Chapter 146: I Got You On The List (Mouthed At Landon)

Tavian’s holo-band buzzed. Different encryption. No sender ID.

He accepted the ping. No holo-image materialized. Rune-audio only.

"Hey, Tav. It’s Maria."

Her voice was wrong. The volume was there but the velocity was missing.

Tavian stiffened immediately. Maria at half speed was a five-alarm fire.

"Maria? Where are you pinging from?"

"I’m so sorry to wake you. That was the last thing I wanted to do. How are you feeling?"

"Maria, I’m fine, but you’re scaring me. What’s wrong? Why do you sound sad? Where are you? Is there something you want to tell me?"

"My holo-band broke. And a front desk lady was a giant bitch today, Tav."

"Anything else?"

"A few things. But nothing you need to worry about. I have it handled for the time being."

"Handled," Tavian repeated, the word leaving his mouth like he was testing whether it was load-bearing and finding it wasn’t.

"Yes."

Tavian looked at the sky. Snow hit his face. He didn’t blink. "Maria, I just left the Thunderfang Correctional Center because Sierra checked her holo-messages and I know you were arrested."

"Oh, right. THAT. Yes, that happened. Forgot about it for a moment there. But let me just start by saying, the door was UNLOCKED, Tavian. We were not breaking and entering. We walked in. At a normal pace. Like regular people visiting a hospital."

"I can’t wait to hear all about it. Honey, why didn’t you ping me?"

"Because you were sick, Tav. And I was worried about you."

"Maria, that would qualify as an emergency. Being arrested is an emergency. That is the textbook definition. If you look up the word emergency in any dictionary on any continent, there is a picture of two women getting hauled out of a hospital room by a SWAT team and that picture is an emergency."

"Okay, but you were sick. And I’m sorry for pinging you now. But I need to talk to you and it’s going to put you in a tough spot."

Tavian popped Maria off the speaker and switched her to his ear comm. One tap. The holo-feed cut and Maria’s voice relocated to a place Landon could no longer hear.

"Talk to me, baby."

Landon watched his Beta’s face become a one-man show. He could hear nothing from Maria’s end. What he could see was Tavian’s expression cycling through emotions like a slot machine that kept landing on new combinations of concern, amusement, and fury.

"Is Nova with you right now?"

Tavian’s eyebrows climbed. Dropped. One went back up while the other stayed down.

"The High Luna did that. Oh." He glanced at Landon. "OH. That’s interesting... Uh huh."

The way Tavian said ’that’s interesting’ while looking directly at him told Landon everything he needed to know.

"Why don’t you come back to Thunderfang Keep. We’ll have a guest suite prepared for Maverick. He bailed you out of jail. It’s the least we can do."

Tavian turned to Landon, comm still at his ear, and mouthed "she’s worried." Then he gave a small shrug accompanied by a grin that communicated isn’t she cute to an Alpha who was absolutely not amused.

"Uh huh.... I am aware we were doing a whole blades-out show the other day." He waved a hand through the falling snow like he was clearing the air of a war that had almost started seven days ago. "Water under the bridge. Mav’s family. That means he’s welcome here."

His face shifted into something serious. 𝖋𝘳ℯ

"The High Luna also—" He stopped. Listened. "Oh." Listened more. "Well okay then. And he told you?" Tavian nodded his head. "Yes, tell him we say thank you. And tell him that the bail will be reimbursed to him. The charges have been dropped."

Then he started gesturing at the dark with his free hand. Full arm movements. Pointing at nothing. Illustrating something Maria couldn’t see to an audience of falling snow and one Alpha. "Yes, bring Nova back to the keep too....oh. Let me clear that up. No, she will not be arrested. No, we are not concerned that she glows gold.... Yes, if that was a concern, I would tell you."

He looked at Landon again. Held up one finger. The universal one more minute signal that only two people in the world were allowed to do with Landon Thunderfang and one of them was in a coma. 𝙛𝓇ⅇ

"No, the Alpha does not think she tried to murder Derek." Tavian closed his eyes for a full second.

"Yes, the Alpha is aware...I think." He glanced at Landon who was not pleased with the ’I think.’ "I mean YES. Yes, the Alpha wants her there. Well, yes, that is understandable that it would come off that way. He’s a complex person. Great Alpha though."

Tavian was nodding again at a woman who couldn’t see him nod.

Landon’s jaw tightened at the third-person narration of his own positions being relayed to an Emberclaw princess through an ear comm on a snowy street, but he said nothing because saying something meant interrupting and interrupting meant this took longer and longer meant Maverick Emberclaw had more time with Nova.

"I didn’t tell you about Derek on the Alpha’s orders. The family wanted to keep that private, honey. I also don’t have much information. I’ve been sick and haven’t been able to see him."

Tavian’s face went through something that Landon recognized as guilt meeting honesty and neither of them winning.

"I know. I know, baby. I should have told you anyway. You’re right."

His free hand was making small surrender gestures at no one.

"I couldn’t because I was given a direct order. But I’m sorry that it happened... Yes, you’re right, next time I will push harder to get an exception so you are in the loop."

Tavian’s face lit up.

"And, how did she like it? She did."

He fired a finger gun at Landon. Blew on it. Tucked it away.

"Tell you what. Lightning Nectars. Lightning Lounge. It’s the best place in Thunderfang Keep."

Tavian pointed at Landon while listening to Maria, and mouthed ’I got you on the list.’

"Of course, Maverick comes. No, Astra won’t take hers away. Astra is not invited unless Nova or you were injured...Okay good." He let out a dark laugh and his expression communicated volumes about how much he was going to enjoy whatever he was about to say. "No, Celeste won’t be there."

Then he kissed into the comm twice and then a third time that hadn’t been planned but happened anyway "I miss you too. Yes, today was a long day without you."

He gave her one more kiss.

"Okay, I’ll meet you back at home. See you in a bit."