Patrick twisted Frank’s head, ripped it off his body, and tossed it a few feet away as an afterthought as he stood and faced the crowd. “I’m Alpha of the Ringgold Pack, and I’ll run things fair and true.” He looked toward the current members of the Ringgold Pack, then looked at the larger crowd. “If you’ve left because of previous management, I’ll welcome you in with open arms. Let’s make the Pack like family again.”
His gaze locked with the current members once more. “I won’t force you to stay. All current members have forty-eight hours to meet with Randall or myself to declare yourself a lone wolf or to oath to me. Things will be run differently, and bullies won’t be treated kindly.”
He owned those twelve people for now, though, and they all dropped to their knees as the power grew so intense I shivered and leaned into Nathan. Ranger touched my hand and somehow shielded me from the power display. I looked around with a clearer head and realized those in Randall’s Pack weren’t affected as I was. Randall was shielding them, and somehow, Ranger shielded me.
The men who wished to oath to Patrick walked across the field to him, hugged him, and then turned back to the crowd. Their families joined them on the field, and all kneeled before him. Patrick performed the ceremony as the rest of us watched. It was so beautiful, so heartfelt, my eyes watered. Oh, the joy of joining to an Alpha, of belonging… but I’d been cast away.
I couldn’t hear my wolf, and yet somehow I knew she’d be saying, “But not by Patrick,” if she hadn’t been silenced by the anklet.
I knew the evening would end with Patrick kneeling before Randall, and I didn’t want to see it. I turned my back to the field and told Nathan, “I think I’m ready to go, if it’s okay with you?”
“Perfectly fine, and probably good timing.”
I was surprised when Ranger got into the driver’s side and Nathan climbed into the backseat with me, but I didn’t argue. I was mentally, physically, and metaphysically exhausted, and I closed my eyes and leaned against the back of the seat as the tires crunched on the gravel drive before hitting pavement.
We were probably five miles away before I felt Nathan at my ankle, and I opened my eyes to watch him unlock and remove the anklet.
“Where are you taking me?”
“To a two-acre fenced woodland area so you can change and run, and then back to Drake Security so we can protect you until we can figure out and implement a game plan.”
Chapter 18
Patrick
The energy I received upon gaining Alpha status was such a rush. Don’t get me wrong, I fully understood the weight of the responsibility, but I still just wanted to bathe in the power.
Randall assured me he’d dispose of Frank’s body, but I insisted I help. We did it together, and it was nearly four in the morning when I finally drove off his property.
I found it a little worrying he hadn’t even mentioned Briana, but I was hoping he’d give me time to resolve things with her before he stepped in and gave the ‘oath or death’ ultimatum.
There were so many things I needed to do, but I needed to hold Briana, so I went to Drake Security and got the person on duty to lock me in the cell with her.
“I’m glad you’re still alive.” God, her voice was so sexy when she was still half asleep.
The light was dim, but her eyes followed my actions as I stripped and stepped to the bed.
“Think we can both fit on that tiny little bed?”
“If we run short of room I’ll just sleep on top of you.”
I’d like to tell you I fucked her through the mattress, but the truth is I held her in my arms, skin to skin, wrapped around each other. Our heartbeats found the same rhythm, and we fell asleep with no more words.
Unfortunately, we didn’t sleep long.
Officially, I was out of town on assignment. Randall and I realized with the men found dead on my property last night, if Frank went missing or was found dead then local law enforcement was going to assume it was part of the same dispute. So, with me supposedly in Kentucky while Frank was in Helen, Georgia, I shouldn’t be implicated when they eventually figured out he wasn’t coming home either.
By supernatural law, I now owned everything he’d owned — house, cars, people, pets, and slaves. With few exceptions, no one can own slaves in The Abbott’s territory, but when Randall went to Frank’s house to secure it until I could take possession, he found a nineteen-year-old girl — an otter shifter — locked in the basement.
My cell phone had flown to Kentucky and was moving around with a coworker who was making sure he stayed away from cameras — not too hard to do in the sticks of Kentucky. However, Randall had my burner number, and he called me around six in the morning to tell me we needed to talk.
“I have to lay low so law enforcement doesn’t know I’m in town, and you can’t come here.”
He sighed. “I’ll give you another forty-eight hours to figure out a solution to the Briana problem, but you and I need to talk. I’ll meet you in the Drake Security lobby and I won’t ask to see her.”
“Ten days. I need more than forty-eight hours.”
“I can’t give you ten days.”
“Seven days.”
“Five days, but you’ll be held personally responsible if she breaks any more rules. She’ll receive the punishment or choice, and you’ll be treated as a Maker who lost control of a new wolf.”
“I have no problem accepting responsibility but I need ten days.”
“Seven days.”
“Fine. Can she come up with me?”
He sighed. “Sure. Why not.”
I disconnected and she asked, “How are we gonna fix this in seven days?”
“I have a few ideas, but you and I’ll need to brainstorm them together. In the meantime, I’d like you by my side as I begin to navigate the responsibilities of an Alpha. Can you do that, please?”
She sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed her eyes. “Yeah. I need five minutes to brush my teeth and wake up.”
I had to wake Nathan and get him to tell the guard to release her into my custody, but ten minutes later she’d pulled her hair into a ponytail, brushed her teeth, put makeup on, and was standing by my side like the mate of an Alpha when Randall told me I was now a slave-owner.
I was glad I’d pulled us into a conference room instead of talking to him in the lobby. I closed my eyes as I considered the political ramifications, and opened them to ask, “What’s Abbot’s phone number? I don’t have it in this burner.”
He gave me the number and I called the ancient vampire to explain my predicament.
“What are your intentions?”
“I don’t want a slave, but we both know it isn’t just as easy as turning her loose. Can I ask for your help in determining her state of mind and the best way to help her back out into the world, if it’s even possible?”
“Bran is better suited to that sort of thing. The otters aren’t organized enough for there to be an Alpha or King for you to talk to, but Randall should be able to put you in touch with a few old timers who might be willing to step in and help, too.”
“How do I contact Bran?”
“I’ll give him this number.”
“Give him Randall’s number, please. This is a burner and I’ll probably toss it soon and get another.”
“You and I will need to meet in the next couple of days, but I’ll give you some time to get settled in. If you aren’t happy with Bran’s guidance, feel free to bring me back in. Otherwise, I’ll assume it’s being handled.”
He disconnected and I put the phone in my pocket. “I’m not due back in town until the plane arrives shortly after noon tomorrow. Can you get her away without witnesses seeing?”
Randall nodded. “I left someone with her. He’ll get her out the back, into the woods, and into the back of an SUV. She’s a bit wild so we’ll need to keep her caged until we get her to you, and then you can decide how to handle her.”
I shook my head. “Almost makes me wish I coul
d kill him all over again. His top people had to know about her. I gave them an out, but if they’re still home tomorrow when I can be seen in town then I’ll have to insist they let me into their homes for an inspection.”
“Good call, but let’s deal with this girl first.” He looked at Briana. “I’m sorry it’s come to this, and I hope we can find a solution that works for everyone. Is there anything I can do for you?”
She shook her head. “Thanks for offering, but I really wish I could just be left alone.”
“Actions have consequences. The situation isn’t going to just go away, but I’m here if you need to talk.”
He turned and left, and I pulled her to my side. “We’ll figure it out.”
“I hope so, but I don’t want to cause problems for you as a new Alpha.”
“Let me worry about that. Meanwhile, I think this slave thing is going to be my first real test as the new leader.”
“How many people oathed to you last night?”
“Seventeen from the Chattanooga Pack, which surprised me. Five men and their families, a single mom with two kids, and a single woman with no kids.”
“I’m not surprised. They left because of the way Frank ran things, but it’s a given they’ll want the energy of the old Pack. If they think you can give it to them, of course they’ll help you build it.”
“I wish I’d met you six months ago instead of… how long’s it been?”
“I’ve lost track of the days. More than a week, less than two — but we’ve been together twenty-four/seven for most of it, so in dating hours it’s a lot. Right?”
“Feels like a lot.” I kissed her forehead. “I was disappointed you left so early, but it was probably a good call.”
“I’m glad you came to me when you finished. What can I do to help?”
“How’s your control?”
“I’m okay. I don’t think my wolf has suddenly gained bloodlust or anything because I ate part of someone. I ran with Ranger last night and changed to wolf and back no problem. As long as my life isn’t in danger, I think I’m good.”
“You think?”
I appreciated the seconds she took to be sure of her wording. “I’m not positive, but it’s more than just thinking. I’m almost certain. Does that work?”
I nodded. “Yeah, it’s honest and I value honesty. You need to understand that I’ll use my new Alpha powers to keep you in check if you lose it around me. Are you good with that?”
She took a breath and let it out slowly, as if she was finding her center. “I trust you, so yeah. Please don’t make me regret trusting you.”
“I’ll do my best to be deserving of your trust.” It sounded so formal, but I wasn’t sure how else to say it. It seemed to work for her, because she wrapped her arms around me and let me hold her a few moments. God, I wanted to hold her forever, but I had things to handle and we both needed food. “How about we clean Waffle House out of their steak and eggs?”
Her stomach growled and we both laughed.
“I’ll send someone to go pick up enough food for ten people since I can’t be seen in public. What do you want?”
While we waited for our food, I broached a subject I wish I could’ve brought up when I was cleaning her system of the wolf she’d eaten, but she hadn’t been lucid enough to deal with it.
“About you starting a fire to let yourself out of my safe-room.”
She met my gaze. “You locked me in and ya’ll needed help.”
“You should’ve stayed put, Briana. You landed yourself in a world of shit by letting yourself out.”
“And ya’ll might not have won without my help.”
“Maybe, maybe not, but there’s no doubt you wouldn’t be in hot water if you’d followed my instructions.”
She started to say something else, and I gave her a look that shut her up.
“I know how bad it hurt for me to cleanse you, and you wound up locked into a different kind of prison because of your actions. If you hadn’t landed on so many natural consequences, I’d have belted your ass and stood you in the corner in some god-awful pose that hurt muscles you didn’t know you had.”
“Ya’ll needed my help.”
“When we need your help, we’ll let you know. I’m not opposed to letting you help us fight, but only once I know you’re ready for it. You weren’t yet. You have a lot of control over your wolf, but not nearly enough to hold it together in that kind of fight. Besides, you’re a lone wolf and the rules are different for you.”
She sighed. “Yeah, okay, but I don’t take well to being locked in.”
“I’m impressed with your ingenuity, but if I lock you in somewhere, you’re going to have to trust my reasons.”
* * *
Briana
I hadn’t expected to be glued to his side all day, but at three o’clock that afternoon when Ranger drove us onto Bran Petrescu’s property with the pathetic little otter shifter in a cage behind us — I was beginning to understand I was part of Patrick’s support system as he navigated his new responsibilities.
He’d tried to be gentle with the little thing but she’d been terrified of him. I’d tried to talk to her, but she’d shifted to otter when I opened her cage. She was still in animal form, huddled in her cage.
Did I want to be a mate to an Alpha? Could I handle basically being the second person in charge in the Pack, even though there would likely be others stronger than me?
Did I even want to be in a Pack?
So many questions and I didn’t have an answer to any of them.
A garage door opened as we neared the house, and Ranger backed the large SUV into it. Bran stepped into the garage as the door closed, and Patrick got out and shook Bran’s hand. I slid from the seat to the concrete floor behind Patrick, and he introduced us. My wolf didn’t like shaking the vampire’s hand but I told her to deal with it. My wolf wasn’t happy about the river otter either, but I was in control enough to help with her.
“I have a deer and an owl in my stable,” Bran told us. “We’ll see how she does with them working with her, to start. Aaron called to tell me Sophia had volunteered to come help, should we need another animal the otter won’t see as a predator. If I can get you all to follow me inside, we can watch what happens via camera.”
Patrick turned to the otter and looked at her a few seconds before telling her, “I consider myself your protector, but that means nothing until I’ve gained your trust. I won’t be far, but I’m going to let others see to you until we figure out how best to give you some freedom.”
A man and woman stepped in just before we left, and a quick sniff told me the man was a deer and the woman was an owl.
My wolf was a little too interested in the deer, and Patrick must’ve sensed it because he reached for my hand as my wolf tried to look out of my eyes. I sniffed again and focused on the lingering smell of the vampire on both the deer and owl, and my wolf seemed to understand the deer belonged to the vampire and wasn’t easy pickings.
“We’re good,” I told Patrick.
“So I see, but we’re guests in Bran’s home so I needed to be sure.”
We went into a room directly off the garage, and the setup both worried me and reassured me. A fan blew the scents of the garage in so we could scent what was happening, and a dozen cameras showed us the action from every direction possible. How many slaves needing rehab were brought to Bran, for him to be set up so well to receive them?
The man sat on the floor beside the cage while the woman lifted the lid of the bucket she’d brought, pulled a live fish out, and slid it through the bars. The otter sniffed the fish, picked it up in her little otter paws, and devoured it.
Three fish later the man asked, “Do you think you can shift to human, little one? We’d like to know your name, and give you something to wear. Bran’s chef can cook up just about anything you want without having to run to the store, though if you want something off the wall we’ll need to send someone to buy ingredients.”
; “When I first arrived,” the woman said, “I wanted my granny’s banana pudding. He asked me about it, and how it was different from other banana puddings, and he came closer to it than anyone else ever has.”
“He makes me the best salads ever,” the deer told her, and his smile almost made me want a salad.
The two casually talked about life in Bran’s household for another ten minutes, and the little otter finally changed to human. Her eyes were wild, terrified, and the owl took a step back as the deer stretched out beside the cage so he was lower than the woman, but near.
“Thanks for trusting us. I’m Misha, this is Vanessa. Can you tell us your name?”
Misha poked the edge of a large shirt into the cage and the woman took it.
“He… he called me Four.”
I smelled anger coming off Bran and looked at him. He turned to a whiteboard and wrote, “His fourth slave. He didn’t name them. He numbered them.”
Bran had warned us about talking. If we wanted to scent what was happening we had to be quiet. If he closed off the air then we’d be soundproof, but we’d lose the nuances of the conversation.
“Did you have a name before you went to him?” Vanessa asked, though she didn’t move closer.
The woman was still figuring the shirt out, and she finally slid it over her head and put her arms in. “It’s been so long since I wore clothes. Thank you.”
“We’ll get you a proper wardrobe when you’re ready for it,” Vanessa told her, “but the shirt will cover you for now — if I’ve judged right it should come nearly to your knees. I know you’re hungry after your change. I can get you a steak and some fried potatoes pretty fast, but if you want something else, we’ll see what the Chef can do.”
“Fried potatoes would be great. I was once called Mira, I think.” She looked at Misha. “It’s a little like your name.”
“My grandfather is Russian and his name is Mikhail. I’m named after him, but I’m called Misha.”
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