by Amy Green
It should have embarrassed her, but somehow it didn’t. She ate her toast and watched as Brody put his baseball cap on, tugging it down over his gorgeous, soft hair.
“Explain,” he said.
“It was the mess with the Silverman,” Nadine said, taking over. She’d been sheriff of Grant County, tracking a man who killed humans and werewolves alike, called the Silverman. When she and Devon had found the man, he’d killed a cop and tried to kill the others, including Nadine. Devon, in his wolf form, had ripped the man’s throat out.
Never anger an alpha wolf, Alison’s father always said.
“The Grant County cops are still on the case about that?” Brody asked. “I thought it was a clear case of self-defense. Of taking down a murderer, a cop killer.”
“That’s what it should be,” Nadine said, “in normal times. But these aren’t normal times in Grant County. The mayor is up for reelection, and he needs votes. What’s getting him support is the fear campaign he’s been running.”
“It’s been relentless,” Anna said, taking over. “I’ve been tracking all of the articles and press releases online. In Pierce Point, which is the county’s biggest city, every missing dog and broken window is being attributed to rogue shifters with a taste for human blood.”
“None of us even go to Grant County,” Brody pointed out. “We all stay here. And we sure as hell don’t eat pets or want human blood.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Anna said. “You’re capable of turning into wolves and coming from the woods. A man’s throat got ripped out, even if he was a murderer. It means everyone is jumping at ghosts. There are even accounts of wolves being spotted at night—probably coyotes, in truth.”
“Coyotes,” Heath said, rolling his eyes. “Honestly. Coyotes are snacks.”
“It’s an excellent election technique,” Anna said, “if you don’t mind lying to thousands of people. First you stoke fear and make everyone afraid to sleep at night. Then you convince everyone that you’re the one who solved it. That you’re the one who keeps everyone safe.”
“And that’s what we come back to,” Nadine said. “The solving part. The mayor held a press conference yesterday stating that he was going to do something about the rogue shifter problem.” She pulled out a piece of paper and read from it. “He’s ‘implementing a sweeping plan,’ he says.”
“That doesn’t sound good,” Alison said.
Nadine nodded. “But this is the part that worries me. Listen: ‘We have new evidence that shows the threat from the shifter population is greater than we even thought. That’s why I’ve decided that now is the time to end this problem and keep our population safe from these animals once and for all.’”
“New evidence?” Brody said. “What does that mean?”
“I have no fucking idea,” Devon said. He was sitting alone, on a chair near the bar along the wall of Brody’s living room. He ran a hand through his hair. “This is my fault,” he said. “I acted on instinct. He was going to kill Nadine. But now I’ve created a huge fucking problem.”
“For the millionth time,” Heath said, “any one of us would have done the same thing.”
“The Silverman shot Heath with one of his silver bullets,” Tessa said. She was on the sofa next to her mate, her blonde hair tied in a loose knot behind her head, her beautiful eyes blazing. “If I was a wolf, I would have killed him myself.”
“You and me both,” Nadine said, because the Silverman had shot Devon, too. And stabbed him with a silver knife.
“Devon,” Brody said, “have the police contacted you? Tried to question you?”
“No,” Devon said. “They don’t know it was me who killed the Silverman. But then, they don’t really care. One shifter is just the same as the next, in their eyes. What they’re after is the appearance of justice.”
Brody turned to Nadine. “What do you know? Do you still have any contacts in Pierce Point who will tell you what’s coming?”
Nadine shook her head. Though she was Shifter Falls’ chief of police—one of two—she wasn’t in uniform today. Instead, she was in a pretty button-down shirtdress, her dark hair in a ponytail. “Sorry, Brody. When I quit and moved to Shifter Falls, everyone decided I wasn’t trustworthy anymore. My own father won’t even talk to me, though I know he’s acting as some kind of consultant to the mayor in this. The new sheriff—my replacement—is so deep in the mayor’s pocket it’s a wonder he can see. And they replaced the one deputy who would have been loyal to me with a stranger.”
“They can’t just arrest anyone,” Ian said. He rose from his chair and started pacing. “They can’t just come here and start locking us up. They have to have cause, reasons. We may be shifters, but we still have rights.”
“And who’s going to fight for our rights?” Brody’s voice was calm and quiet, but still everyone in the room turned to him when he talked. It was one of the things Alison had always noticed—how Brody commanded attention with only a few words. “I mean it,” he said, looking around the room. “We don’t have fancy lawyers. In fact, we don’t have any lawyers at all. We’re barely even on the grid. As far as the authorities are concerned, they could lock us all up and no one would even know the difference.”
“You think that’s what they’re planning?” Heath asked him. “Some kind of mass arrest?”
“Maybe,” Brody said. “Or a single, high-profile arrest. Whichever gets more headlines.”
“Right now, the people of Pierce Point are behind the mayor one hundred percent,” Anna said. “They’re afraid. Even a mass arrest would go over well.”
“They’ve been making noises for a while about forcing us to follow human laws instead of our own,” Brody said. “If the mayor is looking for a show to get him votes, we need to be prepared.”
“How?” Alison asked him. “How do we prepare for that? You mean we fight?”
Brody met her gaze. She could see the thoughts moving swiftly behind his dark eyes, and she remembered the lesson from the top of the ridge. This is what an alpha sees. “I don’t want war,” he told her. “I never have, and I still don’t. There’s nothing more fruitless for us than starting a fight with the humans. No, if they’re coming for us, we have to make it a waste of their time. We have to make it too difficult to be worth their while.” He turned back to Heath and Tessa. “Get the word out through the Burned Wolf that everyone needs to be ready to disappear.”
There was a second of silence.
“Disappear?” Nadine asked, obviously confused.
But Alison knew. When it came to run-ins with humans, only part of a shifter’s advantage came from his violence and strength. The other part came from his ability to shed his clothes, turn into an animal, and vanish into the mountains—for weeks, months, even years if needed. A shifter living as his animal didn’t need clothing, shelter, or money. He could hunt for his food and sleep rough. You looked pretty foolish if you tried to arrest a fox or an eagle and put it in jail.
Devon answered his mate’s question. “We go wild,” he told her, “for as long as it takes.” He turned back to his alpha. “That leaves the women and children alone.”
Brody nodded. “I don’t like it either. But the alternative is worse. And the women of Shifter Falls are pretty fucking tough when they need to be.”
“If they think they can scare us,” Tessa said, “they’re going to learn pretty fast.”
“I can get us a lawyer,” Anna said. “I still have friends in Denver. Someone can probably recommend someone. We’d need some money for a retainer.”
“Not a problem,” Nadine said. “We can—”
“No,” Devon said.
Everyone quieted, looking at him.
He stood up from his chair. He was the biggest of the four Donovan brothers, his shoulders wide and muscled. He’d been his father’s enforcer for years, his big bulk used to intimidate Charlie’s enemies. The effect was made only more powerful by his thick, dark hair and beard.
“No,” he said again. “
Going wild, splitting up families, shutting down Shifter Falls—that isn’t happening. I won’t let it. This is my fault, my fight. I turn myself in, and the problem is solved.”
“Devon no,” Nadine said.
“No way,” Brody said. “We’re a pack, and the pack includes you. We face this as one, or we don’t face it at all. Do not fucking turn yourself in, and that’s an order.”
Devon glared at him. “You’re my alpha,” he said slowly, “and I obey you out of respect. But I don’t have to obey you in this. This is my crime, my fuckup. I can’t drag the pack down with me. I’ve been in prison before. Ian did a year of time. It won’t kill me. I’ll do my time and move on. And with respect, alpha, that’s my call, not yours.”
“And your mate?” Brody shot back, glancing at Nadine. “You’re going to turn yourself in and leave her? Disregard her like that? She doesn’t want you to go. So don’t.”
“That’s between Nadine and me.” Devon’s voice dipped dangerously low to a growl.
“It is not,” Brody said, his own voice going low with threat. “It affects all of us. Do not disobey me, brother.”
Devon took a step forward. “I swear to fucking God—”
“Wait,” Alison said, standing up. “Everyone, wait. There’s another way.”
Devon looked at her. He was a hundred pounds heavier than she was, but she felt not the slightest bit of fear. She had been around shifters all her life, and they didn’t scare her, even Donovans. She stared him back in the eye.
“Fine,” Devon gritted out. “I’m listening.”
Alison cleared her throat. “It seems that what we need is information,” she said. “We can’t plan if we don’t know what’s coming. And we don’t really know. So the best way to plan, to avoid a fight, is to get the information we need.” She looked around. “We need someone in Pierce Point. Someone who can get information and pass it back.”
“You mean like a spy,” Heath said.
“Exactly.” Alison’s thoughts were racing. “We need someone to go to Pierce Point with a credible cover story and start talking to people. Cops, people from the mayor’s office—whoever they can find. Someone that isn’t going to arouse suspicion, that no one there will recognize. Someone undercover.”
She turned to Brody and found him looking at her. “Why do I have the suspicion you’re going to volunteer?” he said.
She felt herself smile at him. “You know I’d be perfect,” she said. “You four brothers can’t do it, because you’d stick out—plus, you’re needed here. It can’t be Nadine, because everyone in Pierce Point knows her. Tessa is too distinctive.” She gave Tessa an apologetic look. Tessa was blonde and outright gorgeous—hardly the kind of woman to go unnoticed. “Anna does so much to help the pack run, it’s probably best that she stays. But I could go.”
“Go and do what?” Brody said. He was glaring at her now.
But she already had the answers. “The mayor is giving press conferences, right? He wants publicity. I’ll say I’m a journalist from one of the Denver papers. We can make me some fake credentials, and I’ll say I’m writing a story. That gives me access to interview anyone I can—the new sheriff, Nadine’s father, even the mayor himself. People have been talking in front of me for years at the Four Spot. All I have to do is be nice and unobtrusive, and I can get information. I guarantee you that someone, somewhere, is willing to talk about what’s coming. And they won’t expect that we’d send someone like this. It’s perfect.”
There was a moment of quiet in the room. Heath spoke first. “It’s ambitious,” he said, “and it might not work. But it’s better than running.”
“I agree,” Tessa said. “It’s worth a shot, at least.”
“The fake credentials won’t be a problem,” Ian said. “Anna can find a real press credential online, and Tim Banbury can make a copy. He can make you an ID with a Denver address, too. He makes fake ID’s all the time.” When Nadine gave him a look of surprise, he shrugged. “We play fast and loose with the law here, Chief. I think you know that by now.”
“Jeez,” Nadine said. “Some cop I am.” She turned to Alison. “I can give you some names, people who are still on the force that might be willing to gossip if you can get them going.”
“We can put her up in a hotel,” Tessa said. “A few days at least. And in the meantime, we can prepare. Even a few hours’ notice of an arrest coming can give Devon the heads up to vanish.”
Brody stood up. “Excuse us for a minute,” he said. He took Alison’s wrist and led her from the room.
“The mate talk,” Alison heard Heath say as she followed Brody. “I’ve had that one.”
“And I always win, you ass,” Tessa said.
Brody pulled her into the bathroom and closed the door. “Alison,” he said, “I don’t know about this.”
She leaned back against the bathroom counter and looked at him. “This is a lot like our meeting in the storage room,” she couldn’t help but tease, crossing her arms.
He stepped closer, and she got that happy dizzy feeling she got whenever he was near. Even in their current situation, it was the best feeling in the world. “I don’t like it,” he said.
She lifted her chin. Werewolves were so stubborn sometimes. “Brody, I’ll just be talking to people. I won’t be in danger. What’s your problem? Do you think I can’t do it?”
“That isn’t it,” he said. “You can do it.” She watched him fight with himself, then spit out the words. “Does it have to be you?”
Oh. She understood now. She uncrossed her arms and touched his face, his cheekbone, his jaw, feeling how tense it was. “It’s only for a few days,” she said softly. “You can do without me.”
“I can’t.” He took a breath, fought with himself some more. Her sweet, tortured alpha. “You said Anna does a lot to help run the pack. She does, but you do more. Let’s send her to Pierce Point, and you stay with me.” He paused. “Please,” he finished. “I need you.”
She stroked his jaw again, felt him calm a little under her touch. That was her, she knew. She could do that, calm him with a touch. She stroked the side of his neck, his shoulder. “I won’t be far,” she said. “You can call me ten times a day if you want. You can tell me anything, ask me anything. A few days, that’s all.” She looked into his eyes. “I want to do this, Brody. I want to do my part for the pack. I want to stand up and help for once instead of being on the sidelines. I want to be your partner, not just your assistant.”
He closed his eyes briefly, hurt. “That’s not what I mean.”
“I know.” She did. A shifter’s mate was his partner, not his subordinate, and he would always treat her that way. He didn’t want to limit her, she knew that. They would have to find their way.
“I know it’s selfish,” he said. “You’re my partner now. You are. I just—need you here.” He looked into her eyes. “But you’re going to go, aren’t you?”
“It’s for a few days,” she said again. “Please, Brody. I’m asking you not to stand in my way. I can get us real information if I go. Let’s be a team.”
He sighed, giving in. “Fucking hell. All right.”
She leaned in and kissed his cheek. “Good,” she said. “Now let’s fix this together.”
13
The plan made sense. Everyone said so. They were chasing shadows, preparing for phantoms. They needed someone in Pierce Point. And Alison was more than capable. It was only for a few days. It made sense that she should go.
His wolf hated it.
It went against every part of his instinct to have his mate leave him—actually leave—less than twenty-four hours after the mating. But it was decided that it was best to get her to Pierce Point as soon as possible, so she went home and packed her bags while Tessa booked her a hotel and Ian got her fake identification.
Then she kissed him goodbye, and said This is the right thing, Brody. Believe me. And then she was gone.
His Alison.
He couldn’t think, and
he couldn’t bear to change and run, so he did what was familiar—he went to the Four Spot diner. He sat in his usual booth. He hadn’t been here much since he’d hired Alison, because they did a lot of business in his living room, and he thought it might be strange for her to come back here. But now he came, and ordered a Coke, and looked at the menu like he always did, pretending to read it.
Patty had hired a new waitress, a fortyish single mother named Trish. She wasn’t as good a waitress as Alison—she tended to forget things, and she always called Brody “handsome,” which grated on him—but he didn’t mind, because Trish’s presence meant that Alison wasn’t a waitress anymore. Alison would never be a waitress again.
It took only a few minutes for word to get out that he was here, shifter information traveling like vibrations on a spider’s web. His first visitor was Quinn Tucker, who was chief of police alongside Nadine. Quinn was already chief when Nadine came to town, but as a former sheriff Nadine was more qualified. Quinn was a bear shifter and Nadine was human. Since he couldn’t decide which of them should have the job, he’d given them both the job and told them to get along or else. One of his spur of the moment decisions, but it was working well so far.
“What can you tell me?” he said to Quinn as he cut into the pork chop he’d ordered. He didn’t really want the food. Patty’s food was good, but his wolf preferred to hunt and eat wild. He’d only come here because of Alison, he realized now. All those days sitting here, not wanting to go anywhere else. What an idiot he’d been. If she ever came back, he’d tell her.
“Everything is quiet,” Quinn said. “But I heard something you might need to know.”
“Yeah?” Brody took a bite of his pork chop.
“You remember Carson Dunne?”
The pack’s former medical man. The man who had doctored Charlie’s postmortem after taking a pile of Brody’s money. He ate his pork chop and kept his face impassive. “Yeah, I remember.”