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phone.” She’d been calling him every fifteen minutes for the last several hours.
    “You could have left a message.”
    She drew close. “You and I were supposed to celebrate.” The way she articulated the last word left no doubt that she meant a celebration of the naked and sweaty kind.
    He said nothing, but repeated silently, Remember, you’re on your way to talk to Red.
    “Were you even going to stop in your office, sire?”
    “No. I have to—”
    “Are you avoiding me?”
    “I have to get a shower and—”
    “Oh.” Her smile broadened. “Would you like someone to scrub your back?”
    You’re in a hurry to see Red. “I’ll manage.”
    She pouted. It was entirely, adorably sexual. “Are you sure?”
    Johnny turned on his heel. Cold shower. Cold, cold, cold shower.
    Behind him he heard a frustrated sigh. “So . . . where have you been?” Her tone was on the verge of demanding.
    Let her be pissed. What she wants she can’t have. He kept walking and gave her a flat-toned answer. “Away.”
    “Yes, we all noticed the newly announced Domn Lup drove an old woman home and didn’t come back.” Herscornful sarcasm was not hidden. When he didn’t respond she instructed, “Bathe fast. The diviza will be here in twenty minutes.”
    In pack hierarchy, the dirija was a pack leader, the adevar was an area bean counter who kept tabs on the dirijas , and a diviza was the region’s next step up, serving a function that was part outreach, part campaign manager, part lawyer, and part CEO. They had an incredible amount of authority where local packs and politics were concerned.
    Johnny spun back. “The diviza ?”
    Aurelia nodded.
    After negotiations went south between the pack and the Ohio Department of Transportation, or ODOT, who wanted to buy and tear down the den building for their new I-90 project, a dossier had been sent to the diviza requesting intervention.
    Johnny had opted out of the recent meetings, leaving the dilemma to Todd, who would become the pack’s dirija after Johnny’s coronation. They had all believed the issue would be resolved after the new year. “I thought he wasn’t coming until January?”
    “ODOT and the mayor are very serious about their new compensation package.” She advanced on him again. “They demanded mediation to obtain an immediate decision, and demanded it directly of the diviza, leaving us out of the loop.”
    “Bastards. Did the diviza ’s office contact us?”
    “ I only learned of this a few hours ago.” She crossed her arms, enhancing the bulge of her cleavage. “Seems they didn’t want to overwhelm you prior to or during your official announcement. According to them, the mediationwas scheduled for next week, but ODOT called them with the change at one thirty. The diviza immediately chartered a plane, which . . . ” Her words trailed off as she checked her watch. “ . . . should have landed by now.”
    Johnny turned back toward the apartment. “Get Todd in here. He has to handle it.”
    “You’re the Domn Lup.”
    Stopping, Johnny squared his shoulders before facing her again. “And I have another meeting scheduled—one I don’t intend to miss. Besides, this will be Todd’s pack in a few weeks, so let him handle it how he wants.”
    “The diviza expects you.”
    Of course he did. The Domn Lup was a power title. Johnny knew that his attendance at the meeting would give the wæres more credibility, more leverage.
    This was part of the reason why he didn’t want to be Domn Lup. It wasn’t solely about grown-up choices and people looking to him for answers he wasn’t sure he had. This song and dance was about politics and etiquette. Every meeting would be tainted with a false spotlight meant to illuminate the idea that those involved were important, and that important people made decisions that were good for all. However, the agreements politicians reached were never brought to bear by the politicians themselves. Not getting their hands