Page 10 of Alpha’s Vow (Copper Canyon Shifters #3)

CHAPTER 10

SABLE

T he dilapidated warehouse was just ahead, its rusted exterior and broken windows blending into the desolation of the industrial district. Once inside, Sable crouched behind a stack of abandoned pallets, her eyes locked on the lone figure pacing near the entrance. The hunter. She’d tracked him here over the past three days, piecing together his movements, his routines, his vulnerabilities.

This one was different from the others—higher up in the network, with connections that could lead her closer to the men who had ordered the slaughter of her pack. Her pulse quickened as she adjusted the blade strapped to her thigh, every muscle in her body coiled. She couldn’t afford hesitation this time.

Her wolf stirred within her, restless and eager, but Sable kept her instincts in check. She had learned the hard way that rushing in headlong was a mistake. Tonight, she would be careful, methodical.

She slipped closer, her movements silent, every sense tuned to the environment around her. The wind shifted, carrying with it the faint scent of gasoline and sweat. Her target was close. Just a few more steps, and she could?—

“Sable.”

The low, gravelly voice sent a shock through her system. She froze, her blade halfway drawn, as Bryce stepped out of the shadows. His broad frame was backlit by the pale glow of a streetlamp, his eyes locked on hers with a mixture of frustration and determination.

“What the hell are you doing here?” she hissed, her voice sharp but quiet. “We agreed this is my fight.”

“No,” Bryce drawled, his tone steady but edged with steel. “You slipping away from the hotel while I was asleep does not constitute my agreeing that you should go alone. That is you trying to push me away again. As for what I’m doing, that should be obvious, I’m trying to keep you from getting yourself killed.”

“Stay out of this,” Sable snapped, straightening but keeping her blade at the ready. “I don’t need your interference.”

Bryce’s jaw tightened, his wolf radiating dominance as he stepped closer. “You don’t get to make that call. Not when your life’s on the line.”

Sable glared at him, her anger flaring. “I’ve been doing just fine without you.”

“Sure you have,” Bryce shot back, his voice laced with sarcasm. “That’s why Rush and his men are starting to pay attention to what you’re doing and why I’ve had to stop you from charging into death traps more than once.”

“This isn’t a death trap,” she argued, pointing toward the warehouse. “It’s a calculated move.”

“It’s suicide,” Bryce countered. “You’re outnumbered, outgunned, and going in blind.”

Sable opened her mouth to argue, but Bryce moved faster than she expected. In one swift motion, he grabbed her arm and spun her around, pinning her hands behind her back with infuriating ease.

“Let me go, Bryce,” she growled, her wolf bristling at his dominance.

“Not until you calm down,” he said, his voice low and commanding. “You’re not thinking straight.”

“Damn you,” she snapped, struggling against his grip. But Bryce didn’t budge, his strength an unyielding wall that only fueled her frustration.

With a swift movement, Bryce hauled her toward a nearby utility room, its door slightly ajar. Before she could react, he pushed her inside and shut the door behind her, the heavy clang of the lock sealing her in.

“Bryce!” she shouted, slamming her fists against the door. “Let me out!”

“No,” came his firm reply from the other side. “Not until I’ve handled this.”

Sable paced the small room, her fury simmering like a pot about to boil over. The audacity of him—locking her up like some reckless child. She didn’t need his protection, didn’t need anyone to fight her battles for her. And yet, as she listened to his footsteps retreating, she couldn’t ignore the gnawing pull of the bond between them.

Her sharp hearing picked up Bryce’s voice as he approached the hunter.

“You’ve got two choices,” Bryce said, his tone calm but cold. “You talk, or I make you talk.”

The hunter’s laugh was harsh, though there was a faint edge of nervousness to it. “Who the hell are you?”

“Someone who’s out of patience,” Bryce replied. “And you’re about to find out what that means.”

Sable pressed her ear to the door, her breath hitching. Bryce wasn’t bluffing—she could feel the danger radiating off him even from a distance. He wasn’t like her; his dominance came with an edge of calculated control that she had yet to master.

“I don’t know anything,” the hunter said, his voice shaking slightly.

“Wrong answer,” Bryce growled. The sound of something heavy slamming against metal made Sable’s wolf stir with equal parts admiration and frustration. “Let’s try this again. Who do you work for? What’s the endgame?”

“I’m just a cog,” the man stammered. “They don’t tell me anything—just who to hit and where to meet.”

Sable clenched her fists, her frustration mounting. She wanted to be out there, to interrogate the man herself, but Bryce had taken control of the situation, and she hated how much she trusted him to handle it.

“Names,” Bryce demanded. “Locations.”

“I—I don’t know their real names,” the hunter stammered. “But there’s a shipment coming through the border in two days. Weapons, supplies, everything they need to expand operations. That’s all I know, I swear.”

The sound of silence followed, heavy and tense. Sable’s wolf bristled as she imagined Bryce weighing the man’s words, deciding his fate.

“You’re lucky I believe you,” Bryce said finally, his tone low and menacing. “But if I find out you’re lying, I’ll hunt you down myself.”

The hunter muttered something Sable couldn’t hear before the sound of retreating footsteps reached her ears. The door to the utility room swung open moments later, and Bryce filled the frame, his expression hard but unreadable.

The air between them buzzed and crackled like a life wire. Sable’s breath hitched, her anger clashing with the undeniable pull of the bond. She wanted to shove him, to yell, to make him understand that she didn’t need saving. But she couldn’t ignore the truth in his eyes—the unshakable determination to protect her, no matter the cost.

The night air was sharp as Sable stepped out of the dingy utility room where Bryce had locked her, her eyes blazing with fury. The warehouse’s cold concrete walls seemed to pulse with the energy between them as she stormed toward him. Bryce stood near a makeshift table illuminated by a dim overhead light, his broad shoulders taut as he scanned the piece of paper in his hand.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” Sable said, her voice tight with anger.

“I just saved your life,” Bryce countered, his eyes locking onto hers. “You’re welcome.”

Sable stepped closer, her chest heaving with the effort of holding back her rage. “You had no right.”

“I had every right,” Bryce growled, his voice dropping as his wolf flared to life. “You’re my mate, Sable. And I’m not letting you destroy yourself for revenge.”

“This isn’t over,” she said, her voice trembling with both fury and something deeper.

“No,” Bryce agreed, his tone softening but his dominance unyielding. “It’s not.”

As the night deepened around them, Sable felt the unspoken conflict between them growing stronger. Bryce wasn’t going to back down, and neither was she. She knew that when the dust finally settled, there would be no turning back.

Her fists clenched at her sides. “You can’t keep interfering.”

“Want to bet? And before you go off on another one of your tangents, you might want to thank me.” He held up a slip of paper, a list scrawled across it stark against the pale background. “For this.”

Sable froze, her gaze narrowing as she took in the names and locations etched on the page. There were at least half a dozen listed, some with detailed notes: roles, last-known whereabouts, ties to the broader network. The neatness of the handwriting contrasted sharply with the chaos swirling in her chest.

“Where did you get this?” she demanded, stepping closer.

“Where do you think?” Bryce said, nodding toward the direction the hunter had fled earlier.

Her lips pressed into a thin line. “What did you do?”

“I asked,” Bryce replied, his voice calm but carrying an edge that sent a shiver down her spine.

“Asked,” she repeated, her tone dripping with disbelief. “And he just handed over a list of names out of the goodness of his heart?”

Bryce’s gaze darkened, his wolf stirring just beneath the surface. “Not exactly, but I can be very persuasive.”

Sable’s stomach twisted, her anger warring with unease. “What does that mean, Bryce? Did you...”

“I didn’t kill him, if that’s what you’re asking,” he cut her off, his voice sharp. “But I made sure he knew lying wasn’t an option.”

Her eyes searched his, trying to gauge the truth behind his words. There was something in his tone, a raw honesty, that made her believe him despite herself. But that didn’t lessen her frustration.

“You can’t keep doing this,” she said, her voice rising. “You don’t get to barge into my life and take over.”

“I’m not taking over,” Bryce shot back, his dominance flaring as he stepped closer. “I’m making sure you don’t get yourself killed.”

“I don’t need your protection!” she snapped, her voice cracking with emotion.

Bryce’s jaw tightened, his eyes locking onto hers. “And I don’t need your permission to protect what’s mine.”

Sable’s breath hitched, the bond between them flaring into being—white hot with its intensity. She wanted to shove him, scream at him, make him understand that she wasn’t his responsibility. But the intensity in his gaze rooted her in place, her wolf both bristling and yielding in response.

“What’s your plan?” she asked finally, her tone laced with defiance and just a smidgeon of acceptance. “Are you just going to hand this list over to the authorities and hope for the best?”

“That’s exactly what I’m going to do,” Bryce said, his voice firm. “The Texas Rangers will handle it from here.”

Sable’s eyes widened, disbelief flashing across her face. “You can’t be serious. These people aren’t just criminals, Bryce. They’re hunters. They’ve slaughtered wolves—entire packs. You think some badge and paperwork are going to stop them?”

Bryce’s expression didn’t waver. “The Rangers have resources, Sable. Networks, manpower, intelligence. They’ll do what needs to be done.”

“And if they don’t?” she challenged, stepping closer. “What happens when the system fails? When they slip through the cracks?”

“They won’t. I’ve known Rush and his team for years, but if something happens I’ll deal with it,” Bryce said, his voice low and steady. “In exchange for them looking the other way for now, I had to agree that we would give them a chance.”

Sable’s frustration boiled over, her emotions a tangled mess of anger and doubt. She turned away, pacing the length of the room as she tried to make sense of his logic. Every instinct in her screamed that this was wrong, that she couldn’t trust anyone else to finish what she’d started. But a small, infuriating part of her wanted to believe Bryce—to trust that he could shoulder some of the burden she’d been carrying since the death of her pack.

“I can’t just stand by,” she said finally, her voice quieter but no less firm. “Not after everything they’ve done.”

Bryce moved to stand in front of her, his presence as steady and unyielding as a mountain. “I’m not asking you to stand by. I’m asking you to trust me.”

Sable looked up at him, her eyes searching his face for something—anything—that could ease the storm inside her. But all she found was his unwavering determination, the strength of his resolve radiating off him like heat.

“Why are you doing this?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Bryce’s hand reached out, his fingers brushing against hers in a gesture that was both gentle and possessive. “Because you’re my mate, Sable. And that means I care about what happens to you. Whether you like it or not.”

Her breath caught, the raw emotion in his voice cutting through her defenses. The bond between them pulsed with a quiet intensity, a reminder that no matter how much she tried to fight it, they were connected in ways neither of them could deny.

“I don’t know how to do this,” she admitted, her voice trembling.

“You don’t have to,” Bryce said, his hand tightening around hers. “Not alone.”

Sable looked away, her heart pounding as she wrestled with his words. She wanted to believe him, to let herself trust him, but the scars of her past made it almost impossible.

“Fine,” she said finally, her voice clipped. “But if this doesn’t work, I’m handling it my way.”

Bryce’s lips curved into a faint, knowing smile. “Deal.”

The tension between them lingered. There was a storm looming on the horizon, dark and inevitable. Their next steps were poised to change everything, and that terrified her more than anything.