Brody sat by himself, but based on the way he kept craning his neck in the direction of the game, he not-so-secretly wanted to join in.
“Blood,” Brody called when I slipped around a few tables making my way to my usual isolated table.
“Hey,” I awkwardly said before I remembered I wasn’t wearing my mask and I flashed a quick smile that was a little too late.
April looked up from her cards and scanned me while Brody not so subtly sniffed the air.
I didn’t know what to make of their reactions, so I busied myself with sitting down and smoothing out nonexistent wrinkles in my uniform.
When April finally looked back at her cards, Tetiana turned around in her seat to get a look at me as if I was a creature in a zoo.
Am I supposed to say something? But they haven’t asked me a question…
Grove pushed away from the table and sauntered up to me. “You’re still taking potions?” He asked, eyeing my smoothie.
“Yeah—my brothers told me to,” I said. “As a precaution.”
“Wow.” Grove pushed his eyebrows so far up his forehead they disappeared under the drape of his hair. “Your brothers are strong enough to boss you around? They must be terrifying.”
“Grove!” Medium-Sized Robert rumbled in disapproval.
“I’m just sayin’，” Grove complained.
The door opened, and Sarge slipped inside the meeting room. He nodded at me, but his silvery eyes lingered on the card game. “Take your seats, team.”
“Yessir.”
“You got it, Sarge!”
“I win!”
“No, no, no! The old maid card means you automatically lose.”
The team filled up their usual spaces—April and Juggernaut sitting together, with Clarence and Tetiana at a table in the back across from Grove and Medium-Sized Robert, Binx and Brody sitting in the front, leaving me by myself at my table in the center of the room.
I rested my hands on the table and waited with the rest of the team as Sarge organized his documents on the podium at the front of the room.
“Before we begin, I have an announcement.” Sarge folded his hands behind his back and studied us.
“Oh—pick me, pick me!” Grove stood up and held his hand up. “Did we nail Gisila?”
Sarge frowned. “No. The mercenaries’ geas is holding strong and despite additional questioning Orrin hasn’t been able to drop any additional hints besides what he told Blood.”
“Oh. Well. That’s disappointing.” Grove plopped back down in his chair with a massive sigh.
“Lay it on us, sir!” Brody pumped his arm in the air. “We’re ready.”
“I’m not sure you are.” Sarge frowned at the werewolf. “Regardless, this decision comes from upper management. We are adding a new member to the task force.”
The door to the meeting room opened. I glanced at it fully expecting Captain Reese to come in—if the announcement was from the higher ups, she’d want to be here.
Instead, a task force member—wearing the navy-blue uniform with the gold edging and task force patch—stepped inside. I took in the black hair and red eyes, then did a double take, my heart stopping.
“Considine?” My voice was deafeningly loud in the silence of the room.
Sarge glanced over at the elder vampire. “Precisely, yes. Please join me in welcoming Considine Maledictus to our team.”
I was too shocked. I couldn’t even register my teammates’ reaction. “What?” My voice was so squeaky it had to be hitting registers only shifters were capable of hearing.
Considine smiled—one that was too sneaky for my wellbeing—and prowled across the room, stopping directly next to my table. “Hello, teammate,” he purred. “I think we’re going to get along wonderfully.”
“This can’t—there’s no way—why would you—” I babbled, unable to finish a coherent thought.
“Didn't I warn you? One day a supernatural might sweep you off your feet.” I didn’t even notice when Considine scooped my hands up, tugging on them so I automatically stood up. “As for the why… I chose option two.”
“Option what?” I asked blankly. I’d recognized his reference to the conversation we’d had about dating after we’d passed out my poorly seasoned Party Mix, but the mention of options lost me beyond comprehension.
“I decided to go the protection route, which means accompanying you at all hours to watch your back as your team doesn’t seem to be particularly good at it.” Considine looked away from my face to scan the room.