[Southern Arcana 2.0] Crossroads Read Online Free PDF

he heard Alec’s gruff voice. “You’d better not have called me by mistake during some drunken sex.”
    The greater New Orleans area seemed to be under the assumption that he and Nick would be naked by now. Which we might be, if life didn’t suck. “Hi, Alec. I’m doing great, thanks. Nick asked me to call you.
    Think there’s trouble. Her sister’s here.”
    “Michelle? Alone?”
    Derek moved to a shelf on the far side of the office and picked up a flashlight. “Not alone. With a big hulking angry-looking werewolf.”
    “Well, that goes without saying. Aaron’s her bodyguard. I meant, is the Alpha with her? Their dad?”
    “No. She said something about being pregnant, and an execution order for Aaron, and her powers being out of control.”
    “For fuck’s—shit, just a second.” He heard a muffled noise and the faint murmur of a female voice, followed by the slam of a door and the crunch of gravel. “I’m not that far out. They at Nick’s place?”
    “No, upstairs above the bar.” Derek flicked on the flashlight and moved back into the kitchen to search the cupboards for tea. “Nick asked me to call Jackson too, but I figure you’d know if that was a good idea.”
    “Fuck, no. His mom’s in town.”
    “He can’t let Mackenzie look after his mother?”
    “Kid, no one tells Nancy Holt to stay home and keep out of things. That woman’ll be climbing all over us if she gets a whiff of trouble, and Nick knows it.”
    She had looked wary. Derek propped the phone against his shoulder to free up a hand so he could search the cabinets. “So we’re not calling him?”
    “I’ll decide once I figure out what the hell is going on. I’ll be there in about fifteen minutes.”
    “Uh-huh, and then you’re going to explain to me what in hell is going on, right?” Alec snorted. “You don’t want to know.”
    Maybe he didn’t, but sticking his head in the sand and walking away wasn’t an option. “Maybe not, but I need to, Alec.”
    “Yeah.” Alec sighed roughly. “Fine. Reader’s Digest version. You know Michelle’s a Seer, right?”
    “Superpowerful magic shapeshifter hybrid. I paid attention to the shit that went down last month, Alec.” Which was only a little lie. He would have paid attention if any of them had bothered to explain it to him while it was happening. “She’s got all sorts of rules and shit governing her life, and it sucks. I remember that part.”
    “Do you remember the part about her not being allowed to have sex?” Derek dropped a box of tea. “Uh, she’s pregnant, Alec.”

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    21

    Moira Rogers
    “Well, someone’s been breaking the rules. I say more power to her, but the possibility that she’s going to have some powerful little Seer baby is going to give the Conclave a collective shit-fit.”
    “Jesus. They’d kill her for it?”
    “Derek, most shapeshifters would kill her just for being who she is. If Nick’s dad wasn’t the big fuckin’ honcho, chances are she wouldn’t have survived infancy. That’s our dirtiest little secret. They may shun wolves like you, but they murder the ones like Michelle.”
    “And Aaron?”
    “He’s not really her bodyguard. At least, he’s not supposed to be. He’s a Conclave spy. If he helped her escape, that’s treason.”
    Derek had gotten the impression that Aaron’s involvement was a lot more intimate and involved than just escape plans, but it was the last subject he wanted to discuss with Alec over the phone. “Okay. So the Conclave’s scared and pissed. Is Nick in danger?”
    “Doubt it. It may seem like their dad can’t protect Michelle, but he’s fighting a few hundred years of tradition there. Nick’s the Alpha’s heir. No one would dare touch a hair on her head.” It made it easier to breathe, if only because he knew Alec wouldn’t lie. “Okay, I’m going upstairs now. I’ll tell Nick you’re on your way.”
    “Ten minutes out, kid. Hang in there.”
    “Thanks,