“Oh, my, God!” She whirled and stormed out with a laugh, slamming my door as she went, leaving me half-naked, mostly hard, and totally alone.
“Fuck,” I muttered to myself.
My stomach was growling by the time I made it downstairs, but I should’ve known there was no way this day could stay as good as it had started. The raised voices in the living room called me forward, my instincts going on high alert.
“We’ll make it work,” Katy said adamantly as I entered the room.
“How?” Michael asked. “Katy, I’m all for making it work, but we’re simply running out of places to put people.”
“What people?” I asked as I looked around the room.
Michael and Katy were standing across from each other, almost at different ends of the spectrum while it looked like Rhodes and Skye were trying to help them find a middle ground.
“Six buses,” Skye answered grimly. “Five from new packs, and one from the Flatrock pack that managed to escape. They’d been hiding out until they heard Kevin made it here and joined us.”
“Plus Nikolai’s three planes full of people in a few days,” Michael added with a sigh. “We don’t have the space for all of these people. We just don’t. It’s not even a matter of just housing anymore, Remy. Food and supplies are going to start running low.”
“Then we order more food,” Katy rebutted, eyes flashing.
“It’s not that simple, Kit-Kat,” I murmured. We’d been monitoring the food and supply trucks that came and went from Blackwater to make sure no one came in undetected, but the biggest way to keep someone from slipping inside was to limit the amount of deliveries we had.
Opening up a fully functioning pipeline of supplies could also open up a way for Norwood to get people into the pack lands, and I had read The Odyssey enough to avoid a Trojan Horse situation.
“Are there any packs that we haven’t pulled in on this side of the country?” I asked Dante.
He thumbed his bottom lip thoughtfully before shaking his head. “No. From Canada to Mexico, we control the west coast now. Everyone is part of Blackwater.”
“Then maybe it’s time to start acting like it,” I said slowly.
Skye’s eyes narrowed. “Meaning?”
“Meaning we stop piling everyone into town and what we consider Blackwater territory,” I explained, meeting her gaze. “We reassess where our boundaries really are and work on securing those.”
“That’s a good plan,” Dante replied. “Blackwater is more than this town or the original pack lands. All these former independent packs are part of us now. If we treat it like that, packs don’t need to relocate.”
“We opened the borders to provide a sanctuary, but we’re past that now,” Katy admitted. She started to nod. “It’s a great idea. Especially if Nikolai is willing to let us spread his people out to shore up the packs that don’t have a heavy population.”
“Actually, that’s Skye’s call now,” I reminded her.
Skye’s eyes went big. “Me?”
“You’re their Alpha, babe. It’s your call.”
She shrugged. “I’m on board, but I still want to ask Nikolai where he thinks we should put people. He knows the packs that are coming and probably has a little more insight. He should be here any minute.”
I smiled at her. “Good. You two figure out where they go. Dante and Rhodes can help you figure out which packs might need the most support.”
Michael groaned. “It’s not that easy, Remy. Half of these people aren’t here for Blackwater. They’re here because of you two.” He pointed at me and then Skye.
“Why us?” Skye asked, confused.
“The bonding wave,” Katy groaned. “They want in on it.”
“It’s not something we’re selling tickets to,” I muttered, rubbing my jaw.
“Besides, the way Lulu said it, it doesn’t matter where you are. If they’re part of Blackwater, they’ll feel the effects, right?” Skye added.
“Not just Blackwater, love,” Nikolai jumped in as he came into the room with Dimitri and a sleepy looking Lulu.
“Congrats, little sister,” Dimitri chimed in with a grin. “You two also triggered a bonding wave in Europe last night.”
Skye went a little pale. “Wh-what?”
“It makes sense,” Nikolai said with a smile. “The packs all agreed to you being their Alpha. Blackwater reaps the benefits of Remy’s connection to them, and your pack receives the same benefits from you.”
“Pretty cool, right?” Lulu smiled wearily as she sat down on the far couch.
“Which means you’re now the new darling of a barrage of European and Asian packs,” Nikolai finished with a wide grin. “I just talked to leaders from most of the larger packs. I hope you don’t mind. They’re all offering whatever support you two need here.”
“See?” Michael pointed out. “This is why we have a couple hundred new bodies inside the pack lands wanting to move in.”
“We just established they don’t have to be physically near us for that,” Skye said, flustered and nervous as her eyes darted to me.
I tried not to let my frustration show. She hated being under any kind of microscope.
“People don’t have to be next to movie stars either,” Katy replied, rolling her eyes, “but they still stand in lines for hours to meet them.”
“That’s not helping, Katy,” I muttered, watching as panic started creeping into Skye’s expression.
Rhodes grimaced. “But she isn’t wrong. You two are unlike anything shifters around here have ever seen. I mean, you have Norwood and their unwavering, patriarchal ideals.”
“Good word choice,” Katy murmured with a nod.
Rhodes rolled his eyes. “Thanks. On the other side, you and Skye are showing the world what a true, united pack looks like. And that looks pretty fucking awesome.”
I met Skye’s eyes and returned the smile she offered.
Dante’s phone started to ring and he glanced down at it. “It’s Griffin. I’ll be back in a minute.”
I nodded as he headed out of the room.
“We don’t even know that another bonding … wave,” Skye made a face at the word, “will happen again.”
“Pretty sure it will,” Lulu said softly. She had kicked off her shoes and pulled her feet up onto the couch.
“You mean what happened the last few nights isn’t the end of it?” Skye asked.
“Probably not. The stronger your bond grows to each other, the more likely it will cause more people to bond. And the more packs that join, the more chances there are for people to find their mate.” Lulu gave a half-hearted shrug. “But what’s happening as a result of your bond is a good thing.”
“I know,” Skye replied quietly.
“What about when this is over?” I asked. “I plan on letting the packs reform with their own Alphas. Won’t they lose that connection?”
“People may not want to leave if that’s the case,” Michael said. “At least, not the ones who really want a bonded mate.”
“I don’t know,” Lulu answered honestly. “It’s kind of a unique situation. Most Alphas aren’t too keen on giving up their pack or part of their pack. What you two are doing has never been done.”
“See?” Nikolai tossed me a smug look. “That settles it. You two will simply be Alphas to all packs across the globe.”
“That’s not funny,” Skye said with a grimace. Her eyes jerked to mine. “Neither of us want that.”
“It’s not even a matter of want,” I said calmly. “It’s not possible. There’s no way one or two Alphas can keep the peace with thousands of shifters in a single country, let alone multiple continents. We can’t be everywhere at once, and people need to have their own leaders that they can rely on.”
“Are you saying you don’t want to be Alpha?” Nikolai questioned.
I couldn’t stop from glaring at him. “I’m saying I don’t want to be Alpha to everyone. There’s a difference.”
“There is
,” he agreed. His expression changed in a begrudging look of respect. “And usually you don’t find an Alpha who can make that distinction, especially at your age.”
“So,” Dimitri said calmly. “What’s our next move?”
Dante stormed back into the room, his eyes narrowed and face pale. “Our next move is to get to Windale.”
I sucked in a sharp breath. Whatever he was about to say wasn’t going to be good.
“What now?” Katy demanded, growling a little.
Dante’s eyes caught mine. “Damien and Trace are headed for Windale with a massive army.”
Cold seeped into my bones, turning them to lead. “They know Griffin joined us.”
“Yeah,” Dante replied. “And if they take Windale, they’ll have more ground than we can ever cover. Windale’s too connected to the middle of the country and Canada. Griffin joining us meant we had just under half the continent on our side. With the other packs, it would have been a no-brainer.”
“Damien would have to surrender,” Rhodes mused. “He’d never have the numbers to beat us in an all out war.”
“But with Griffin’s pack, and the other’s they currently are aligned with, he will. He could drag this fight out indefinitely,” Dante finished grimly.
“We’d never get Maren back,” Katy whispered.
“How soon until the rest of the planes can get here?” Skye asked Nikolai.
“Another two days? Perhaps a day and a half if we push things,” he replied. “But we’d have to get them off the ground in the next few hours.”
Skye and I exchanged a heavy look before she turned to her father. “Do it. We need them.”
Nikolai nodded and spun, stalking from the room with his phone in his hand.
Dante hissed out a breath. “Damien will be in Windale by tonight. Remy, if we lose Griffin …”
We might never recover from that. Norwood would control two-thirds of the country’s shifters.
“How far is it to Illinois where the Windale pack is?” I asked absently.
“By plane? Seven hours,” he replied.
“We sent our plane back a few hours ago,” Lulu added softly. “To bring back another group.”
Which meant the only plane we had was the Blackwater one that held a max of forty-four people. We would have to fly commercial and hope that our pack war didn’t catch the attention of any humans or charter a flight, which would also have its own set of complications.
I rubbed my jaw. “And driving?”
“A day, at least.” Dante’s lips pulled tight.
That wasn’t an option.
Nikolai stormed back into the room, his dark eyes burning. “We have another situation.”
“What now?” Skye asked, dread in her tone.
“Norwood has gotten to some of the packs in Europe, Asia, and Africa. They’re causing issues for us trying to fly our allies out and causing chaos back home. ”
“Dammit,” I hissed.
Skye stared at him. “I thought we had their support.”
“No,” Nikolai grit out, “I have the support of my allies, which is slightly more than half the packs in those three continents. But there’s over forty packs spread across those lands and not all of them are amenable to our ways. And our allies can’t afford to send people to help at the risk of their own packs falling.”
“Translation?” Dimitri added. “We have our own enemies, too. And it looks like they’ve decided to back Norwood by causing holy hell on the other side of the world.”
“Well, that’s fucking awesome,” Rhodes sighed, his jaw clenched.
“Even if we leave now, we won’t make it in time,” I realized, the truth sending a shockwave down my spine.
“And we won’t have the people we need to match up to theirs,” Skye added quietly.
Everyone was quiet for a minute, and then Katy exploded.
“Dammit!” She dropped onto the edge of the other couch with a choked sob, and Skye quickly sat beside her.
“There might be another way,” I said quietly.
“How?” Nikolai demanded.
I exhaled. “Damien wanted a truce. It’s why he called a few days ago. Him going to Windale right now is only because we took Long Mesa.”
“You can’t give him what he wants,” Skye said sharply. “Even if we agree to stand down or whatever, what happens to all the women they’ve taken?”
“It won’t be enough,” Lulu added. “He’ll get more desperate when he doesn’t get the results he wants.”
“This is probably less about Long Mesa and more about those buses of people,” Dimitri commented. He gave me a wary look. “You two are changing the entire game. He can’t compete with bonded mates by offering up child brides to the highest bidders.”
“So, we don’t call a truce,” I said calmly, keeping my tone even as my heartbeat thundered. “We make it a challenge.”
Skye lifted her head slowly. “A challenge?”
I stared back at her. “Winner gets control of all the packs.”
48
Skye
All the air in my chest left in a rush that made me lightheaded. I was glad I was still sitting next to Katy because my legs might have given out.
“You want to challenge Damien?” Rhodes said slowly, speaking the words churning over and over in my mind.
Remy nodded, but his gaze was still on me. “Yeah.”
“You think he’ll go for it?” Dante asked, looking uncertain.
Remy sighed and started to nod slowly. “Yes, I think he’ll take the challenge, but I also think we need a backup plan to make sure he doesn’t take Windale.”
“So, what exactly are you proposing?” Nikolai stared at Remy, his gaze thoughtful and inquisitive.
“We stall,” Remy said. “Damien isn’t an honorable guy, but he’ll like the idea of having Blackwater too much to overlook. He thinks he can beat me in a challenge.”
“Which he very well may be able to,” Nikolai replied coolly. “I’ve done my research on Damien Valois. It isn’t by luck that he’s managed to take so many packs and convince men to his way of thinking. His command over his people is every bit as strong as yours, and he has decades of age and wisdom on his side.”
“I know,” Remy agreed reluctantly.
True fear, the kind I hadn’t felt in ages, clawed up my throat. “Are you saying you could lose?”
He gave me a steady look. “I’m saying I’m not invincible, babe. It’s stupid to think beating Damien will be easy.”
Katy’s hand covered my knee in support, but it was obvious she was as shaken by what he had said as I was.
“Even if you win, they’ll still have more people than we do,” Dante pointed out. “He might take the challenge and then have his people attack when it looks like you’re winning. And he’ll have the numbers, Remy.”
“Not if we set the challenge for two days from now,” Remy said firmly. “Damien’s had a hard on for this pack for decades over the shit that went down when my parents were our age. If he thinks there’s a shot of making me look like an idiot, his ego will make him take it.”
“Two days,” I mumbled. “That’s not much time.”
“But it’s enough time for Nikolai’s people to arrive,” Remy replied. “Your people, Skye.”
“You’re buying us time to get more people here,” I said slowly, catching on.
He nodded grimly back at me. “We call Damien and throw down the challenge. We can say Griffin is hosting it in Windale since their pack is in the middle of the country. That even gives Damien access to the pack to be inside and not have to fight his way in. We set it up for two days from now, which gives us time to get everyone in place. We can even pull in some of the shifters from the west coast packs.”
Michael, who had been mostly silent, cleared his throat. “That also gives Damien time to set up more people on the perimeter of Windale. It gives him just as much time to get people together.”
“But having Nikolai’s number
s with what we can spare will be the show of force we need,” Remy insisted.
I started to shake my head. “We can’t, Remy. We can’t ask my father’s pack to leave their people unprotected to come help us.”
Dimitri started to laugh, and Nikolai smiled, bemused at what I was saying.
“Sweetheart, I can assure you that your pack will be fine either way,” Nikolai told me.
“Narodnaya isn’t going anywhere. And we’re so high in the mountains, attacking us would be suicide,” Dimitri supplied.
“And my people are there,” Lulu finished. “I can have them set up wards in case anyone breeches the perimeter or gets close.”
“Okay,” I agreed softly. “Thank you.”
“Do you think Damien won’t notice an extra five hundred shifters heading his way once they land?” Dimitri snorted. “He’ll know you’re going for war. He might decide to forget the challenge and just make it an all-out fight.”
“People would die,” Katy said, exhaling slowly. “Women, children … We would turn Windale into a battle ground.”
“Not if he doesn’t see them,” Lulu whispered, catching my attention.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, my head turning in her direction.
Lulu sat up a bit, her eyes brighter. “It could be tricky, but I could mask them.”
“How is that harder than what you did with the vehicles in Long Mesa?” Rhodes asked, folding his arms over his chest.
“We were dealing with a lot less people, and a lot of misdirection. Damien will be looking for a trap,” Dimitri answered, his gaze locked on Lulu.
“A charm,” Lulu answered, her brow furrowing. “Maybe a bracelet or a ring I could charm for each person? He wouldn’t know they were there until it was too late. We have their planes land at the closest public airport, not with ours, and they come in at a different angle.”
“If we tell Damien I’m only bringing our plane with a few dozen people, he’ll really think he’s won,” Remy mused. “We can keep the flight manifest public so he knows exactly what we’re bringing.”
Dante smirked and nodded. “He wouldn’t be able to resist. He’d see it as an easy victory. Even if you were beating him, he can call on his people to take the, what? Forty of us who show up?”
Legacy (Blackwater Pack Book 3) Page 41