“It is, but I’m also friends with the hobgoblins and a lot of witches,” I countered easily. “I’m tight with some wolves now, and Geoff is my bestest buddy.” I bit back a laugh when he choked on his drink.
“Smartass,” he grumbled.
I took the boxes Colton had ready and passed them to each of the councilmen’s security to check. “This is something I worked on with Zack and Ray, plus two more wolves I met and befriended at Artemis, Sean and Marshall. They now work for me, having outgrown their position there and are awesome guys. I’ve really had no problem with any wolves.”
“You called this meeting to offer us an invention?” Councilman Brooks asked as he accepted the box from his security, not hiding how odd that sounded to him. “We won’t be your friend and protect you for whatever this is.”
I opened my mouth but then closed it. I tried again and sighed instead. “Look, Zack and Ray like when I just spit things out, the other wolves I know too, so I’m going to assume you guys are the same.”
“Please no,” Mel said under her breath.
I ignored her, not going to go over the line. “I don’t need your protection. I’ve got that covered. I do. And I’m not selling myself either. I know people are talking like this is to open the door to mate me to a wolf and all of that nonsense as I’m twenty. I’m showing you what we’ve done, and I’m giving it to Zack and Ray to sell later as it will keep people safe, and they say you’re good people.
“The other councils are corrupt, and the wolves don’t seem to be as much. The bears too. You guys seem the least sexist, which is also my biggest problem with supes. None of you are squeaky clean, but I’m not either, so I don’t throw stones at glass houses. The other councils are really, really corrupt, and it’s bad. Worse that I think you all believe.
“I trust Zack, Ray, and even Geoff, and they said you’d have a problem with that. So, I don’t need your protection, but if meeting with you and us being a bit friendly messes with the corrupt guys a bit and their heads pop, well, all the better, and I’m gonna sit back and enjoy watching that before they make their next move. The more moves they make that are stupid, and the next one will fall.
“So, that’s what this is. You guys want to sniff my butt and I’m cool with that because I’m not what the rumors say—mostly. I’m not looking to get into bed with you or mate whoever in your family, but I’m playing fairly nicely with the bear council. I like Geoff, and I am powerful, so I’m a good ally too, especially since I’m tight with the dragon royals. That’s where I’m at.”
It took a few minutes for that to sink in, several glances exchanged, and then Councilman Brooks finally broke the silence. He was more or less the head of the elders that made up the wolf shifter council, so he was the one that mattered most there.
Which shocked me that he came.
“Fair enough. Now what is this thing? The wolves who know about it are brimming with excitement.”
“It’s a cloaking device,” Zack blurted, clearing his throat. “It’s meant for a motorcycle or now we have it for a smaller vehicle; at max, a small Jeep. We’re still working on bigger, but it’s meant to hide like a cigarette lighter, and you activate it like a shadow rune and a barrier.”
“Basically, what happened to your wolves won’t have to happen again,” I said gently, focused on Geoff. “That’s the goal. I wanted to make something for those who can’t use runes on the fly, or who can’t use conduits because they didn’t sign a contract to mate who their parents wanted, like Izzy was forced to. I wanted to try and help those that people wrote off, the guards and ninjas that fall first, like Mel’s family.”
“You really have a golden heart, Tamsin Vale,” he whispered, reaching out and taking a box from Colton. “This is unreal. I saw your barrier strength during that fight in South America with the Underground. Nothing was getting through that thing. Dozens were trying to get at us and we were as safe as could be and they weren’t little hitters.”
“It’s a level seven crystal she’s using to power them, and she’s not planning on charging for them,” Zack explained. “But, there have to be serious regulations and some sort of system in place so not just anyone can get them. And, we don’t want just corrupt council members to have access to them.”
I snorted. “Yeah, Ainsworth getting them when he’s a head of the supe black market would be the death warrant of as many witches as he could grab since he can’t make above level five crystals.”
“You have to be mistaken on that, Ms. Vale,” Councilman Brooks whispered when everyone else went quiet.
“I’m not, but maybe you can explain why people have that reaction when I say he can’t,” I muttered, glancing around the room.
“I thought you explained this to her,” Zack groaned, shooting Mel an evil glance.
“No, I meant to but—it’s not like we ever sit around and count our toes, mate. There’s a lot to explain and always a lot going on. Plus, it’s really going to fucking upset her.”
“Well it’s not going to get any better now, so just tell me,” I drawled, gesturing to the group we were with.
“Being able to make a level ten crystal solo is part of
