“How bad is it?” she whispered to Vanessa.
Vanessa whispered back, “You remember we have great hearing, right?”
“Oh, right.” She cleared her throat and waited on Jordan, who was scanning the group again.
Jordan turned to Dane with a puzzled look. “Three?”
Dane nodded with a grimace. “One missing, and when Rosemary and Boyd left to come here, their car was sprayed with bullets. If you hadn’t called when you did… Anyway, they’re en route to the hospital. Rosemary says nothing life-threatening—though with his heart, they aren’t taking any chances. Several of the others from that area thought they were followed as far as town. But we’ve got one confirmed; they got Aggie Christensen.”
“We’re sure she’s not in the hospital again?” Jordan asked.
“Rosemary said they saw her car in the driveway when they drove through, and she was at her home at around three this morning, and I spoke to her great-niece ten minutes ago—she’s with a northern pack, and she would know if Aggie was in the hospital. She’s going to call around and get back to me, but she’s asked to come and look for her great-aunt. I told her to wait until we’d ascertained the danger level. Rosemary wanted to stop to check, but…” He shook his head.
“She was there this morning,” Jordan repeated, raising his eyebrows.
“Max said he heard her talking to…uhh…Muffin when he patrolled by at three. Apparently, Muffin is her imaginary dog.”
Vanessa said under her breath to Christa, “She’s not imaginary. Muffin has just been dead. Since the eighties. I tell you…the amount of times I’ve heard Muffin get in trouble for peeing on the rug is just disturbing, though.”
Jordan shot Vanessa a quelling look before saying to Dane, “I’m glad you did that route last night.”
“We did every route every night.”
Jordan frowned.
Dane looked a bit smug. “I improved on your routes, cutting out unnecessary terrain obstacles, which I suspect were remnants from a younger group who needed exercise. I also cut out some routes that I felt weren’t necessary for the welfare of the pack during a time when we were down one Alpha.”
There was absolute silence. Christa looked from Jordan to Dane. Her brother had taken a big chance on messing with things while Jordan was gone.
Jordan nodded. “I knew I’d made the right choice. I’d thought it would be because you liked to shoot things, not because you’re more familiar with maps of our land than running through it.” He turned back to the group. “I assume the added patrols helped, because I expected the devastation we’ve seen in other packs. While we’ll start a search for Aggie, we need to work on sheltering those less capable of fighting and finding out where our enemies are. I’m not going to be caught unaware like other packs have been. So fortification and reconnaissance are our first goals. Many of the Rainier pack have pledged to come help with the hunt, but I want to know more and have our own pack settled before we bring in more Lycans.” He stared hard at the group and said firmly, “We will invite them if it becomes necessary. Our honor does not preclude ending this for everyone or taking care of our own in the best way possible. I would rather have our offspring safe than feel like my pride has been satisfied.”
Christa looked through the group when he spoke. It looked like a family get-together. Young kids. A couple teens. Parents. Grandparents. Family. And they were her pack now—and they were being hunted…and someone had already grabbed one of their elderly members. Holy hell. No vendetta was worth this. None of these children had done anything. In fact, it sounded like the only two people involved were Dane and Jordan. This guy was a sick bastard. Even before you got to bagged guts in the freezer. And listening in on super-private, personal dirty talk.
“Now, ideas for how we’re going to keep everyone safe,” Jordan said.
“I don’t think patrols will be enough,” Dane said.
Jordan turned to Dane and made pointed eye contact with him. She almost snorted. Like Dane would ever show deference to anyone when he had an opinion.
“Oh, right,” Dane said, shrugging his shoulders. “I stand by that, though. The nightly patrols would be taxing on our strength, and we can’t be everywhere at once. The frequency of the modified routes was a short-term solution. I’d thought of asking Christa to do some phone calls to our outlying members if you were gone longer than a week just so we wouldn’t tire everyone out.”
“Phone calls,” Jordan repeated.
Dane nodded at her. “It’s her job. She’s good at it. She’s been calling veterans for over two years doing verbal triage of their situation. This might be a different situation, but after this crisis is over, I think that can be a long-term solution. Patrols and having Christa call around.”
As uncomfortable as it was to be the focus of attention, it gave her some worth in the pack that he’d brought it up. Plus, Dane had said she was good at it. This might be the first time he’d ever implied her job was more than charming old men into talking about their bowel movements.
“Calling veterans.” Jordan turned to look at her with a slight smile. “That’s what you do.”
She frowned. “What did you think I did?”
He just shook his head and turned back to the group. “I agree with Dane. We’ll need our most able-bodied doing reconnaissance rather than protective detail.”
Able-bodied. Well, that struck her out. If only she could help with something—from the safety of Jordan’s house, because there was no way he’d let her leave. Wait…
Stepping forward, Christa touched Jordan’s arm. She motioned him to lean down so she could whisper, but he said, “They’d all hear you, anyway.”
She looked out to see everyone smiling, even though they kept their heads bowed. Okay, she could work the cute and small angle.
“I was just thinking you have a huge house.”
“We have a huge house,” he corrected.
“If you…I mean, if we took in some of the people farther away or with young kids, that’d make things easier.”
Jordan stared at her for an extra second and then turned to the group. “I have an extra six bedrooms and five large rooms which will hold more if you bring sleeping bags. I’d appreciate if anyone with offspring stayed with us. Additionally, anyone living alone or not up to patrols. Hell, you can all come stay with me, but those people get rooms first. It’ll be easier to protect everyone if we’re all in a group.”
“You’ll need more food,” Dane said.
Vanessa kicked him in the back of the leg.
Dane stared down Jordan…pointedly. Her brother’s idea of showing respect was aggressive.
“Dane, did you have something to say?”
“You’ll need more food,” Dane said again.
“And you have that cat,” Vanessa said with a scowl. Dane turned to look at her. “What? I have the newest baby. I’m allowed to talk whenever I want. Hormones.”
“My cat’s only been in the bedroom and the study. He only likes rooms with fireplaces lit,” Christa said. “We can keep him in the bedroom and clean the study floors.”
Vanessa frowned and shrugged. “I can be drugged out of my skull if it keeps Nathanial safe.”
Jordan nodded out at the group.
A man said, making eye contact with Jordan, “Dane told us to treat Ross as hostile, but you’re talking about poachers.”
Jordan glanced at Dane. Dane looked down—for the first time that day, he looked down.
“The Lycan targeting us two years ago, the Lycan who Dane shot, was someone Ross knew. We all know it was a justified kill, but Ross blames Dane and me for their death and doesn’t see a problem with throwing the entire pack in front of the target. When I realized it was Ross who’d killed the Lycan at Rainier to get me to come track his killer, I had Travis break into Ross’s residence. They found communication with poachers on his computer where he listed every pack member with our addresses and our weaknesses. Aggie was listed among the top ta
rgets. Your offspring were listed—those non-Lycans in the pack were even listed, though they were marked as non-Lycan. Ross’s only stipulation was that they provide cover so he could kill Dane and me. I don’t know how many poachers are here, but obviously the extinction order didn’t go unheeded.”
He rubbed both his hands down his face. “When we leave here, we’ll leave in groups, you’ll gather what you need for a week—if you bring coolers of food or food storage, it’ll save us from living on cold cereal and saltines. Then you’ll come in groups to my place. If anyone chooses to remain in their home, we’ll do our best to protect them, but the risk is on your head. We’ll go from there.”
“Guns,” Dane said in a cough.
Several Lycans smiled…whether they were smiling at Dane’s way of getting around deference or they were all gun-crazy, it was difficult to tell.
“If you have guns and ammunition—or any weapons—bring them. Some of our two-leggeds feel safer holding big guns.”
“Some of them just have big guns,” Vanessa muttered beside her.
Dane either choked or laughed…or both.
“I swear, I’m going to need a sharp stick for my ears,” Christa whispered back.
Jordan laughed. “My mate, Christa, is still learning about how incredible our hearing is. Okay, disperse. Remember—in groups.”
They started to leave, but several paused when Ethan was still standing there, his head bowed.
“Ethan?” Jordan nodded at the man.
“Who was the Lycan—the Lycan that Ross knew?”
The room went still.
“Two Lycans have now died because that information was shared. Perhaps I should tell you, but I don’t intend to, and it’s my right as Alpha to decide that. I will tell you that no one there that day knew the Lycan’s identity until after they were dead. As Lycans, we have always given our dead dignity that perhaps they didn’t deserve in life. I’ve been chasing the ghost of a Lycan for three days instead of being with my mate because he deserved that. Honor is second in the hierarchy—we honor our dead. If it ever becomes more important for the good of the pack that I share that information, I will, but so far it’s brought only more death.”
Ethan nodded and the group dispersed silently.
“They move so quietly,” Christa whispered.
Jordan turned and looked at her, and she froze. She’d just invited a whole lot of Lycans to his house, and she couldn’t seem to remember that whispering was pointless. She totally sucked as an alpha female. He stayed staring at her with a look she couldn’t read. It was different to see him here as a leader. Sometimes, he seemed as charismatic as a cult leader, and the whole thing felt so foreign. Then she caught sight of what he was toying with when his hands were behind his back—he had her ponytail holder. She’d slid it into his bag, wanting to send something of hers with him. Now as they stood there, staring at each other, it was possible she’d totally embarrassed him—in front of his pack.
“We should get a copy of that list Ross posted—it’ll be easier to protect everyone if we know what they know,” Dane said, drawing Jordan’s gaze from her.
“So, that was your first meeting,” Vanessa said to her. “I think you managed your first one better than your brother. He even asked me if it was almost over.”
Dane turned and snapped his fingers. “That was a long meeting about nothing.”
“It was about the equinox. Lycans get all wigged out when you take away our night,” Vanessa grumbled.
Jordan turned back to Christa and resumed staring at her. She stared right back. She had no idea what his deal was, but she’d always beat Dane in staring contests. Beside them, Dane and Vanessa argued about anything that touched their brains, and she and Jordan stood there—their eyes focused on the other’s. He had the darkest eyes. Suddenly, he grinned and turned to Dane and Vanessa. “I’ve got a whole lot of Lycans coming for a sleepover, and you’ll be disobeying your Alpha’s orders if we let you go pack on your own. Wrap it up, kids. Vanessa will need a half an hour just to grab all her allergy meds.”
“Just for that, I’m bringing two of my air purifiers.”
“Anything to drown out your snoring,” Jordan muttered.
Chapter Twelve
Dane and Vanessa left the baby on Christa’s lap as they threw stuff into bags. Hopefully no one was waiting at his house, but he suspected it would take a while for some of them to pack and then wait for others in their group to pack.
“Does it bother you that I basically offered up your house as a motel?” Christa asked, meeting his eyes.
It was arousing that she kept doing that—staring him down, meeting his eyes—even in the gathering hall. He’d had this brief fantasy of tossing her brother and sister-in-law out and making love to her on the podium, but that sounded too close to Rainier pack’s lodge orgy for his comfort.
“No. It was a good solution. It’ll save lives. Just as your brother’s modifications to a century-old pattern of patrolling saved lives. Don’t tell him I said that.” He shook his head as he heard Vanessa in the house telling Dane what he’d just said.
“What?”
“Sometimes even Lycans forget what great hearing we have.”
“Speaking of hearing things…” She looked down at Nathanial and brushed a hand across the top of his head. She looked beautiful with a child in her arms. Someday that could be their child. A child with her soft brown hair…her green eyes…hell, the kid could look exactly like Christa, and he’d be happy. Christa was beautiful. He’d had other plans for how they’d spend this time waiting on Dane and Vanessa, but watching her hold a child was almost as good. Almost. Then he smelled her fear, and it sobered him.
“Christa?”
“I woke up two nights ago when I heard a sound at the window. At first I thought it was the wind, but then I realized there was no wind, and then Lucifer hissed at the window. So I loaded your rifle and took it to the window. I wasn’t expecting to see anything.”
He’d heard the expression “their blood ran cold” but he’d never felt it. His veins felt like they were shot through with ice. If Christa could smell anxiety, the scent would be pouring off him.
“And?” he asked when she didn’t continue.
“I jerked back the curtain and there was nothing, at first…but then I saw something in the distance moving—like a wolf. Your back porch light illuminated it for a second.”
“Do you think you were seeing things, or…?” He’d be able to tell if another Lycan had been in his yard. In fact, he usually ran his own yard first before going on patrol. Ross knew how crazy Jordan was about his mate from the tapped phone line. If the bastard’d been there watching Christa, too—he’d rip Ross’s guts out through his throat. Hell, Jordan would have checked around his place when he got back from Rainier, but there wasn’t time, and the only scent he’d been interested in inhaling was Christa’s.
“I thought I was, but when I got up the next morning and went to check it out…”
“You checked it out?” What was she thinking?
She glared at him. “I’m not helpless. Anyway, there were paw prints beneath the window, and I’m assuming you don’t go stand outside your bedroom and look in—and they looked too small to be yours.”
“And you told no one about this?”
“Well, I sort of told Dane.”
Inside the house, Vanessa said, “Oh, yeah, we don’t want to interrupt a special moment they’re enjoying out there. You can pack a little slower, baby.”
“Don’t you dare,” he snarled.
Christa jumped, and Nathanial complained for a moment before snuggling deeper into her arms and going back to staring up at her.
“I was talking to Vanessa—not you,” he said.
She didn’t look so reassured.
“You told Dane a strange Lycan was outside your window, and he did nothing.”
“Hell,” Vanessa said inside the house. “She never mentioned the paw prints. Dane, did your siste
r ever mention seeing paw prints outside the window?”
“She saw prints? Why the hell didn’t she tell me?” Dane yelled.
“Well, he told me that no Lycans would dare go on your property without permission, and Vanessa said that they’d be killed if they did,” Christa said. Her nose wrinkled up as she bit her lip anxiously.
“I did say that,” Vanessa said. “But she never mentioned the paw prints.”
“It still makes more sense for you to report it to your brother or to me,” Jordan said.
To his consternation, Christa glared at him. “Not if you were going to kill Ethan!”
“It was Ethan?” Vanessa and Jordan said at the same time.
“Wow, I was not expecting that,” Vanessa said. “He has a bit of a Peeping Tom aspect to him that I didn’t see coming.”
“It was Ethan?” Dane shouted.
“Well, I don’t know,” Christa said. “I met Ethan in the grocery store after that, and he was so nice, and he said the pack takes care of everyone, and he talked about inviting me over for dinner. I thought maybe he was just checking on me to make sure I was okay.”
“So, you don’t know that it was Ethan,” Jordan stated.
“It wasn’t Ethan,” Vanessa told Dane.
“Of course it wasn’t Ethan,” Dane said.
Jordan blinked. Keeping all these conversations straight was making it hard to concentrate on Christa.
“No, I realize now that it probably wasn’t, but I didn’t want you to rip some poor guy’s throat out like Vanessa said for trespassing when he was only checking on me.”
“But Dane didn’t have someone come over and check out the prints?”
“I didn’t exactly, technically, tell him about the prints,” Christa said slowly while focusing on the baby instead of meeting his eyes.
“Hah! She just admitted she never mentioned the prints!” Vanessa told Dane.
This Weakness For You (Entangled Select Otherworld) (Taming the Pack) Page 19