Even with her weakened state, she fought to get out of Augie’s grasp. When he finally set her down, she rushed for Rick, wrapping her weeping body around him.
“Please, don’t kill him,” she begged.
I sighed, feeling resigned. I couldn’t even pretend to be surprised anymore. There was so much fuckery happening around us at every turn.
“Who are you?” Augie demanded.
“My name is Elena. I’m from a small outlying pack further north.” Her voice shook as she answered, but she didn’t shy away.
“What happened to you?” I asked.
She glanced around the area, taking in the rather large audience. “My pack was attacked by Declan. They thought I was dead, but I held on until they left. As soon as it was safe to do so, I made my way here.”
My dad addressed the mass behind us. “We’re going to figure out what happened to this woman’s family and, once we do, we will update the pack. Please, respect our need to discuss this privately. We will send news as soon as we can.”
An uproar came from several sections of the group. There would be no settling them until we had more information, so we left the stage as quickly as possible. I held on to Liam as we headed back toward the pack house. Augie held the woman, Elena, again while my dad and Sam followed behind with Rick.
When we got into the office, I went to the attached bathroom and got a warm hand towel to give Elena. I considered getting her clothes from my house, too, but I didn’t want to miss any of whatever she had to say.
I handed her the washcloth and moved to stand next to Liam by the desk. I glanced around the room, noticing Sam was no longer with us, which didn’t surprise me. He’d never sat in on important meetings before, and I had a feeling we really shouldn’t let everything that was about to be said in the room leave it.
“Elena,” Dad said calmly. “Why were you screaming when you came out of the woods?”
Her eyes flicked to Rick before answering. “I saw Rick tied to the chair and knew something was wrong. I didn’t want to be too late to stop what was happening. Whatever you think he did, it’s not true.”
I watched Rick, gauging his reaction. He shook his head as if he was exasperated with her, but at the same time, he held a smile I hadn’t seen on him since before Cord and Davis had passed. I had assumed their deaths were the only reasons for his change in mood, but maybe this woman had something to do with it, too.
“How would you know that?” Augie asked.
“Because he’s been protecting me for as long as he was able, and I love him. His heart is pure.”
I wasn’t surprised by her words. Her earlier screams for Rick had told me they had feelings for each other, but I was curious as to the ‘how’ of it all. I had never seen this woman before in my life, but she was someone Rick had managed to have a relationship with without anyone else knowing.
Dad turned to Rick. “Are you ready to tell us the truth now?”
Rick nodded as Liam cut the ties from his hands.
Elena ran into his arms as soon as he was free to catch her. Their embrace was full of passion and comfort.
Rick kept her at his side. “I went on a run for Cord right before he was killed. When I was out, I came across Elena on the side of the road. She had a black eye and her clothes were ripped. I didn’t even know she was a shifter until she was in the truck with me. I just knew she needed help.”
Elena smiled brightly up at him. “He saved me.”
Rick shook his head. “I tried to save her. Her pack was in trouble. They had gotten into some debt. Her father was in way over his head with another alpha from the Rocky Mountains. The alpha offered him a way out. Her dad could walk away without paying a dime of his debt if he gave his only daughter over to be the alpha’s mate. When she refused, the alpha beat her, which is when I found her.
“I took her back to her pack, because I knew I couldn’t bring that kind of drama to our pack without someone’s permission. The first person I saw was Cord when I got back. I told him about her and the situation, and he promised to help. We made a plan to get Elena, and Cord was supposed to talk with Gerald and Davis about it the next day, but Rafe showed up and changed everything.”
I took a step forward. “Why wouldn’t you have told us still? If her pack was in trouble and in our territory, it’s our responsibility to protect them.”
I was angry. Rick’s poor decision-making had gotten people killed. I wanted to throttle him, but I held back in hopes that somehow this story got better.
Elena glared back at me, clearly not liking the irritation in my voice. “I asked him not to. I told him his pack needed to come first and if they could stop Declan, then maybe things would get better for me. I’ll admit I made a poor choice, but Rick did nothing wrong. He was only doing his best to respect my wishes.”
She was equally upset, and I couldn’t blame her. If people I didn’t know were trying to kill Liam for something I knew he didn’t do, I’d be fighting tooth and nail to save him. Elena was handling everything quite well by comparison.
“So, what were you doing with the sensors?” my dad asked Rick.
“I had been with Elena when they were installed. I didn’t know what they were, but when I saw we had triggered them, I sent her away and tried to cover our tracks in case there was any video or listening ability that might have told anyone she’d been here. By the time I realized it was just a motion sensor, Sam had found me.”
“I don’t understand why you wouldn’t tell us when it came down to it.” I huffed. “You were going to die for this secret when you had to have known we would help you. It doesn’t make any sense.”
I began fidgeting so much from my frustration that Liam settled his hand on my shoulder to calm me. I smiled my appreciation at him, but I still wasn’t okay on the inside. Rick was a valued member of our pack, and I was pissed he hadn’t trusted us.
“I’m sorry, Taya,” he said. “I’ve claimed Elena as my mate and there was no way I could break her trust. Not even for my own life. She was convinced she had a handle on things for the time being. The other alpha was busy helping Declan and that would buy us some more time. Her parents were doing everything in their power to find a way to pay their debt and get out of the situation.”
I took a seat, unable to argue with him. Now that I had a mate, I knew it made you do irrational things. I knew there was nothing I could say or ask that would make sense of what Rick did, because in his head, he was doing the right thing for his mate. To him, nothing else mattered.
Liam stood behind me and rubbed my shoulders as we continued to listen to the conversation. I let Augie and my dad take over, while gladly becoming a bystander.
Augie brought his attention to Elena. “What happened today at your pack?”
“Hayden, that’s the alpha I was supposed to mate. He showed up with some of Declan’s men and said they needed to take over our area to be closer to your pack. They’re planning something, but we didn’t learn what. When my parents refused to be a part of it, the ones who attacked us didn’t blink an eye. They shot them dead, captured several others in our pack, and beat me within an inch of death. I came here to warn you, but saw Rick, and well, you know what happened next.”
Declan was coming for us again, but we wouldn’t have the witches to give us a heads-up this time. Not only were we unprepared for an attack right at that moment, but we still had a traitor in our pack and no clue who it might be.
Chapter 11
Dad was at ease, as usual, taking everything Elena had just said in stride. I could only hope that as my training continued with him, I’d be able to process things as well as he did. His level head and ability to see the bigger picture when he made decisions was what made him the best alpha I knew.
“We need to call everyone in for an actual meeting. Mandatory for everyone except the children,” Dad said. “They can stay in the pack house with a few teenagers and Courtney. I want everyone accounted for within two hours.”
Augie headed for the door to put things in motion but turned back. “What about the guards around the perimeter?”
“We’ll bring them, but not until we’re ready,” Dad answered. “Make sure they know they’re on call to come in as soon as we’re ready. The meeting won’t last long and it’s better to have everyone together for this. I want the traitor, whoever it may be, to know we won’t go down without a fight and we will be ready.”
Augie nodded and left the room.
I glanced from my dad to Rick. “What about them? Until we address the pack, we probably shouldn’t let them walk around, but I don’t believe Rick needs to be locked up, either.”
“I agree.” Dad faced the two of them. “Do you mind staying here? Taya can bring both of you some clothes and you can use one of the guest rooms to clean up and relax. I will explain as little as I can to the pack, but make sure they understand Rick isn’t to blame here when we gather for the meeting later.”
Rick stood and pulled Elena up with him. “Thank you, Gerald. I’m sorry I’ve put you in this situation, but I thought I was keeping you out of more trouble rather than bringing it to our doorstep.”
Dad placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’ve had a mate. I understand how it changes things. I just hope the two of you know, you can trust me to always be there for any of my outlying packs, no matter what is happening here. I would have found a way to make it work.”
Rick nodded. “I know that now. Thank you, again.”
Once they left the room and it was only my dad, Liam, and me, I was ready to pull my hair out. I stood back up and began pacing as my dad took a seat behind his desk.
“What are we going to do?” I asked. “Are you sure it’s a good idea to invite the whole pack? Maybe we should just begin moving those who can’t fight up to the mountain like before and wait. I don’t like not knowing what Declan has planned. Can we call Zarai for a tracking spell?”
My anxiety was through the roof. There were so many variables that it was hard to determine the right thing to do.
Dad smiled. “We’re not going to call Zarai. This is all very good. Elena doesn’t realize it, but she likely saved all our lives today. We may not know when Declan plans to attack, but we know he’s not off hiding somewhere. He’s moving in. I have no intention of hiding any of our plans. I want this to be done with, and the sooner Declan knows, the sooner it will be over. One way or another.”
“How are you so calm?” I was ready to scream in frustration.
“Years of practice, daughter. This isn’t the first time we have faced an adversary, nor will it be the last. Sit and learn. Both of you. Liam, I expect you to be Taya’s voice of reason when I am no longer able, so this training is just as important for you as it is her.”
I snorted. “Are you saying I’m not reasonable?”
Then they both laughed, and the tension broke. I took a seat and got my head where it needed to be. I trusted my dad, and if he was confident in what he was planning, then I would be, too.
We didn’t leave my dad’s office until it was time to address the pack. Augie came and went with updates on how things were going with notifying the people. For the most part, it sounded as though people were either angry or afraid.
They wanted to know who Elena was and what happened to Rick. They wondered if they were safe within our pack anymore and that killed me the most. I hated that Declan had not only taken lives from our pack, but he’d also taken away the sense of security we had always provided. Thankfully, part of our plan should ease some of those fears.
Liam fit right into the strategy talk with my dad and, between the two of them, I saw how well the plan would work. It was a good plan, as long as the army Declan had been able to recruit since his human-shifter-hybrid plan failed so epically hadn't gotten too large.
My dad stood. “Times up. Let’s head out there. I don’t think anything else could be added without more information to make this plan any better.”
Liam and I stood, and I nodded. “You two have scary minds. Remind me to never plan an attack against either of you.”
We headed to the backyard for the second pack meeting of the day. The atmosphere was completely opposite from earlier today. No one waited on the stage for judgement, and the faces that had been eager to see justice served were no longer angry but confused and almost fearful.
The crowd before us was easily twice the size it had been earlier. I gripped Liam’s hand and held my head high. We needed to remain united and confident if the pack was going to have faith we knew what we were doing.
“Thank you all for coming, some of you for the second time,” Dad began. “We appreciate you giving us time to sort through what happened earlier. Now that we have more information, we knew we needed to share everything we could with you. We will let you make the decision to stay and protect or leave.”
“Why isn’t Rick on trial still?” someone called out.
“Rick was protecting his mate and willing to die and take blame for something he wasn’t involved in to keep his promises to her. When the woman showed up earlier, it gave Rick the chance to explain things and we have fully vetted the situation. Rick is no longer on trial and will be staying with our pack, along with his mate Elena. I don’t expect everyone to agree with my decision, but it is final. I open my office to discuss your concerns, but first, we have bigger problems.”
As my dad had mentioned earlier in the morning, I watched our people for their reactions to the news. He had been right that I would learn a lot, but it also cemented what I already knew. Our pack was family. Most everyone seemed relieved with the announcement about Rick. From the faces I could see clearly, less than a dozen were upset with the choice.
Dad continued. “Elena came from an outlying pack, which was attacked by Declan’s men earlier today. Her family was slaughtered, and she was left for dead. Declan seems to be going to the smaller packs and giving them two options: take his side in his vendetta against me or die. He’s growing an army and I expect him to attack at any moment.”
Gasps and outrage poured from everyone. My heart continued to break for our pack and I hoped they continued to listen with an open mind.
“Please, settle down. I know it’s alarming, but we have a plan we believe will benefit everyone. I’ve reached out to other packs, warning them of this potential, and found that Declan’s men have already hit two other packs. One was able to fight them off, not knowing who they were, and the other did not succeed. Our intention is to draw the focus here. We don’t want any more packs losing more people.”
“But you’ll sacrifice your own family?” another shouted.
People were always so impatient, and I wanted to step down there and smack whoever it had been upside their head.
“No, I would never do that. I would have hoped you knew me better by now. I always put my people first. I was trying to propose that we send those who don’t feel confident or safe staying here to other packs temporarily and bring some of their strongest members here to help us.”
“If they’re sending their guards here, how will we be safe there?” a woman named Deidra asked from the front.
Now, that was a good question and one we had already thought of.
This time, Augie moved forward to speak, giving my dad a break from the spotlight.
“We won’t be allowing all protectors to come from each pack. Plenty of guards will be available and we will make sure to send at least two of our own to the four packs we are going to be working with. Our hope is that by building our army rapidly and calling Declan out, he will be forced to act before he is ready.
“Once our pack members are safe, we will be getting feet on the ground again, searching for Declan. If we can bring the fight to him, we will. This time, he won’t get away, no matter the consequences.”
Cheers rose from the majority of the crowd, and I was pleased to know that our plan sounded good to others besides ourselves. I stepped forward with Liam to stand next to my dad as he gave t
he final information.
“Taya and Liam will be who you need to see if you decide you want to temporarily move to another pack. We have two options in Nevada and two in California. Sam and Rick will be sorting out which guards will stay here and who will go to the other packs to keep an eye on things.
“We want everything in motion by tomorrow evening. There will be no time to waste, so make your decisions soon and pack only the essentials if you decide to go for the time being. Please, see one of us if you have any immediate concerns. We will keep everyone updated from here on out on our secure email system. Thank you again for your understanding.”
I stepped up to the middle of the stage. “Liam and I will be in the training room for the next hour to speak with anyone about the different locations and back again in the morning at eight. We’ll only be letting a select amount in tonight as it’s getting late, but I promise we will be around as long as it takes tomorrow.”
Each of us went our separate ways. My dad and Augie went back to the office to finish filling Sam in on what he needed to know to work with Rick, and more than twenty members of the pack followed us up to the training facility.
Augie had set up tables and we had information printed out about each pack: where they were located, how many members they currently had, and living conditions. We had thought of as many outcomes and questions as possible.
Now we just had to hope we could get those who wanted to leave to another location before Declan showed up. We needed his spy within our pack to relay the information that we weren’t afraid, and our numbers were growing.
If Declan didn’t act soon, then we’d continue to pull our resources. We weren’t going to sit idly by while he forced shifters to take sides. It was time we forced his hand and finished this.
Chapter 12
Shades of Deceit (Raven Point Pack Trilogy Book 3) Page 8