Lord Merrick's POV
I sat across from my brother and waited.
Terrell was looking at the table between us with the focused attention of a man reading something important in the grain of the wood. His hands were clasped in front of him. His jaw was set hard, like the face of a man who had decided on a particular direction and was focused on it.
He cleared his throat.
"What brings you here?" he said.
I looked at him.
"That's what you want to discuss," I said. "Right now."
"Isn't it why you're here? For Pack's business?"
I held his gaze for a moment. He held mine back with the complete determination of a man who was going to win this particular standoff through sheer refusal to acknowledge there was anything to stand off about.
"Fine," I said. "Pack business."
We talked.
Border maintenance. Patrol rotations. A trade agreement that needed reviewing before the winter season made the roads difficult.
