“It talks,” she responded drily as she strode on. He’d been her silent watchdog since she began leading them around the northern perimeter.
“And it’s wondering if you’re really as good as everyone says you are.” He lengthened his stride so that he walked alongside her.
She glanced up at him in open curiosity. “How good do they say I am?”
He shrugged. “There’s a story of how you saved six of your pack mates after a cave-in. Nobody knew exactly where they were, but you found them.”
She ducked her head. “That was quite a while ago. And it was seven, by the way.”
“There’s also a story about how they buried a T-shirt in the forest and then got you to find it three weeks later.”
She nodded. “True.” That had been one of her trials, although she hadn’t known it at the time. To achieve tracker prime status, there were a number of tests to pass that were set by the alpha prime. Her mouth turned down at the corners. She’d had to track a deer Rafe had injured, purposely letting it go, in great pain, for her to track. She’d also been dumped blindfolded in River Pack territory, and had had to trek her way out, without any of River Pack becoming aware of her presence. She’d hated those four days, hiding, covering tracks, subsisting on berries and bushes to avoid leaving evidence of a kill. That had been three nights of sleeping in trees and constantly living with all senses on high alert.
“So how is it you can find lycans and T-shirts buried under the earth, but you can’t find your home den?”
“I know exactly where it is,” she commented lightly.
“But we can’t be anywhere near it, otherwise we would have run into Woodland guardians by now. Or do they not patrol their territory?” Kai’s tone was deliberately challenging.
“Oh, they do,” she assured him, lifting her chin. “Trust me, Woodland have their territory covered.” Largely, they did. But since Rafe had pissed off the River pack, he’d had to double up patrols along that border. There was a long-standing feud between River and Woodland, so long she wasn’t sure if anyone actually remembered how it had started. She only knew their border was constantly in dispute, and there was the occasional flare-up of tension, more so now that Rafe was alpha prime.
Up here in the northern quadrant, where the land rose and fell sharply and the natural landscape deterred intruders, the likelihood of them running into a Woodland team was extremely low—and that’s the way she wanted to keep it. That way neither Woodland nor Alpine needed to get hurt. Besides, some of Woodland thought this area was cursed. Her mouth turned down. For those, it was easier to believe than the truth.
She looked up at the tall guardian, and the cut on his biceps caught her eye. Kai caught her gaze and his eyebrows rose at her wince. She gestured to his arm.
“That, uh, that looks painful.”
He glanced at it briefly, then shook his head. “Nah, I’ve had worse.”
“Is that—is that from yesterday?” she asked tentatively.
He looked at her directly. “You mean, when you lead us into that cozy little powwow with the vamps? Yes.”
She looked away. Kai was young, good-looking, with his russet brown hair and blue-green eyes. Although he was supposed to be guarding her, she’d never sensed any malevolence from him. Yet, he was hurt from the confrontation she’d sensed would occur. He could have died. She’d seen some mild bruising on both Matthias and Zane, as well. More could have died.
“Sorry about that,” she said roughly, clambering over some rocks.
Kai chuckled. “Don’t sweat it. It was fun. I should be thanking you—a wrestle with vamps was just what I needed.”
She shook her head in amazement. This lycan was chatting with her so comfortably, so relaxed—something she found hard to process, after what she’d done, but also because lycans didn’t normally chat with her. At least, not from her pack.
“You should hate me,” she said quietly. He was so casual with her, making conversation as though they were companions out on a walk, not members of enemy packs who were plotting each other’s elimination.
Kai chuckled. “What for? That run-in with the vamps?” He gave a derisive snort. “Hardly worth the effort, that lot. It would take a lot more than that to make me hate someone.”
“But it could have been worse.” She felt she needed to point that out, to really put her actions into perspective for the young guardian. “I suspected there may be vamps, but I had no idea how many—there could have been a squad there, for all I knew. And I led you into it, knowing you would be attacked.”
He shrugged. “All’s well that ends well,” he said nonchalantly.
She blinked. “But—but we killed your alpha prime.” She couldn’t understand how this lycan could stomach his babysitting duties, but the fact that they were talking like this, with no animosity—it completely stumped her.
“Did you?” Kai looked at her intently, then ducked under the branch of a tree as they continued their journey. “The way we hear it, the dentist dealt with the lycans directly responsible with handling the poison, that psycho Arthur Armstrong is stinking up a prison cell somewhere deep in a Reform pen and the only person left who hasn’t been brought to justice for Jared’s death is your alpha prime.”
“When...when an alpha prime acts, it’s in the name of the pack,” she said quietly, quoting her father. “They are the chief representative of the family.”
Kai shrugged. “Sure, but if my brother acts like a Class-A dick, does that make me a Class-A dick? Similarly, if I acted like a dick, I wouldn’t necessarily want my whole pack blamed for it.” He grimaced. “And let’s face it, your alpha prime acted like a royal dick.”
Trinity trudged on silently after that, mulling over his words. A pack that didn’t blame you for the sins of your father? That sounded weird. It also sounded like nirvana.
* * *
Matthias looked up from the campfire as more lycans entered the clearing. Nate had arrived with backup. He rose and went over to greet the guardians. Male and female, they were the fittest, toughest guardians, and he was proud to train them and fight alongside them.
Nate shook his hand, but there was something in the lycan’s gaze, a seriousness, that had Matthias raising an eyebrow.
“What’s up?” he asked.
Nate jerked his chin, and Matthias followed him, along with Zane, as the current squad welcomed their brothers-and sisters-at-arms.
“I have a message from Vivianne,” Nate said, his hands on his hips. “We still have access through Nightwing, but we’ll be escorted. No free access.”
Matthias pursed his lips. “So Lucien got to her. Darn. Well, it limits us a little, but not much.” He shrugged. “Fine, we’ll deal with it.”
Nate rubbed his chin, hesitating, and Matthias frowned. “What?”
“We, uh, we got a response from Woodland about the exchange.”
There was something in Nate’s tone that had him straightening his shoulders. “And?”
“When we offered to exchange their tracker prime for their alpha prime, Rafe’s response was—and I quote—‘You can keep her.’”
Matthias raised his eyebrows. “What?” He couldn’t contain his disbelief, his shock. A tracker, especially one with the status of tracker prime, was a valuable resource for a pack. The tracker was the one to call in times of natural disasters, to find safe routes and sites, and to help rescue and recover lost ones. Trackers were also critical for locating new food sources, hunting sites and trespassers. Especially in a time of war, trackers were indispensable.
“That doesn’t make sense,” Zane muttered. “He could have surrendered with dignity, and his pack would have still flourished with the help of their primes, including the tracker prime. Sure, an alpha prime outranks a tracker prime, but under the circumstances, I’m, well, stunned.”
&n
bsp; “You and me both,” Matthias said, looking back toward the fire. Trinity had finagled a seat next to Jax, and was sharing food out of her bowl. “Sure, Rafe seems to be quite the selfish prick—but he’s an alpha prime. Pack comes first.” If he’d found himself in the same position, he would have taken the exchange—with a plan to escape, of course, but still...you didn’t leave a pack member in the hands of your enemy.
“What about the pup?”
Nate shook his head. “Same deal. Keep the pup, the mother is almost dead, anyway.”
Matthias almost reeled backward. Rafe Woodland didn’t value his young. He didn’t value his tracker prime. Did he value his pack at all? Or would he be prepared to risk them all to save his own skin, his own ego? Having that kind of enemy changed the strategy of battle.
He eyed the little boy sitting next to Trinity. He had a cheeky grin as he told her something, and Matthias could see the smile blossom on her mouth, hear the tinkle of her laughter. The boy yawned, and she picked him up to nestle him on her knees, her arms embracing him as she kissed the top of his head. A lump formed in his throat at the easy display of affection, of love and trust, between the two. Trinity’s gaze lifted, and her smile faltered as she found his eyes on hers. A line appeared between her eyebrows as she looked at him and his men.
He turned back to Zane and Nate. “We say nothing of this in front of the pup. He must never know.” To be abandoned by one’s pack was, in most cases, a fate worse than death. He knew from painful experience. For a kid so young it would be humiliating, terrifying and possibly the harshest punishment ever devised—and this kid had done nothing but scamper through the forest.
Zane and Nate nodded immediately. No pup deserved that kind of treatment.
Matthias shook his head. He was slowly forming a picture in his mind of his enemy. Rafe Woodland was self-serving, ruthless and fierce. The normal leverages wouldn’t work with the lycan, and Matthias wanted to get out of this battle with as few casualties as possible. To do that, he needed to understand Rafe better—starting with why the alpha prime didn’t seem to care for his tracker.
He strode toward Trinity.
Chapter 9
Matthias beckoned Kai and Warwick over, and Jax’s eyes lit up when he saw his playmate from earlier in the day. Matthias lifted the pup from Trinity’s lap, shaking his head to still her protests, and hoisted the boy until their eyes were on level.
“Wanna play with the big boys?” he asked.
Jax nodded. “Yes, yes, yes,” he chanted.
Matthias nodded. “Okay, but just for a little while, and then it’s time for bed.” He handed the kid over to Warwick, who winced when Jax grabbed hold of his hair as he climbed up the big man’s body to his shoulders.
He bent down and grasped Trinity’s arm, gently pulling her to her feet. “We need to talk.” He walked her away from the light of the fire, into the enveloping darkness of trees and night.
“What? Why?” she asked, breathless, the sound tightening his groin as he stopped a good distance from the camp, ensuring no others could overhear their conversation. He couldn’t help noticing that she hadn’t tried to pull away. He didn’t know what that meant, what he could read into it, if anything. He glanced back toward the camp. There was a faint glow between the trees, but that was it. They couldn’t see any detail of fire, of folks sitting around—which meant those folks couldn’t see Trinity’s reaction when he told her the news. He wanted to give Trinity some privacy to hear what he had to tell her, a chance for her to hold on to some dignity.
He faced her and folded his arms, trying not to touch her, reach out to her, hold her. She’d made it quite clear she didn’t want anything to do with him. Although, the way her eyes followed the movement of his arms and chest, the hot and hungry look in her eyes, had him rethinking his position.
“Aren’t you cold?” she asked, frowning. “Don’t any of you own a shirt?” She tugged at the collar of her jacket.
“We’re Alpine. We’re used to snow and ice. This is balmy in comparison to our home.”
Her gaze kept flicking between his chest and his eyes, and all thoughts of dignity flew out the window. He couldn’t help himself. He unfolded his arms and placed his hands on his hips, and her eyes dropped to stare at his chest. Then she squeezed her eyes shut for a moment before opening them to meet his gaze. Yeah, she tried to act so damn cool, but there was nothing cool about the heated desire in her eyes that she tried to hide from him.
Okay, so now he was confused. He stunk like a skunk, but it looked like the tracker was attracted to...skunks?
She stared at him with a composed yet mildly curious expression. Oh, now, she was all business. “You wanted to talk?”
No. He wanted to kiss her, but he still remembered the sting of her rejection the night before. A perverse need to make her see him as something more than a skunk prodded him, and he decided to test how deep her cool reserve went.
“Yeah, I did,” he said, and flexed his right pec. Her gaze faltered only slightly, not quite dipping below his chin. “Mind telling me what your relationship is with Rafe Woodland?” This time he flexed his left pec. This time her gaze did drop, and he was fascinated by the rosy bloom in her cheeks when she snapped her gaze back up to his. Yeah. Not that cool.
“Uh, what?” she asked licking her lips, then she frowned. “My relationship with Rafe? What do you mean?”
“What kind of relationship do you have with Rafe Woodland?” he repeated carefully. He could see the confusion in her gaze, the flicker in her eyes as she tried to guess his goal.
“Uh, he’s alpha prime, and I’m tracker prime,” she said, shrugging.
He tilted his head to the side, and tried to look at her through the eyes of her alpha. What he saw was a naturally beautiful woman, her brown hair framing her face with soft curls. Her blue gaze could change from nearly a dark slate blue, to steely silver, and every combination in between. He’d discovered he liked looking into her eyes, just to see what shade they were at the time. Her luscious lips, her oval face... It was a very attractive face. And her body... His gaze drifted down, skimming the slight curves of her breasts that he knew were a pleasant weight in his hands, that narrow waist and the legs that were toned with feminine strength. She was gorgeous.
He frowned. “Did you and Rafe have a relationship that was more than just an alpha and his tracker?”
Those luscious lips parted, and she blinked. “Uh, no. Not...really.” The rosy hue deepened in her cheeks, and she shifted on her feet.
His eyes narrowed. “Define ‘not really.’” Suspicion flared as he guessed at the origin of Rafe’s attitude to his tracker prime.
She shrugged. “He asked me once to become his partner. I politely declined.”
His eyebrows rose. Well. There it was. “You declined an offer from your alpha prime,” he repeated. He tried to ignore the satisfaction and triumph, the possessiveness that rose within him at those words. Rafe had wanted her. She’d said no.
She frowned. “Yes, as is my right. It wasn’t a serious offer, anyway.”
He blinked. “What do you mean it wasn’t a serious offer?” Anytime a lycan made an offer, it was serious. It was never done lightly, picking a life partner. There was always the hope that a life partner could become more...could become a mate.
“He only wanted me because—” she hesitated, then took a deep breath. “He only made an offer because he wanted to be alpha prime, and he thought marrying me would help him. I knew he didn’t really have feelings for me, and that he didn’t need my help.” She folded her arms and lifted her chin. “And I was right. On both counts. He became alpha prime easily enough without my help.”
“You don’t think he wasn’t a little hurt or angered by your rejection?” He had been, and that was without the weight of an offer behind it. He was surprised by the dry smile
that curled her lips.
“Trust me, Rafe wasn’t really that into me. My declining his offer probably made him relieved, more than anything.”
He frowned. Any lycan who could walk away from Trinity feeling relieved at losing her was a bloody idiot. But then, he was beginning to suspect Rafe Woodland might not be completely sane. This might just confirm it.
“Why are you asking me all this?” she asked.
He bit the inside of his cheek. He had to get Rafe Woodland, and with the information Trinity had just given him, he could possibly use this whole scenario to his advantage—and feel like a royal jerk doing it.
Maybe, though, just maybe if Trinity knew her pack had abandoned her, perhaps she’d help them?
And he’d feel like a schmuck.
But Jared’s murder would be avenged.
Yet Trinity would be shattered.
The Alpine pack could move on then, knowing justice had been served.
And he’d still feel like a schmuck.
But Jared’s murder would be avenged.
Ah, hell. “We suggested a trade to Woodland Pack. You for Rafe.”
She started to laugh, then her eyes widened, and the throaty sound was cut off in a hiccup. “Oh, you’re actually serious. He won’t go for that.”
“He said we could keep you.”
For a moment her expression remained the same, then she blinked. Stilled.
“What?” The tone that came out of those luscious lips was raw, as though all emotion had been ripped out of it.
“He said we could keep you. And Jax.”
Her mouth opened, as though she was trying to inhale and wasn’t feeling the oxygen. She blinked and turned away, and he could hear it, the wounded, tortured gasping sounds as she tried to breathe past the pain. He reached for her.
“I’m sorry,” he said softly.
She flinched, shaking her head. “No. They—they wouldn’t. Not—not Jax.”
“Trin...” He could feel her pain, it was so obvious, so overwhelming, that it was touching him as well, clawing at him.
Lycan Unleashed Page 9