by Lori Drake
“Nah, I’m”—he blinked as she plucked the plate from his hands and started scraping the leftovers off onto her plate—“good. Are you okay?”
Joey passed the empty plate back to him and shrugged. “Might not get another chance to eat today. I have a feeling it’s going to be a busy day.” She reversed her fork and lifted it like she was prepared to use it for stabbing rather than eating. “No takebacks.”
That drew a genuine laugh from him, and he held up a hand in surrender. “No takebacks.”
9
Feeding all the guests and getting them settled in rooms took longer than Joey would’ve liked, but not as long as she’d feared. By the time they were able to get both of the local packs together for an all-hands briefing, it was well after noon. With nearly every available room turned into guest quarters, space was at a premium, but Joey hadn’t had to give up her study. There wasn’t nearly enough seating in there for both packs, but they made do.
Joey was too restless to sit. She barely restrained herself from pacing as everyone filed in and got settled. Not only was the situation precarious, she was also going on two weeks without real studio time. Dance was her escape, her outlet. Without it, the only ways she had to let off steam were sex and long runs in the forest. Even if she were able to shift freely, which she wasn’t, a hunter meant a long run in the woods was a bad idea. Thank god her sex life was active.
Thoughts of the previous night drew her attention naturally to Chris. He stood a few feet away, conversing quietly with Jessica. The tall, raven-haired woman had become Chris’s second in all but name since they returned from Nevada, kind of how Sam was Joey’s. Joey had been wary of Jessica ever since she’d found out how involved she had been in Chris’s predecessor’s schemes, but that wariness was slowly giving way to trust. Maybe Jessica really was contrite about the way things had gone down and hadn’t fully known what Eric had been capable of. Maybe.
Jessica glanced Joey’s way and lifted her chin slightly as their eyes met. Joey might be coming around to trusting Jessica, but it wasn’t mutual. Jess was still pissed that Joey hadn’t notified them sooner about Eric’s return and Chris’s kidnapping. That was something that was going to have to be dealt with in order for the packs to merge, but that was a concern for another time. Joey had more than enough concerns at the moment.
Chris turned, following the direction of Jessica’s eyes, and smiled. Joey’s heart did a little stutter step, and she wondered—not for the first time—how she’d managed to be immune to that smile for so many years. She motioned with her head, and he turned back to Jessica for a couple more quiet words, touching her arm before he broke off and returned to Joey’s side.
“Ready?” he asked.
“As I’ll ever be.”
The room quieted and all eyes turned to them as an undercurrent of readiness circulated. Joey scanned the attending wolves, noting the way each pack gravitated toward their own, as if there were an invisible line down the center of the room, with Grants on the left and Granite Falls on the right. She hated to admit it, but Chris was right. Expecting instant integration was a recipe for disappointment.
“We’ll try to keep this brief, because god knows what our guests will get up to unsupervised, but we have a lot to discuss,” Joey began.
From there, she and Chris took turns explaining everything they knew about the situation. They’d agreed that full disclosure was the safest route for everyone, even though it’d scare the most vulnerable members of their packs. As expected, by the time they were finished, Jenny was pale as a sheet and Sara was nibbling the inside of her lower lip.
“The good news,” Joey said, hoping to soften the overall blow, “is that Sam has experience dealing with hunters. Anyone else?”
Jon was the only one on the Grant side to raise his hand. Joey was sure her father had crossed paths with at least one in his long life, but he’d been checked out since before the meeting started, staring off into space. On the other side of the room, every hand went up but Jenny’s.
Chris frowned. “Remember, Roger doesn’t count. He wasn’t really a hunter.”
Joey winced at the reminder of Eric’s scapegoat, taking at least some comfort in the knowledge that Roger’s spirit was finally at peace. The Granite Falls wolves exchanged uncertain glances, and a couple of hands wavered and went down.
“Honestly,” Jessica said, addressing her packmates, “we can’t be sure anyone Eric said was a hunter really was.”
More hands went down, until Colt and Itsuo were the only ones remaining.
Chris rubbed his forehead and muttered, “Jesus. How many more innocents are buried on my property?”
Joey laced her fingers with his and squeezed gently. “Okay. Itsuo, Sam, Jon, and Colt are our resident experts. Does anyone not have basic self-defense training?”
No one raised their hand. Joey relaxed slightly.
Thank god for small favors.
Jessica folded her arms. “I hope waiting for him to come to us isn’t our strategy.”
“Of course not,” Chris replied. “But before we can mount a proper offense, we have to get our defense in order. We’ve got a house full of out-of-towners and two dead wolves on our hands—one of which is on the cops’ radar. Adam, have you had any luck accessing the hotel security feed?”
Adam shook his head. “Not yet, but remote access is a pipe dream. I’m going to have to get on site, somehow.”
“We’ll work on that,” Joey said. “After we talk to the guests.”
“What are you going to tell them?” Jessica asked.
“Everything.”
Joey took in the surprised and concerned faces around the room. When her eyes met Sam’s, he nodded in approval. She’d never admit the relief that flooded her from that simple gesture.
“Are you sure that’s wise?” Of course Jessica would push the envelope.
“Yes.” Chris met Jessica’s eyes until she lowered them.
“We expect that some of the guests are going to want to skip town once they find out there’s a hunter around,” Joey said. “If so, we’ll need help making travel arrangements.”
Sara’s hand went up. “I can help with that.”
“Good. You can book yourself a flight too,” Jon said, taking the words right out of Joey’s mouth.
Sara lowered her hand and twisted her fingers together in her lap, her eyes on her husband. “Where would I go?”
“Anywhere but here, babe,” Jon said firmly.
“No.” Sara lifted her chin.
The word dropped like a stone in a still pond, sending a ripple of surprise through the room.
“Yes,” Jon said, covering his wife’s small hands with one of his.
Joey’s eyes narrowed. “She said no, Jon.”
Sara shot Joey a glance, gratitude in her eyes.
Jon turned his attention to Joey. “This isn’t your decision, Alpha or no.”
“You’re right, it’s not.” Joey pointed at Sara, but her eyes remained locked with Jon’s. “It’s hers.”
Chris released Joey’s hand and walked over to crouch in front of Sara’s chair. “Help us understand why, Sara.”
Sara bit her lip and glanced around the room. She didn’t like being the center of attention, unless that attention was Jon’s, and right now, she didn’t seem to want his either. Her eyes settled on Chris, and she swallowed before answering. “Because we have a house full of guests. I’m needed here.”
Jon turned his attention back to his wife, rubbing her back with his free hand. “Sara, honey…”
Sara’s eyes dropped, and her shoulders slumped. “Please don’t make me go.” He could, and she knew it. She didn’t have the will to resist him indefinitely. “My place is with you. All of you. I’ll stay in the house. It’s safe here.”
“What about the baby?” Jon wasn’t ready to give up, but at least he was wheedling rather than resorting to alpha dominance. Maybe he knew Joey wouldn’t let him get away with it.
; Sara put a hand on her faintly rounded stomach and looked at him. “I’m pregnant, not made of glass. We’ll both be fine.”
Joey had never been prouder of her sister-in-law, even though she would’ve been perfectly happy to bundle her off to Bora Bora, or somewhere equally distant. She wanted to run over and give Sara a hug, but instead lingered where she was and waited to see how the scenario played out.
Jon was clearly torn. He put a hand over Sara’s and curled his other arm around her, pulling her against his chest. His head lowered, and he murmured something in Sara’s ear that Joey couldn’t have picked up even if she’d been able to see his lips move. The worry lines in Sara’s forehead eased and she relaxed visibly against him.
“All settled?” Joey asked.
Jon sighed but nodded. “All settled. She’s staying.”
Chris squeezed Sara’s knee before standing and returning to Joey’s side.
“I guess I should ask if anyone does want to leave,” Joey said, looking around once more. When no one spoke up, she glanced at Chris and saw her pride mirrored in his eyes. “I guess that’s that.”
Chris fought the urge to rub his temples. The meeting with their houseguests wasn’t going half as well as the joint pack meeting had gone, but it wasn’t like he’d expected it to. At the first mention of the word “hunter,” the room had erupted in outrage and alarm. Chris couldn’t get a word in edgewise. He held up his hands in an effort to silence the crowd and get their attention, but it wasn’t until Joey whistled sharply that the room went silent.
Chris gave her a grateful look before addressing the group. “I know this is alarming news, but—”
“Alarming! Hah!” Elijah shouldered his way to the front of the group, disdain dripping from his voice. “We should have been notified immediately after the first death.”
“We had no reason to believe it was more than an isolated incident at the time,” Chris explained, pleased that he sounded so much more patient than he felt.
“Because that bitch lied about it!” Elijah jabbed a sausagelike finger in Abby Walker’s direction.
The accusation sparked another murmur of discontent, but this time the crowd quieted when Chris raised a hand. “We can play the blame game all afternoon, if you want, but it won’t change a thing.”
“He’s right,” someone in the crowd said. Heads turned, and Lucas made his way to the front.
Chris winced. I knew that guy was going to be trouble.
Elijah tucked his thumbs in his belt, expression smug as Lucas joined him.
Lucas met Chris’s eyes briefly before turning his attention to Elijah. “What’s done is done. Right now, finding the hunter and ensuring our safety is more important.”
Chris blinked slowly, too shocked to respond. Had he really misjudged Lucas that badly?
“We know some of you will probably want to head home ahead of schedule,” Joey said. “If you do, we ask that you talk to Sara. She’s going to be our travel coordinator, so we can make sure no one misses a flight and everyone remains accounted for.”
Sara raised a hand and waved, identifying herself, even though there wasn’t likely anyone in the room who didn’t remember her.
“This is ridiculous,” Elijah said. “First you insist we all come out here, and now you’re trying to get rid of us.”
“That’s not what we’re doing at all, sir.” Chris looked the meddlesome old wolf in the eye. “All we’re saying is if you want to head home ahead of schedule, we’ll help.”
Elijah folded his arms. “I’m not going anywhere until this is settled.”
“I am. This isn’t my fight,” one of the guests said. A few others raised their voices in agreement. Truth be told, every one that spoke up was a weight off Chris’s shoulders. He would’ve liked to send them all away, but knew that wasn’t an option.
The room erupted in conversation again, with some guests arguing amongst themselves while others stood or sat quietly, looking uncomfortable or dismayed. Chris didn’t know if it was better to let them wear themselves out or attempt to bring things under control again. He looked to Joey, but there was no help there. She stood there with her arms folded, staring out at the crowd with a scowl etched on her face.
Chris cast a wider net and ended up meeting Sam’s eyes. His eldest brother was leaning against a bookcase on the edge of the room, arms crossed. He tipped his head toward the crowd, and Chris struggled to keep his expression neutral as he fought the urge to walk away. What would Adelaide have done in his place? They wouldn’t have dared with this sort of behavior in her presence, he was sure of it. But she wasn’t here now.
Tightening his jaw, Chris walked to the nearest unoccupied chair and climbed up onto it. “Hey! Listen up!”
A ripple passed through the crowd, and all eyes turned back to him. He surveyed them all from his newfound perch. The crowd had begun to polarize, a knot of dissent forming around Elijah. The split seemed to be largely along age lines, with the younger wolves on Joey and Chris’s side and the older ones on Elijah’s. Chris met the eyes of the boldest dissenters, among them Elijah and Bradley—one of the visitors who’d been so openly critical of Chris and Joey’s relationship.
Chris took a deep breath. “I know some of you are pissed. Some of you are afraid, too. Some of you are probably so afraid you’re pissed.” Eyes around the room dropped to the floor. A few heads nodded. Chris sought and met Elijah’s eyes again. “Some of you think Joey and I are too young and inexperienced to handle this situation. To that I say: tough nuts.” Several guests breathed a collective gasp. Chris kept his eyes on Elijah’s, all but daring him to speak out again.
Joey cleared her throat and stepped forward. “What Chris is trying to say is that we may be young, but we have wolves with decades of experience to advise us. Right now, you’re either part of the solution or part of the problem, and we don’t have time to hold hands or appease egos. If you want to help with the hunt, by all means let us know. Otherwise, please be patient, enjoy our hospitality, and ride out the storm.”
“We will find the person responsible for these deaths and end the threat,” Chris added. “Thank you.” His eyes lingered on Elijah, then he stepped down from the chair and rejoined Joey.
“Jesus,” Joey muttered, slipping her hand in his. “I thought I’d be the one that ended up losing it.”
“I didn’t lose it.” Chris kissed her hand. “Much.”
She smiled at him, but before he could enjoy the warm fuzzies, he noticed Lucas approaching. Chris squeezed Joey’s hand and acknowledged the incoming wolf with a nod.
“Nice speech,” Lucas said, a hint of amusement in his eyes as he looked Chris’s way.
“Thanks for your support. I have to say, it was unexpected.”
“What, because you wouldn’t tell me earlier?” Lucas shrugged. “Whatever. You had your reasons. But I wanted you both to know that I’ll help however I can. I’ve never gone toe to toe with a hunter, but I do have a particular set of skills.”
“We may be able to use you,” Joey said, flashing him a smile.
“I like the sound of that.” Lucas winked at Joey, and just like that… Chris went back to distrusting him.
Lucas offered a handshake, and Chris had to release Joey’s hand to take it. Joey shook Lucas’s hand too, and then he wandered back off to join the guests.
“Really? Like I wasn’t standing right here?” Chris muttered.
Joey snorted and wrapped her arms around his waist. “All those years of loving me in secret, and now you get jealous?”
“I’m not jealous.” Chris huffed. “I’m annoyed. Borderline territorial. There’s a difference.”
“I like it.” She winked at him, then disengaged. They both knew that canoodling in front of the guests wouldn’t earn them any points with their critics right now.
Game faces on, they split up and circulated through the room independently, shaking hands and speaking one on one with guests here and there. Chris avoided the cluster of wol
ves around Elijah, though he caught Bradley staring at him more than once. If looks could kill, he’d be joining his mother in the ground sooner rather than later.
10
Joey paced the width of her study, shoulders tense as she listened to the angry words spill out of the speakerphone. She’d insisted on calling Eleanor and Wesley’s Alpha herself to deliver the bad news, and it hadn’t gone well. Like everyone else, he seemed to be under the impression that her youth and inexperience meant he could talk down to her. Berate her. But there was only so much he could do from a distance, so she’d decided to just let him wear himself out.
The line went quiet for a few seconds. “Are you even listening?”
“To every word, Gerald.” She fought, with limited success, to keep anger from creeping into her tone.
“This is completely unacceptable. What are you going to do about it?”
Finally, he seemed to want to have a conversation and not merely yell at her. Joey drew a deep breath in and exhaled slowly, walking back toward her desk. “We’re following up on a few leads. I’ve got my best people on it.”
“I don’t want your best people on it. I want you on it.”
“Then you don’t want my best people on it.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Joey swallowed a growl. “You know what it means. You’ve been bitching about it for twenty minutes now. You just want me to say it. I’m not playing games with you, Gerald. I don’t have the time.”
“Well. I don’t want to inconvenience you…”
His tone was caustic, but she decided to hold him to his words. “Great. I’ll be in touch when I have more information.”
Leaning over the desk, she jabbed the speaker button and hung up. Her stomach twinged when she stretched, and she put a hand to it as she straightened, rubbing it lightly.
“Knock knock.”
Joey spun to find Lucas had stuck his head in. Her eyes narrowed, annoyance flaring. “I’d prefer it if you’d knock before opening the door.”