by Viola Rivard
Cold fury swept through Alder, not only directed at Silas, but also at his brother. Hale had been the one to break the peace between Halcyon and Whiteriver. Now, thanks to his brother’s antics, there was nothing Alder could possibly say to convince Silas that they wouldn’t double-cross Whiteriver again.
Alder’s hands balled into fists at his side. “You can’t honestly expect me to let you do as you please while you have my daughter in captivity?”
“You’ll just have to take my word on it,” Silas said with a slight shrug. “After all, my word is a lot more credible than yours.”
CHAPTER THREE
It was a testament to how much Taylor was being overlooked that neither brother seemed to care that they were fighting in front of her.
Frankly, she didn’t much care, either.
Taylor had woken a few minutes back, feeling sore, nauseous, and…drained. Just the act of propping herself up on one elbow had taken an inordinate amount of effort. After that, it had taken her a least a full minute to force herself into a sitting position.
She rubbed her eyes, wincing as she accidentally irritated the wound on her cheek. At some point, she was going to acknowledge on an emotional level that she was probably scarred for life. But right now, she’d rather just listen to Alder and Hale argue.
Perched at the prime vantage point of Hale’s bed, she looked down at the brothers. They stood at the bottom of the slope, faintly illuminated by lamplight.
Hale had carelessly thrown one of the bed furs over his shoulders, likely more to do with the temperature than a newfound modesty. He stood with his arms crossed.
Alder wore a pair of worn blue jeans and nothing else. Taylor’s eyes were instinctively drawn to his hard chest, but she could only ignore the severity of the situation for so long.
“It’s pretty fucking impressive how badly you can screw things up without taking even a modicum of responsibility.” Alder’s sharp tone had Taylor shrinking back, even though she knew that she wasn’t the target of his rage.
Hale went on the offensive. “You want to talk about responsibility? This was the first time in your life that you’ve ever had to be responsible for Snow and look what happened.”
Alder’s hand shot out to fist the furs at Hale’s neck. He gave a hard jerk, drawing his brother’s face in.
“You did this,” Alder seethed. “You’re the reason he won’t negotiate for her return. You’re the reason he took her in the first place.”
Hale wrapped a hand around Alder’s wrist. “And I’ll do everything in my power to get her back, but—”
Alder cut him off. “Then how about you offer yourself up in exchange for her?”
Claimed by a surge of energy, Taylor rushed to stand. As soon as she was on her feet, she doubled over. The abrupt movement had antagonized her nausea and she was powerless to stop her body’s reaction. After a few dry heaves that sounded like a theatrical impression of an asthma attack, she began to throw up.
Her body felt hot all over. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten and wasn’t surprised to find that all she had in her was bile. In between heaves, she managed to choke a few words.
“No…no, not…that…”
As the sickness finally subsided, her skin turned clammy. She became aware of warm hands on her hips and allowed herself to slump back into the warmth of an embrace. As one of the hands began to stroke her side, Hale appeared in front of her. He glanced down at the soiled furs and gave her an exaggerated look of disgust before smoothing it over with a wink. He gathered the furs up, wrapping them in a clean fur and setting them aside.
As she watched him, Taylor realized that it was Alder who was holding her. She breathed in his scent, relishing in the display of affection. It had only been a couple days since he’d held her like this but it felt like half a lifetime ago. Solely for the attention, she was tempted to feign sickness longer. Reluctantly, she didn’t.
“You can’t trade Hale.” She held her hand in front of her face, certain her breath was still unpleasant.
“Relax,” Hale said, offering her a flask of stitched leather. “That’s not going to happen.”
The water in the flask was cool. She swished it around in her mouth, swallowed, and took another long drink. While she chugged the water, Alder became argumentative again.
“If it’s not you, then it’s going to be me.”
She nearly choked in an effort to quickly swallow the water. “What are you talking about? Did Silas say he’s willing to trade Snow for someone?”
Alder’s lips flattened and he shook his head. Beneath the anger, Taylor could see lines of stress, as well as an uncommon vulnerability.
“I went to see Silas this afternoon,” Alder told her. He recounted what happened between them and the Whiteriver alpha. Taylor could feel the tension rippling through his body as he spoke and knew he would lash out with the slightest provocation.
When Alder finished speaking, Hale offered up his take on the scenario. “Basically, Whiteriver gets free range of our territory and there’s nothing we can do about it.”
“What choice did I have?” Alder’s tone was acerbic.
Taylor was sure that if she hadn’t been between them, they’d be fighting again. As usual, she found herself stuck between the two stubborn males. Only this time, she couldn’t afford to take sides. Now, more than ever, the pack needed its alphas united.
Or do they?
“I think you did the right thing,” she said to Alder. She tilted her head towards Hale and, before he could object, added, “Now you have to call the agreement off.”
“What?” they asked in unison. She suppressed a smile.
“Silas thinks he has you by the balls,” she said to Alder. “And he kinda does. But while it’s true that you’re not in a position to negotiate, you’re not the only alpha. If Silas believes that Hale isn’t going to accept the agreement, he’ll be forced to negotiate.”
She pointed a finger at Hale. “You have to make it look like you don’t give a damn what Alder thinks; that you’re going to attack Whiteriver regardless.”
A slow grin crept across Hale’s face, but Alder appeared unconvinced. “But what if he decides to kill her?”
Taylor shook her head. “No way, he can’t. She’s the only thing he has to bargain with. Halcyon has the strength and the numbers to wipe Whiteriver out. If you can make it look like you’re the only thing standing between Hale and the decimation of Silas’s pack, he’ll do whatever he can to make you happy.”
“But he’s not going to give up Snow, so what’s the point?”
“We don’t need him to give up Snow,” Hale said. Taylor could see the beginnings of a plan forming inside his head. “All we need is to put him at a disadvantage, then you can make any demands you want.”
“Such as?”
“For starters, we can give them Lark.”
Taylor’s eyes widened. “Wait, what?”
That was not where she’d expected this to go. Yeah, she was pretty pissed at Lark, and yeah, Lark definitely deserved some sort of punishment, but kicking her out of the pack and handing her over to the enemy felt extreme. After all, it was Lark’s terrible judgment, not deliberate betrayal, that had led to Whiteriver infiltrating their territory.
“We can use her to spy for us,” Hale clarified. “Look, I have some ideas on how to get there, but ultimately we can convince Silas that if he lets Lark move freely between the two packs, we’ll let him use the hunting grounds and keep Snow, for now.”
“He’s going to know that she’s spying for us,” Alder said.
“And we tell him that’s what she’s doing. She’s ensuring that they hold up their end of the bargain and take care of Snow. Lark will have to report back to us every week. We tell them that if Snow’s mistreated in any way, we’ll take our chances and attack them.”
“And how long is this supposed to go on for?”
Hale shrugged. “Until Lark brings us back something useful. Cou
ld be weeks, could be months, but I don’t see any other way we can resolve this without risking Snow’s life.”
“How do we know Lark’s even going to find anything useful?”
“It’s Lark,” Hale replied flatly. “She finds everything out, sooner or later.”
“Her ears,” Taylor cut in. “I doubt they know how good her hearing is.”
Hale nodded, his grin widening. “They’ll get complacent and sooner or later, one of them is going to say something in earshot of her. As soon as Lark gives us information we can exploit, we’ll get Snow back.”
As Alder contemplated the proposal, Taylor’s stomach churned with nervous anticipation. While Hale had come up with using Lark, he would have never gotten the idea in the first place had Taylor not offered up her own thoughts. It was the first time she felt as though she’d contributed to the pack in a meaningful way. It was the first time in a long time that she didn’t feel entirely useless.
After only a few seconds, Alder shocked her by pulling her in for fierce kiss. The injured side of her face smarted with pain, but it was insignificant in comparison to the exhilaration that came with his kiss.
It was over far too quickly and Alder resumed his conversation with Hale. The vulnerability she had seen earlier was now replaced with enthusiasm and a renewed determination.
While she was glad that they were on decent terms again and that they had a solid plan, the future still seemed bleak for Taylor. Hale had said that it could be weeks, even months before they get Snow back. Taylor wasn’t naïve enough to believe that this wouldn’t weigh heavily on Alder in the weeks to come. Each day that Snow remained in Whiteriver’s clutches was another day that Alder would be consumed by the loss of his daughter.
Maybe it would have been bearable, if not for the fact that her pregnancy was also advancing. Not only was she losing Lark, her closest friend, but she would also have to cope with Alder being distant at a time when she desperately needed his support.
As the brothers strategized over their next meeting with Silas, Taylor leaned into Alder, resting her head in the crook of his neck.
She could only hope that she was overthinking the situation.
That Alder wouldn’t let the situation with Snow interfere with their relationship.
And that she wasn’t a selfish bitch for wishing that.
CHAPTER FOUR
Olivia did most of the talking, probably because Silas was pissed beyond words. As it turned out, Hale played a believable egocentric asshole.
Who’d have thought?
On their way to the border, Alder had attempted to rehearse their impending encounter with Hale. Each attempt was met with Hale saying something to the effect of “Don’t worry, I’ve got this.”
Alder had been worried.
The plan was far better than anything he’d come up with himself, but there was so much room for error. They had to consider every possible move that Silas might make as well as develop a contingency plan if the young alpha called their bluff. Neither of these things were Hale’s strong suit and so it had been up to Alder to muddle over them during the all-too-short trip between the den and the border.
Once again, he was flanked by Holly and Laurel, while Fenix flew above in his hawk form. Aside from Fenix, Laurel was his best fighter, as well as his most trusted confidant. Holly was more bark than she was bite, but what she lacked in brute force, she made up for with agility and cunning.
Then, there was Lark.
They left the raccoon shifter farther back in the woods, but close enough to summon when the time came. Neither he nor Hale had told her where they were going or what their intentions were. It was a deliberate move. If everything went according to plan, she would undoubtedly be interrogated by Whiteriver. The less she knew, the better. That, and a sadistic part of Alder enjoyed smelling the fear and anxiety that rolled off her in waves. Perhaps in time—and provided his daughter was returned safely—he could find it in himself to forgive her, but not tonight.
They were met at the border by two Whiteriver wolves, a beta male and a smaller omega on patrol. Despite their obvious unease, they stood their ground, growling and posturing towards Alder and the others. Both visibly jumped when Hale bellowed at them, ordering them to get their leader. Hale threw out an arbitrary time limit, threatening to send his pack into their territory to drag Silas out if he wasn’t there in fifteen minutes.
Silas was there within ten minutes, accompanied by at least a dozen wolves. He remained in his wolf form, presumably to appear aloof and disinterested. That didn’t last long.
“It’s a shame you didn’t manage to get my mate,” Hale yelled across the divide. “Then maybe I would have given a fuck about whatever demands you have.”
Alder winced, both at his brother’s unnecessarily loud voice and his absurd opening. Anxiety turn his insides to lead. Snow’s life was on the line and Hale’s words had been a little too convincing.
Hale began to pace back and forth, affecting the zeal of a warlord addressing an army he had already conquered.
“You killed one of my wolves, injured two others, and attacked my mate,” Hale said. “You have three minutes to tell me why I shouldn’t have my entire pack raiding your den by dawn.”
Laurel and Holly, neither of whom had been briefed on the plan, exchanged confused glances and then looked to Alder. He ignored them and did his best to keep a straight face.
Silas appeared unperturbed by Hale, which further exacerbated Alder’s anxiety. The dark brown alpha continued to stare at Hale for several long seconds before finally shifting into his human form. His eyes zeroed in on Alder.
“I have your daughter.”
Hale gave an undignified snort, drawing Silas’s attention. “I don’t give a shit what leverage you think you have over Alder, he’s just one of the alphas of Halcyon. I can assure you that he doesn’t speak for the majority. We aren’t going to fold to your demands just because you took a sickly juvenile that doesn’t even belong to us. She’s not pack.”
Alder’s fists clenched tightly. But just as he was considering intervening and trying to smooth things over, he heard something that gave him pause.
“She’s your family. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?” Silas said.
His voice trembled. It was a small slip—almost imperceptible—but Alder was certain he’d heard it. Silas was afraid.
Hale shrugged. “I barely know the kid. Don’t get me wrong, I’d kill any number of you to get her back, but I’m not about to give up my pack’s hunting grounds over her.”
“You don’t even need the whole forest to feed your pack,” Silas retorted.
Hale shrugged again. “I’m thinking it’s going to be a long winter and I’d rather not take any chances.” His words caused at least three of the Whiteriver wolves to snarl. Hale simply held up a hand. “By the way, you’re out of time.”
As Hale turned to walk away, he gave Alder the briefest of looks.
‘You’re up.’
Alder wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say, but knew he had to do something. He quickly moved to block Hale’s path. Placing a hand on Hale’s shoulder to halt him, Alder looked across the divide to where Silas stood.
“Give me a moment alone with my brother.”
Alder didn’t wait for a response, knowing that given the circumstances, there wasn’t much Silas could do. Instead, he tightened his grip on Hale’s shoulder and pulled him back into the shroud of the trees.
They walked in silence for a few moments. Once he was certain that they were out of earshot, Alder turned to face his brother.
“What the hell are you thinking?”
“I’m just making it up as I go,” Hale admitted.
Alder’s eyes widened. “And that’s your plan?”
Hale shook his head. “Look, the reason you couldn’t get anywhere with Silas is because the two of you are a lot alike. You’re both logical—you try to plan for everything, but when something happens that you didn’t o
r couldn’t account for, you flounder.
“All he can do is threaten to kill Snow, and if he does that, he’s just as screwed as if he didn’t. Right about now, he’s probably praying you can talk some sense into me.”
Alder reluctantly nodded. “Fine. What do we do from here?”
“We get Lark, you act like you smoothed things over, and renegotiate.”
Ten minutes later, they arrived back at the border with a trembling Lark. Silas appeared to have cooled off, but Alder noted that he had one hand tightly clenched.