Page 93 of A Token of Blood and Betrayal

“And you do know better than to leave The Rain without an escort,” he replied smoothly.“I’m hurt I didn’t get invited on this road trip.Where are we headed?”

Frustration made me shake my head.“You shouldn’t be following me.”

“You need me.”

I hated how true that felt.“Just turn around and go home.”

“Can’t do that now any more than I could on the way to Cincinnati.Maybe we should stop for barbecue.Get a hotel.Two beds again, if you insist.”

Why was he so relaxed about this?He was a dominant werewolf.He should be furious and demanding I turn around; he shouldn’t be referencing the past and making jokes.

I wanted to end the call.My car was already beaten up.It didn’t matter if he put a few dents in the bumper.

“I need to know where you’re going.”His words were calm even while they bordered on an order.I stared out at the road.If he didn’t already suspect my destination, he’d figure it out as soon as I bypassed the highway.

A mile passed without either of us saying anything, then right on cue, he cursed.“This is a bad idea.”

“I got his message,” I said, zero inflection in my voice.“I’m going to make sure he gets mine.”

“What message?”Ah, there it was, that low-level growl hidden just under his words.

“The one that left me bleeding out in a parking lot, hoping I’d go furry.Unless there’s another message he plans to throw at me.”

“I told you the pack had nothing to do with that.”His irritation rose another notch.

“You say that a lot, and I disagree.He either sent them or he conveniently looked the other way when they entered the city.”

“Most of the city is neutral ground.”

I snorted.“He’s the strongest alpha in North America.He has people watching every bar, club, and backstreet.Pack or not, the wolves wouldn’t have made it within a mile of my apartment if he hadn’t let them.”

“It’s not that simple,” Blake said.

“Then explain the complication.”I waited for his response.He didn’t give one, and that made me as irritated as he was beginning to sound.“How is it complicated, Blake?”

His silence dragged on a few more seconds before he sighed.“The wolves… They’re the reason you had to drive yourself home the other night.We’ve been looking for them.They’re not local.They don’t belong to an alpha.”He paused, probably thinking about how little he could reveal and still get me to turn around.“These have organized.”

I looked into the rearview mirror.“Into a pack?”

“No.That’s why we’re investigating.They’ve been testing our borders more than they’re breaching them.”

Road noise and the vibrating squeak of my bashed-in hood made me turn up the volume.“What’s that mean?”

“We don’t know.Thus the investigation.We thought the increased number of strays was temporary.Lehr said it’s happened in the past when a new Rain takes over.This activity didn’t fit the pattern though, so we figured someone was organizing them in an attempt to weaken Lehr or stretch the pack too thin.The attack on you changes everything.I’ll talk to Lehr.You don’t have to worry—”

“I’lltalk to Lehr,” I said.“No more intermediaries.”

“Kennedy.”

“You don’t have to be there.”Then, because he needed to listen, I said, “You shouldn’t be there.”

He was either too frustrated to hear the plea in my voice or he didn’t care.He let out a sound that was definitely more a growl than a sigh.“You’re the one who wanted open access to The Rain.We warned you this could happen.”

Wrongthing to say.“This isn’t about open access.If what you’re saying is true—”

“It is.”

“—the wolf—thewolves—were organizing, and Lehr did nothing about it.He allowed them to target me.”