The three remaining men studied me with renewed interest. The guy in the middle, dressed in combat fatigues and wearing a killer smile, raised his hand.
Circling the long conference table, I sank into the chair at the head. “Yes?”
“My grandmother is the alpha of our pack. I have no issues with women in leadership roles.”
Haden choked on his snort while Killer Smile waited to be praised for his progressive views. A man admitting a female could lead as well as a male was a rarity in our society, but it shouldn’t be, and I couldn’t bring myself to pat him on the head for showing basic human decency.
“Okay, I’ll bite. Why are you here?” I braced my elbows on the table and rested my chin on my palm. “What’s in this for you?”
“I fought for my country.” Pride rounded his chest. “Why wouldn’t I fight for my world?”
Good answer. I made a thoughtful sound then addressed the others. “You two, same question.”
“I heard your pack takes wolves with nowhere else to go.” The man on the left of Killer Smile kept his chin tucked to his chest. Either he was omega-level submissive, or he thought acting nonthreatening might help his case. Most packs welcomed submissive wolves. They were the glue that held a pack together whereas dominants were the reason things got smashed and required adhesive in the first place. “I’m willing to fight to earn my place.”
I drummed my fingernails against my chin, filing that tidbit away for later. I wanted more information on this wolf before offering him two hots and a cot. Most of the Lorimar wolves were headcases. That didn’t mean we wanted to welcome more patients to the asylum.
“What about you?” I asked the last wolf. “What’s your deal?”
“A banshee killed my mate. The conclave held a trial and let the bitch off the hook.” In a snap, the placid waters of his eyes churned with hatred. “You kill fae here, and the conclave doesn’t prosecute. I want in on that.”
“Thank you for your time.” I straightened, suppressing a wince when tender vertebrae popped. “But I have to ask you to leave.”
Thierry and I shared a glance, and she reached for her pocket again.
Old pain twisted his expression into that of a drowning man desperate for a lifeline, surprising me by how well he had hidden his brokenness until now. “Am I not good enough?”
“What do you know about Lorimar?” I challenged him. “Other than the fact we hunt fae?”
His silence spoke volumes. Most didn’t ask questions, or at least not the right ones.
“Our alpha male is Cord Graeson.” I broke it down for the whole room. “He’s the grandson of Terry Graeson, who founded the Chandler pack out of Villanow, Georgia.” Nods and murmurs of approval greeted that pronouncement. “That makes him a third-generation alpha.” Killer Smile liked the sound of that. “Our alpha female, Camille Ellis, is fae.”
The man’s jaw came unhinged, and for a minute I thought I might have to borrow a spatula to scrape his chin off the floor. “What?”
“Camille Ellis is a Gemini.” A type of fae who could take on characteristics of other fae or supernaturals with only one drop of their blood. “She’s also an agent for the Earthen Conclave.”
Killer Smile wasn’t grinning now.
The meek guy beside him I decided to nickname Shoe Laces kept staring at his boots. I had paid him particular attention when I mentioned Cam. He didn’t flinch. He had known what he was getting into, and he was cool with our untraditional pack structure. Most likely that meant he didn’t have a choice but to be fine with it. Great. The odds of him being just as busted up as the rest of us climbed higher.
“I’ll see him off the property.” Thierry gripped the protesting warg’s upper arm and hauled him out the door with incredible warg-like strength. Not for the first time I wondered what her deal was, and then decided I was probably safer not knowing. “Play nice while I’m gone, puppitos.”
The runes covering her left side glinted with the promise of pain, and not a peep was heard until the door shut behind her.
“You’re hunting fae,” Killer Smile said slowly. “And one of your alphas is fae? She’s okay with that?”
“Fae born on Earth have the same rights as you and I do. This is their home, their world, as much as it’s ours. The fae we’re hunting are here illegally.” Earthborn fae, and those who had been granted sanctuary by the fae magistrates, were protected by conclave law unless caught aiding or abetting a fugitive. Do that, and the perpetrators forfeited their status and got shipped back to Faerie. “The fae king has forbidden his subjects from crossing to our world. He understands how fragile humanity is compared to the kin he keeps hidden in shadow, even from his own people. Any who disobey him are committing treason. The punishment for that is death. The conclave is happy to entrust us to carry out the sentence.”
Playing judge, jury and executioner was getting old fast. There had to be a better way. Zero tolerance gave us too much power. Or maybe I just didn’t want the responsibility of all those deaths on my conscience. I was a beta. I thrived on taking orders. Making decisions? Not so much. I didn’t want to be alpha. Ever. And yet here I sat, in Cord’s chair, calling shots that ended lives.
“That’s why the conclave has offered you immunity,” he surmised. “You’re doing their dirty work.”
“Look, Smiley, someone ripped the sky a new one.” I forced the quiver from my upper lip. His barb had struck too close to home. “I don’t know how much you know about Faerie, but it’s chockful of horrors. What we have on Earth? They’re watered-down copies of the originals. They wanted freedom from the old ways, peace to raise their families. They chased the American Dream across realms. They’re our allies.” I rapped my knuckles on the desk. “What we’re hunting is the real deal. The monsters under the bed. The boogiemen in the closets. We’re hunting the nightmares Faerie has been dreaming since our ancestors huddled in caves afraid the demons would come steal their souls in the night.”
Anticipation glinted in his eyes, and I knew I had hooked him whether I meant to or not.
He rubbed his jaw. “How do we know the difference?”
“We train you.” Talk about the blind leading the blind. “The conclave is working to evacuate fae within a hundred-mile radius of this town in the interest of preserving lives, but some are tied to the lands and waters. Leaving would be a death sentence, so they’ll stay and take their chances.” Knowing wargs were the new cautionary tale for fae children nauseated me. “Given time, you’ll learn to identify the Faerie-born by their scent and, oh yeah, the fact they’ll be trying to gut you before you can kill them.”
Thierry ducked in and took up position behind the pledges. Goop that was likely raw yolk strung from her fingers as she worked to clean them.
“One last thing.” I sized them both up before asking. “Are either of you guys handy?”
“I’ve done construction work,” Shoe Laces said in a quiet voice.
“Not me.” Killer Smile eyed the only remaining competition. “Why? Do you need work done around the place?”
“I’m a carpenter,” I enunciated slowly, so as not to spook them more than I already had. What with being both a woman and in charge, I worried the poor dears might faint on the spot learning my trade was once a boys-only club too. “I need extra hands with a project I’m working on, so I thought I would ask while it was on my mind.”
Shoe Laces raised his head, and genuine interest brightened his eyes. Maybe today wasn’t a waste after all.
“Any questions?” I clasped my hands together. “Second thoughts?”
The two men remaining shook their heads.
“In that case, welcome to Stone’s Throw.” Most of the Lorimar wolves called the new recruits Stoners for short, and the nickname had stuck. “You two go with Haden. He’s our pledge liaison. He’ll get you set up with a place to stay and explain the lay of the land.” I pegged them with a hard glare. “You need something, talk to him. If he can’t fix the problem, you see Z
ed. You come to me with petty crap, and I’ll kick you out so fast your head will spin.”
Killer Smile was on the rebound, but the guy next to him mostly just sagged in his chair. I think it was relief.
Dusting my hands of the newbies, I stood and bolted for the parking lot. Thierry ducked into the unisex restroom connected to the building’s exterior while Haden remained inside to kick-start the guided tour. Now that I had acted as figurehead for the day, I could get back to my lawn chair and maybe paint my toenails. All that running through the woods was murder on a pedicure.
“You slept last night,” a quiet voice informed me.
I slowed my escape and allowed Zed to catch up to me. “I did.” After three hours of wallowing on a bare stone floor, boredom got the best of me, and I retreated to the comfort of a real bed before caving to the temptation to shift and scale the damn cliff to rescue that stupid shirt. “This smart guy I know told me I should do it more often.”
His almost-smile was heartbreaking. “I don’t want to lose you.”
“I don’t want to be lost.” I hooked my arm through his and rested my head against his shoulder. “My coping mechanism sucked. Thanks for pointing that out to me.”
The most important duty in any friendship was calling the other person on their bullcrap, and he had my number on speed dial.
“You loved him. That takes time to get over.”
Him, because his name hurt too much to hear.
“Yeah, maybe.” I pushed out an exhale that burned my lungs. “I would have if he had given me an ounce of encouragement.”
“It’s not in his nature to stay.” Zed leaned his cheek against the top of my head. “He’ll want a mate who blows on the same wind as he does.”
A mourning howl tickled the back of my throat, and I swallowed hard. “You’re right.”
“You’re young and strong and beautiful down to the bone. You’ll find someone else.” He tugged on a curly strand of my hair. “Your heart’s too big not to share it.”
The warmth of his brotherly affection eased the knot in my chest. “What about you?”
Zed’s shoulder jerked beneath my cheek, and he came to an abrupt stop. “I should let you enjoy your day off.” He untangled himself from me. “Moore and I have an appointment with a real estate agent in town.” He forced a tight smile. “We’re considering going in halves on an abandoned auto repair shop with an attached junkyard. The place needs work, but it would give us something to do, and the pack needs the income.”
Calling myself every dirty name in the book, I removed my foot from my mouth, but it was too late. The damage was done. I knew better than to push him about moving on. God, I was the last person who ought to tell anyone when it was past time to let go. “I didn’t mean…”
“I know.” He lifted a hand as he walked away. “See you later.”
I let my head fall back on my shoulders. “Son of a motherless goat.”
Masculine laughter rose behind me. “I’m not sure how that would work.”
“Enzo?” I whirled toward the sound, my stomach knotting as Enzo Garza strolled up the path leading from the parking lot, wheeling a polycarbonate suitcase that cost more than I earned in a year behind him. “What are you doing here?”
Dressed in dark-wash jeans that molded to his lean hips, sleek boots and a fitted white T-shirt, he made casual so upscale my debit card whimpered imagining what labels he wore. Pair his fashion sense with the long, black hair secured at his nape and the melted-chocolate eyes that promised he was as loyal as a puppy, and even I had to admit Enzo was a pretty package.
One I had no intentions of opening.
“I invited him,” Thierry called, jogging to meet him halfway. “I’m glad you could join us.”
“How is this possible?” Enzo and his brother, Miguel, were witches aligned with the Chandler pack. Their alpha, Bessemer, was not a fan of his former beta. When Cord split with the Chandler pack in order to found his own with Cam, Bessemer had forbidden the Garzas to contact us. “Does Bessemer know you’re here?”
“Ah, that would be a no.” His mischievous grin flashed a matching set of dimples. “The conclave acted as an intermediary and bartered with my brother for my services. As far as Bessemer knows, I’m at home twiddling my thumbs. Miguel will cover for me.” His tone softened. “They offered him something he can’t refuse.”
Bartering with witches ranked up there with eating Carolina Reaper chili peppers on my scale of one to too stupid to live. The Garzas commanded high fees for their services because they were the best the southeast had to offer. Whatever the conclave had given Miguel in order to tempt him to loan out his brother would cost them dearly.
Curious what their no doubt heated negotiations had bought us, I cocked my head at him. “What services are we talking about here?”
“Perimeter wards to start. The campground must be secure or else the pack has nowhere to fall back when the shit hits the fan.” Warming to his topic, he wet his lips. “I’ll be warding the area around the lake as well. That much water will disrupt any big magic. The best we can hope for is an early alarm system. So if a fae hits the water—day or night—we’ll know to go fish it out.” A flush colored his cheeks after rambling off several other precautions that never would have occurred to me. “I have other ideas. I’ll run those past you before I get started implementing them.”
“That all sounds…” impressive to the nth degree, “…great.”
A burst of rock music erupted from Thierry’s phone, and she excused herself to take the call. The matter must have been urgent, because she hopped in her beat-up sedan and spun gravel, leaving without saying goodbye.
Awkward silence descended in her absence that I was left to fill. “Are you staying here or in town?”
“I rented a room at the Holston Inn for the week.” He took a moment to examine the woodsy simplicity of the park. “That might change later, depending on how long I’m needed and if the weather holds.”
Thinking ahead to my weekend plans, I wondered what he had heard that I hadn’t yet. “The weather?”
“The manager cautioned me against leaving any electronics plugged in unsupervised. Apparently there have been an unusual amount of lightning storms in the past few weeks, and guests have complained of laptops and cells being fried while charging. He warned me the hotel is not responsible for repairs or replacements.”
“Hmm. I haven’t heard about any storm damage in town.” The weather had been peculiar, but I hadn’t thought to ask the locals if they found it strange too or if it was normal for Butler this time of year. I mentally added researching the storms to my to-do list. After all, oak trees were Mother Nature’s lightning rods, and the woods here were thick with them. I gestured toward his luggage with my chin. “What’s with the suitcase?”
“These are supplies that don’t belong inside a human-owned establishment. I was hoping you had a secure location where I could store them, since I’ll be using them here on the property.”
“Sure.” I hooked my thumb over my shoulder. “The rental office has a conference room, or there’s a smaller office beside Cord’s if you’d rather have a door you can lock behind yourself.”
“Yes,” he said without hesitation. “That would be ideal.”
“Hurry up and you can catch Haden. He’ll get you set up with a key and the security code.” Eager to get my day off started, I shoved my hands into my pockets and rocked onto my heels. “It was good seeing you.” I waved and stepped away. “Let me know if you need anything else.”
“There is one thing.” Those eager puppy eyes latched on to me as if I were a tennis ball about to be thrown. “Have dinner with me.”
My pulse spiked, fight-or-flight reflexes kicking in as the wolf stirred in my gut. “I…um...” The wildness in my blood set my heart beating faster. “I’m not looking for a relationship.”
“Friends have dinner,” he informed me with mock seriousness. “It’s a thing.”
“You’
re for real?” Doubt sat heavy in my voice. I had known Enzo for years, and he never failed to ask me out each time our paths crossed. I always said no. At first because his brother’s intensity frightened me. Later because he had become an equal partner to Miguel, and their casual cruelty toward my species terrified me. Had I been acting as Dell Preston, I would have brushed him off as usual. But Dell Preston, Lorimar beta, was required to practice diplomacy no matter how worrisome I found our allies. “Just friends?”
“I could have told Thierry no. I probably should have. But you’re here…” His half-smile could have melted butter. “I thought when you left Villanow that was it. How could I turn down one last chance to see you?”
His frank admission drew me up short. The guy had carried a torch for me so long his arm should have given out by now, but he’d never waved the flame under my nose before today. Right now I was all but smelling singed hairs in my nostrils.
“Okay.” I found myself agreeing with him. “Dinner. As friends.” A beat later, I added, “With no benefits.”
Closing the space between us with two easy strides, Enzo leaned forward into my personal space, giving me a heartbeat to decide whether to stand my ground or dropkick his junk, before kissing me on the cheek. This near he smelled of crushed rosemary and leather, and the brush of his lips made my skin tingle.
“It really is good to see you, Dell.” He backed out of the danger zone. “Pick you up around seven?”
“How about we meet in town?” I didn’t want him responsible for getting me home. “I’ll even let you choose the place.”
“You don’t have a car.” He laughed at my sour expression. “And I’m new in town, remember? Tonight is lady’s choice, even if the lady in question wants to go Dutch.”
Damn straight I did, and how frustrating was it that he knew me so well?
Unable to poke any holes in his ironclad logic, I grumbled, “Seven works.”
He spun on his heel, but not before I caught his fist pump.
“Coffee will make this better,” I decided as I set off for my RV. “Coffee makes everything better.”
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