stairs and slammed the door to her bedroom.
“She’s definitely coming out of her shell,” Cammie said with a chuckle.
“That she is,” Ian replied with a smile that faded as he turned to Alex. “Now tell me what’s going on.”
“At first, I just sensed something was off. And then I smelled something I recognized from my time with Ivan. When I looked, I noticed the color of your and Kian’s food seemed a little off, but I wanted to check them all. And everyone’s checked out fine. Except your and Kian’s plates.”
Frowning, Ian cast a glance at the respective plates. He and Kian had similar taste in food, and they usually ordered the same things when they ate together. They looked okay to him, but he knew Alex had experience with this kind of thing.
“So what’s wrong with them?” Jax asked, frowning at the plates.
Alex hesitated and then finally said, “Poison. Their food was laced with a type of poison designed specifically for shifters. I was taught to recognize the smell, look, and taste of it, because Ivan had many enemies.”
“Motherfucker.” Piper stared at their plates before reaching over and snatching Jax’s away from him. “And you’re sure?”
“I’m positive,” Alex replied quietly.
Ian pushed his plate away with a curse, watching as the others did the same. “It looks like it was just mine and Kian’s, but I’d feel better if we all dumped our food.”
Cammie stood up, eyes troubled. “I can fix something here.”
“What the fuck is going on here,” Seth said, looking around the table. “First the barn roof collapses, now poisoned food. And both times, it was Ian and Kian who were targeted.”
“We don’t know that for sure,” Ian said quietly. He was trying to remain calm for his crew, but he felt anything but. His gut was in a knot and his tiger was clawing painfully at his chest. He couldn’t lose any of his fighters and their mates, and Shelby… Dear God in Heaven, he couldn’t lose his daughter. “The food, definitely. But the roof could have caved in on anyone. It just happened to be myself and Kian inside when it happened.”
“Who could be going after both of you?”
Seth opened his mouth and Ian glared at him. “Don’t. Don’t accuse without facts. And they might not be going after both of us. Kian and I always order the same thing from the diner. And we both got it this time. Whoever it was knows this, but they’d have no way of knowing who ate which one, so they poisoned both.”