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you more than ever, but I fear you may have missed your window.”
    Andrew slipped a hand under the hem of his shirt, feeling the ugly ridges of scar tissue along the small of his back. He hadn’t wanted to wait this long. There were a lot of good people in the Roanoke pack who needed his protection. “John tried to tell me something similar, but I hadn’t realized it was so bad. Sacramento’s been winning people over?”
    “With Rory’s help. You’ll remember I said Rory sounded too polished. Well, recently Sacramento has started talking to people directly. It’s rather well planned. Must have been Sacramento’s idea.” Benjamin’s tone was as withering as only the experience of over a century could make it. “Rory doesn’t campaign too obviously against you, but the same things get said.”
    “Empire building?” Andrew rubbed his temple again. Who in their right mind would want such power? Especially since the Europeans might stop squabbling among themselves long enough to sit up and feel threatened. In Andrew’s experience, the Europeans could manage to feel threatened by the most innocent of events, never mind a continent uniting behind one leader.
    “And the events in Spain grow no less lurid for repetition, especially since you haven’t told the story yourself to squash the exaggerations.”
    Andrew waited for the familiar rush of anger, the impulse to beat whoever asked a question about his history until they withdrew it. It didn’t come. He’d told Silver the story, and she was still with him. She’d helped to center him more than he realized. “Wouldn’t admitting what I did cement it in everyone’s minds? I killed seven of the Barcelona pack. That’s not an exaggeration. But if you think that’s what we need to do, the Convocation’s good for that, I suppose. A platform for telling stories.”
    He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to think strategically. “Maybe Silver could back me up. When I told her about how I’d ripped out their throats to keep their voices from the Lady in the depths of the rage, she said that Death said I was a fool to think their voices rested only in a chunk of muscle.”
    Silence greeted that, and Andrew silently swore at himself. He needed to be careful about making Silver seem crazy before people got a chance to meet her for themselves. “She’s completely lucid, Benjamin, even if she still sees some of her own world. She sees plenty of this one too. She just has a different perspective.”
    “That wasn’t what I was thinking.” Benjamin’s voice held a gentle note of correction. “I was thinking that I’m very much looking forward to meeting this mate of yours. I assume from your twitterpated tone that those rumors are correct, at least?”
    Andrew had to laugh. “I’m sure the rumors are wrong somehow, but we’re together now.”
    “Is she dominant?”
    To avoid teasing, Andrew tried to keep the desire out of his voice, but found it impossible. “Yes.”
    Benjamin laughed, the sound suffused with the warmth that had been missing at the beginning of the conversation. “My advice is to use that, then. I can’t think of the last time a North American pack had a mated pair of true alphas, and I’ve been keeping track longer than most.”
    Andrew stared below one of the bushes where a starling was poking around. Brave bird, by a house of predators. He hadn’t thought of using Silver’s dominance as an argument for his challenge. “Silver can take some getting used to.” He laughed. “Then again, I know she’d kick the ass of anyone who underestimated her.”
    “I definitely need to meet her.” Benjamin’s laughter trailed back into seriousness. “I don’t know what contacts you have out there, Dare, but it wouldn’t hurt to start courting the Western alphas. Talk to them, remind them that you’re not a slavering monster. I’ll do what I can over here in Roanoke until you can pick it up yourself when everyone’s gathered at the