by M F Adele
“It’s okay, Palmer. I get what you’re asking,” Charlie said before sighing.
“The faction alphas like to have a reason to complain. It’s their prerogative.”
“I don’t really understand how the pack runs,” I admitted.
Sloane bounced her head, thinking of a way to explain. “Okay, think of the pack hierarchy as a layered cake.”
We all groaned.
“I know, I know. It’s just the best way to explain it. You have these layers. Cakes or onions, whatever you want to think about. It could be a stack of blocks for all I care. Just fucking imagine it.”
“Keep going,” Stone encouraged, fighting a smile.
“At the top, you have the Supreme Alpha. Right below him are two tiers. The faction alphas and the apprentices. An apprentice can fall under a local, faction alpha as well as the Supreme Alpha, or in Briggs’ and my cases, just the Supreme Alpha.
“After that, you’ve got the second-in-commands and then the betas. Seconds are betas, but there isn’t just one beta in a pack. And after that layer, there are Omegas and Gammas. They, along with Betas, make up the whole of a pack. The Alphas lead them.”
“How many packs are there?” the demon questioned.
“There are six large packs in the United States in addition to this pack,” Charlie answered.
Sloane expanded on her dad’s reply. “The number of packs and alphas in a single area depends on how many shifters there are. In territories like Africa and Asia, there are more natural predators, so there are more shifters, and as a result, more packs.
“It’s the same with places like, say, South America. And colder places tend to have fewer alphas but more shifters per pack. The space in those areas is the deciding factor, though. The packs meet less frequently because they’re so spread out. Polar bears aren’t exactly friendly animals, so there’s that too.”
“The shifters in the warehouse aren’t all from my pack,” Charlie confided. “Several of them aren’t even from this side of the world. I couldn’t understand how they got here at first.”
“Did you ask them?”
“I did. Most of them had similar stories. They seemed to have been conned into thinking they were coming here at my request. I’ve reached out to their alphas, and I’ve only had one refuse to step up. He doesn’t want to help the captives who were members of his pack, so I’ll be taking them on.
“I asked Blaire to check their minds again. Everyone is clear-headed, as far as the static goes. I didn’t know there were so many unwilling rogues.”
Jack squeezed Charlie’s shoulder in comfort. “Those aren’t rogues, Dad. Those are victims.”
Blaire nodded, frowning. “Safe from the drug but filled with trauma.”
Sloane narrowed her eyes, holding her hand out before Charlie could speak again. “Who doesn’t want to step up?”
He sighed. “Gerard. He’s the alpha of the pack in Colorado.”
“Oh, I had a lovely chat with him last night.”
“He mentioned that this morning,” Charlie said with a grin. “He’s worried that you’re going to kill him.”
“I will.” She shrugged, no remorse to be found. “He should straighten his act up.”
“Kill him,” Baylor commented. “He cheated his way to the alpha position. He’s been running pack members off for the last fifteen years.”
“You’re not wrong,” Charlie stated. “But I need someone to replace him. That pack is too big to go even days without someone in charge.”
“Appoint someone,” York suggested, and I agreed with that thought.
“It’s not that simple,” the Supreme Alpha admitted. “This isn’t a royal court. Positions are won, fought for, not given.”
“It never is,” Jack muttered.
“Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet, Dad. One sour apple ruins the whole basket.”
Grim smiled at Sloane. “Any more metaphors?”
“Not off the top of my head, but you get what I’m saying.”
Charlie nodded. “I do. I’ll see what I can come up with.”
“What about Cooper?” Briggs questioned. “Send him to oversee until we can find someone that can take over.”
“I’m worried about Cooper. I don’t think he’s in the right mental state to shadow, much less lead, a pack.”
Sloane dropped her head in her hands. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“No. But I do need something from you guys. Albert May told me this morning that he hasn’t been able to reach Katie May since yesterday. He’s concerned that she’s been abducted too.”
Charlie raised a brow at Lo. “I know you killed her, but I need to know what you found at the warehouse. I want to hand him proof of what she was doing.
“And I have dozens of reports sitting on my desk that weren’t a part of the people you guys recovered. There’s got to be more people somewhere.”
He tugged at his blonde hair, and Sloane peeked at him through her fingers, grimacing at his stressed state.
“We didn’t find any evidence, but the guys warded the warehouse so we could go back and sort through everything.”
Jack blew out a harsh breath, puffing his cheeks out as his shoulders drooped. “We looked in the surrounding buildings, Dad. There were no more people.”
“I still have so many reports, though…”
“Could they be shifters that had already gone mad and been killed?” Blaire inquired.
Sloane nodded, agreeing with her. “Email me a list. Franklin keeps up with all the hits that I've taken, so we can cross-reference and see if I've killed any of them.”
Charlie turned wide eyes to his daughter. “How many rogue shifters have you killed in the last two months?”
She frowned, closing her eyes as she whispered, “Are you so sure that you want to hear that number?”
He released a defeated sigh. “No, Pretty Lady. I do not.”
“How about you send them all to Franklin, and I’ll ask him to send back the ones that we don’t have records of? Until about two weeks ago, I’ve been the only one taking care of the rogues, so if I haven’t seen them then we know we need to start looking for more.”
18
Sloane
Saturday, June 6th
Afternoon
I pillowed my head on my elbow, lazily dragging my fingers through the blades of grass. I would never be too old to not stop for a moment and watch the clouds roll by, forming images in the sky. It was one of the only activities that truly relaxed my mind.
My blood sang, warming my skin as Stone approached. He never failed to ignite me. His mental presence was dancing flames, calm and seductive until they drew you too close.
There was no way to escape his fire.
I wanted to burn, feel the scorching heat sear my soul.
He stretched out on his right side, propping his head on his palm as his chest pressed against my left arm.
“I got a weird text just a minute ago.”
I rolled my eyes. “I thought you were going to say something sweet, or I don't know, seduce me. But okay, from who?”
“From my friend, Arwen, the necromancer I know.”
“I’m following…” I flipped onto my side, searching for starbursts in his eyes as I listened.
“He said that he and our friend, Ozlo, had been given a job by the king. I asked him what he was talking about and he mentioned Dolyn’s name. I’m assuming that’s who you’ve called in to help with the assassinations while we’re busy. I didn’t know you knew Arwen.”
“I don’t know who Arwen is. I left the picking up to Simon, so he may have asked Dolyn to help him while he’s cleaning up after the rogue vampires.”
He quirked a brow at me. “Have you called Dolyn?”
“Not yet. I wanted to talk to Ripley first. At least explain why I want to extend some protection, not that there’s anything to explain. I don’t understand why I’m drawn to her, but I am.”
“She’s
with Baylor right now. Why don’t you take Briggs with you and go talk to her? It’d be more productive than laying on the ground.”
“Does that cloud look like a dick to you, or is it just me?”
“It’s just you. Get up and go.”
I huffed. “Fine. I’m going. I’d rather be—”
“Kitten,” Stone warned. “Go.”
“Cuming,” I finished, jumping up as he growled at me.
He was right, though. Taking Briggs with me to talk to Ripley was a smart idea. He knew the feline shifter, so hopefully, he could help me say the right things without coming across as being bossy.
She seemed jumpy, with good reason, but I needed to know more about her.
Blaire had suggested skimming her mind. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. That was an invasion of her privacy, especially if she didn’t know we were doing it.
She deserved to keep her thoughts to herself after the lack of privacy she’d had over the last... I didn’t even know how long.
When I’d mentioned that to Blaire, she’d rolled her eyes at me, saying, “Sometimes we have to do things that we don’t like doing to make sure we’re protecting the right people. It’s not a bad thing.”
I felt like it was.
I couldn’t accept that Ripley might be a worse person than I was.
There was no way.
Briggs was lounging on the couch in our cabin, talking to York about growing fresh food in the greenhouse at home.
I stood on the threshold, listening to their plans with a smile on my face. It was so fucking cute, and I didn’t want to interrupt, but I needed my wolf’s help.
“Will you add raspberries to your list?”
York winked at me, and Briggs said, “Already there.”
“Can you guys pause your conversation? I was wondering if you would come with me to talk to Ripley?”
“Sure, Barbie. She’s next door with Bay.”
“I know. I wanted to offer her some protection, but I don’t know how she’ll react.”
He sat on the edge of the couch, shoving his feet into his boots before studying me. “Why does she need protection?”
“I just have this feeling... I don’t know. I can’t figure out what it is exactly, but I don’t want to leave her alone.”
He furrowed his brows, nodding slowly. “What are you planning on saying to her?”
“I want to see how she feels about staying in Stars for a little while, maybe until we know that she’s safe. I really don’t know. Stone mentioned that Dolyn would be a good choice to protect her, and I definitely agree. Hyde will be there too. She leaves for school in August, so there’s time to figure things out.”
“Okay. Let’s go talk to her.”
I sat on the arm of the chair Briggs was in, awkwardly twining my fingers together. I didn’t know where to begin, and I couldn’t understand why I felt so anxious about talking to her.
Ripley and I were about the same size, so Blaire had gotten her some jeans from my closet. She was wearing an oversized t-shirt that I was assuming belonged to Baylor.
She tucked her long legs underneath her, pulling her blonde hair over her shoulder to twist around her fingers. Her green eyes were framed with long lashes, nearly touching her cheek as she blinked.
I took a deep breath, ready to dive in, and she sighed.
“I know you have questions for me, but I may not be able to answer some of them. I don’t have an explanation for most of the shit that’s happened. Looking at today’s date, I can say that I was in that warehouse for about two months, though.”
“I just want to know a little more about you. I have this feeling of familiarity with you. It’s making me oddly protective. It doesn’t happen very often, so it’s concerning. I don’t know if you feel it or not, and I don’t want to come across as creepy or possessive—”
“You mean, feeling like I already know you?”
I nodded. “Yeah. I don’t understand it, but it’s there. I want to offer you some protection. I don’t need to know everything about you to know that this isn’t something that I can ignore. But I would like to know why you came to North Fork and possibly how you ended up in the warehouse to begin with.”
Ripley stared at her fingernails, picking at them as she thought about how to answer. She rolled her bottom lip between her teeth, glancing from Baylor to Briggs before focusing on me.
“It’s a bit of a long-winded explanation, but I don’t mind explaining it. First, the Elliotts are my cousins. Two months ago, I was living in Colorado, and I wanted to get out, but I wasn’t sure where to go. I called Baylor to talk about my options.
“He told me that Briggs was living in Nashville but that he really enjoyed being in North Fork near the Supreme Alpha, so I began looking for a job and a place to stay. I found an ad for a female looking for a female roommate.
“So I packed up all my things from Colorado, and I got a motel room near the pack property. I got to town late on a Friday night and met with the woman on Saturday morning. We hit it off almost immediately, and I didn’t think anything about it, but now I wish I would have.
“I moved my things in on Sunday, signed a piece of paper that definitely looked—and read—like a lease agreement. On Monday, I had plans to go talk to the Supreme Alpha about moving into town and being part of his pack instead of the Colorado pack.
“But when I woke up on Monday morning, I wasn’t in my bed. I was on the concrete floor in the warehouse.”
I furrowed my brows. “Why did you want to leave the Colorado pack?”
“Several reasons. The faction alpha there is an asshole. But I was also trying to get away from the people who raised me. I mean, I’m twenty-two—”
She stopped abruptly, sealing her lips together while shaking her head.
“It’s okay. I don’t need your whole backstory. I’m here if you need someone to talk to, but it’s not my business, Ripley. I won’t prod.”
“Thanks. I’m just not ready to dwell in the past when so much bullshit has happened recently.”
“And that’s a perfect response.”
I bobbed my head, trying to decide how best to explain my plan. “I’m going to call in a friend of mine—ours. He’s a demon, but you won’t have to worry about anything with him and his sister. Jack and I have known them since childhood, and I know that might not mean anything to you. He’s safe, though. Nothing gets past the Drakes.
“If you’re okay with it, I think the best option will be to stay in Stars with Dolyn and Hyde. After the wards are replaced at our house, you’re more than welcome to stay there, but we’ve had some breaches in the last couple of weeks, and I don’t think it’s the safest place to stay at right now.”
She looked to Briggs. “What are they like?”
“Dolyn is a nice guy, but I like Hyde better. You’ll like them too.”
I smiled at her. “They’re both powerful and feared in the Underworld. I don’t see you having any issues while you’re with them.”
“Okay,” she agreed hesitantly, nodding at Briggs. “If you think I should, then I’ll go. I can’t say that I’ll enjoy it, but there’s nothing here for me, so it won’t be the worst situation that I’ve been in recently.”
“I’ll give him a call.”
She exhaled loudly, shifting her legs around. “Right. Who am I to say no? Just let me know when I need to be ready.”
“Listen. You can say no, but will you meet him first? If you don’t like him, then tell me no. We can figure something else out. No hard feelings.”
She reluctantly accepted, and I decided that she probably needed a little space. From me, at least.
I left Briggs with her and Baylor, hoping they could catch up or help her work through some of the things she didn’t want to talk about in front of me.
As soon as I was out of the cabin, I held my hand out, calling hellfire into my palm with my intentions focused on Dolyn Drake. His face was visible after a moment, and he looked seri
ously aggravated.
“I’m on Earth, in public. Call me on my fucking cell phone,” he hissed.
The flames in my hand burned out immediately. I stomped into our cabin, going straight to the kitchen to grab my phone from the counter. I might have dialed his number with more force than necessary.
“Why didn’t you say you were here? Stone said something to me earlier, but I totally forgot.”
“Franklin called me to take care of a fae that was lurking around your house. You didn’t know?”
I shook my head, knowing he couldn’t see me. “No. I trust Franklin with everything. He doesn’t call me when he makes decisions like that.”
“Well, I took care of it. You’re welcome,” he sarcastically stated.
“Thank you,” I quipped.
“We still need to dispose of the leftovers, but—doesn’t matter. What did you need?”
That made me curious. “Who is we?”
“Arwen and Ozlo.”
“Yes, right. I knew that. I need a favor. It’s... Important.”
“And?” he prompted.
“And I need you to protect someone for me.”
Dolyn chuckled. “For you or from you?”
“Ass. I need you to make sure nothing happens to her.”
“Easy. Done. Send her to Stars.”
“I need you to come to West Virginia and meet her first. She’s not so sure that she wants to go.”
He sighed. “Fine. Are you near the Alpha’s lodge? Because that’s the only place I know how to get to.”
“Thanks, D. I’ll owe you one.”
“You still owe me a pizza.”
I grinned at his sass. “You never forget anything, do you?”
“Nope,” he popped back before saying something to the people he was with. “When we finish what we’re doing, we’ll head your way. She’ll have a full security detail when we pick her up.”
“She’s a stressed-out shifter, Dolyn. She’s been through some shit, and I don’t know what else she’s running from.”
“She’ll be safe in Stars, Lo. I’ll take care of her. Maybe it’ll give her some away time from her personal demons.”