Page 25

A week after the attack, most of my injuries have healed, and I’m finally feeling strong enough to implement Galen’s plan.

“Are you sure you’re ready for this?” Galen asks as we leave the house. “I don’t like using you as bait.”

“All of you are going to be right there,” I answer, taking his hands. “I won’t be in any danger. Besides, it has to be me.”

“There might be better ways of getting him to talk.”

“We discussed this already. If you accuse anyone without sufficient evidence, it will cause more dissent amongst the council, and that’s exactly what you want to prevent.”

“Okay,” Galen sighs. “I know you’re right. This might not pan out into anything—if he’s not the guilty party, then we won’t set off any alarm bells with this plan. If I did any major investigations, I could alert the bad guys, and they’d cover their tracks.”

“See?” I say, grinning as I link my fingers through his. “It makes perfect sense.”

“Are we ready?” Nico asks, standing by the car. “I’m all set for this, Mom. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“Oh, sweet boy,” I say, running over to hug him. “You don’t have to stand up and offer to fight for me—the whole pack will be there. Don’t put yourself in danger.”

“I’m stronger than you, Mom,” Nico says very seriously. “I can help. Don’t worry.”

“Alright,” I mutter, sighing. “But listen to your dad and the other wolves, okay? You’re still learning.”

“Yes, Mom, I will,” Nico says, his eyes very wide and serious. “I promise.”

I watch him get into the car, a horrible twist of nerves deep in my stomach. I feel like Nico is too young to be mixed up in this, but he’s a shifter, not a human child. He’s faster, stronger, and more mature, and if he doesn’t exercise his special skills, he’ll go mad with boredom.

Not to mention his witch powers. Raising him is going to be a challenge!

As we drive to town, I’m comforted by the thought that Nico has an incredibly big support network in his family and in the pack. I’m confident that we can overcome any difficulty now that all of us are joined in love.

“Okay,” Galen says, parking behind Town Hall. “The others are all in position. You know what to do?”

“Yeah,” I answer, nerves bubbling up in my stomach. “I’m good.”

Galen gives me a searching look, his eyes grave.

“You can still pull out if you want to—”

“No,” I answer firmly. “Let’s do this.”

I get out of the car and walk around the hall, heading for the main street. As I walk, I take deep breaths and stretch my legs, trying to stay calm. The others will be able to pick up on my vital signs, so if the plan is going to work, I can’t let them suspect anything.

The corner near the main bakery is a little crowded, just as we planned. It’s a common meeting place in the morning, and the little shop does excellent trade. Strolling up to the tables and chairs out front, I see Sherman and Kyra sitting close together with their heads down.

Here we go.

I cross the small dining area, seeing George and Agnes approaching from the other side. My stomach lurches, but I plow forward, gulping down my fear. When I stop by the table, Sherman looks up at me and smiles quickly, as if he almost forgot to. Kyra nods, giving me only a brief acknowledgment.

“Good morning,” I say brightly. “How are you today?”

“Well, thanks,” Sherman answers. “How are you, though, after the terrible ordeal you went through?”

“I’m healing,” I reply, smiling. “Thank you.”

By my side, George and Agnes appear. Neither of them attempts to hide their foul looks.

“Clara,” Agnes almost spits at me, “I thought you’d be in bed for much longer than this. You know, being human and all?”

“It’s a terrible affliction,” I answer, unable to keep a woeful tone out of my voice. “I can’t tell you how I’ve suffered with it.”

Kyra snickers and flashes me a thumbs-up. I grin back at her while Agnes glowers, obviously knowing there was a joke involved that she didn’t pick up on.

“I assume that measures will now be taken to prevent this from happening again,” George says. “Obviously, you aren’t safe. Galen will have to put you under guard.”

“No, I don’t think so,” I say pleasantly. “I do have ways of defending myself, and there’s no point living my life in fear. You can count on me going through with all my usual routines.”

“So, you’ll just be walking around town unprotected?” George asks.

I nod, but Agnes cuts in before I can answer.

“She just said that, George!” Agnes snaps. “Will you keep up?”

I have to hide a giggle as I realize Agnes is still sore after my sarcasm went over her head. She looks around the table and finds no sympathy. Her frown deepens.

“Well, I’m going in to get my breakfast,” she huffs. “I’ll get yours, too, George.”

He waves a hand dismissively, which only pisses her off even more. As she flounces away, I put my focus back on Sherman, who’s staring at his phone.

“Do you still have plans for expanding the council?” I ask.

He nods, looking up. “I’ve been chatting with a few people about getting it happening. I’m glad Galen is behind me. Did you say you’ll be around town a lot more?”

“Yeah, I’ll be here most days. Otherwise, I’d just be back at the house by myself.”

“Good to know,” Sherman says, tapping the screen of his phone as he stands up. “Gotta run.”

“Me too, I’m afraid,” Kyra says. “I’m late for an appointment. I’ll chat with you later.”

The two of them go, leaving me and George standing in the back of the deserted dining area, completely alone. He glares at me, making no attempt to hide it. I keep my face blank and do a slow blink, which makes him frown.

“So, George, what is your opinion on Sherman’s changes to the council?” I ask.

“I don’t like it,” he barks. “Galen should not be entertaining it.”

“Oh!” I gasp, making my eyes wide. “Why? What do you think will happen?”

“Chaos—that’s what’s going to happen!” he snaps. “It’s bad enough that the royal bloodline has been corrupted, let alone all this class shifting. It’s obscene!”

“What do you mean?” I ask anxiously. I do another slow blink, which seems to infuriate him.

I know damn well what you mean, but it’s good to see you try to justify yourself.

“I mean that our pack has lost its honor,” he says heatedly. “And we need to fight to win it back.”

“Of course we do!” I agree, using a light tone. “We need the pack to be strong, I completely agree with you!”

George tilts his head, looking at me with one eyebrow raised. “Would you put the pack before your own needs?” he asks.

I nod enthusiastically.

“Then don’t you think you’re being a bit selfish, holding on to Galen when he should have a wolf mate?” he goes on.

I lower my eyes. “Maybe. I just don’t know. It’s all very difficult to process.”

George scoffs. “Not surprising. You’re really confirming all my beliefs right now.”

“What would those be?” I ask, blinking at him again and keeping my face blank.

“Those kidnappers should have finished the damn job,” he mutters. “Like they were told to.”

“What did you say, George?” I ask innocently.

“Never mind,” he answers, grabbing my arm. “Come over here into the side street, so we can talk privately.”

“Oh, okay,” I reply, letting him pull me aside. “Do you have a plan to protect me? Is there danger?”

“You might say that,” he growls. A red flush is creeping up his neck, and I can see rage flickering in his eyes.

He’s a real piece of work, this one.

“Thank you, George,” I say eagerly. “I can’t thank you enough for helping me right now.”

“Sure,” he mumbles, looking around to make sure the street is empty. “Now we can really talk.”

“Yes!” I exclaim. “Good. We need to. You were talking about the royal line earlier, and keeping the council pure. I want to help however I can.”

“You can help by fucking disappearing!” George hisses, grabbing me by the throat and shoving me against the wall. “I was loyal to Cliff. We ran the pack for over thirty years together. Everything was going great until you came back!”

“George—”

“Shut up! I can’t believe Galen is even interested in a disgusting mutation like you!”

Geez, George, tell me what you really think.

“Let me go—”

“No! I’m going to protect the pack’s legacy in Cliff’s name! With you gone, Galen will be forced to take another mate. A better one befitting his status.”

I struggle against the wall, clawing at George’s hand. He’s obviously gone off the deep end, and I hope my backup gets here soon.

“First you, then the brat,” George mutters. “He’s attached to that little lump of deformity, so he’s got to go, too.”

“You mean this little brat?” a high, light voice speaks from behind George, and he lets go of me to spin around.

“Nico!” I scream, seeing him standing alone in the middle of the street. “What are you doing here? Get back!”

“I’m here to rescue you, Mom,” Nico says, smiling. “It’s okay, I got this.”

George growls, shifting as he takes a step towards Nico. He’s old, but he’s also big, powerful, and a very experienced hunter.

Nico stands calmly in the middle of the alley, not looking the slightest bit afraid. He waits until George is very close, then shifts into his wolf shape.

Pure, white light glows around Nico’s body as his wolf shape takes over and grows, quickly becoming much bigger than George’s form. The old wolf tries to back away, but Nico roars and lunges at him, both of them going down in a struggling heap.

“Nico!” I scream, taking a step towards the fight.

Suddenly, Galen is there, right in front of me, pushing me back. “No, Clara, they’ll tear you to shreds!” he shouts.

“But Nico!”

“He’s doing fine,” Galen says.

“How could you let him go?” I yell.

“Let him?” Galen repeats. “That’s totally not what happened.”

The two wolves are still fighting, twisting and snapping at each other as they try to get an advantage. Nico is far bigger and stronger, but George is holding his own with stamina and experience.

We can’t intervene. They are too stuck together. Anyone trying to break up the fight would get savaged.

“It’s okay, Clara,” Winnie says, appearing at my side. “We’re all here.”

“We’ve got you, dear,” Delia links her arm through mine, giving me a brief hug.

I look around to see a few other pack members have gathered, and one of them is Jacinta. She’s watching the fight with a scared look on her face, her arms wrapped tightly around herself.

“I’m sorry, Clara,” she whispers. “I wanted you out of the way, but I wouldn’t condone this. George has acted against the interests of the pack and lost his honor.”

“Thank you, Jacinta,” I answer. “I appreciate you saying so.”

“I will support you in every endeavor from now on,” Jacinta says firmly. “You can count on me.”

“The whole pack saw what you did today,” Delia says, a proud note in her voice. “Now they all know you are worthy of being our alpha’s mate, and that you’ll stand up to protect us.”

“Thank you,” I answer, my eyes still on the fight.

It looks like Nico is starting to tire, and it worries me that George might get the best of him. Galen gets as close as he can, ready to jump in, but the two of them stay twisted together like snakes.

Suddenly, Nico pounces, roaring as he slams his massive front paws down. For a moment, he pins George, but the wily old dog twists and snaps at Nico’s leg, digging his sharp teeth in. Nico howls and backs away, making me rush forward.

Winnie grabs my arm, shaking her head violently. I let her hold me as Galen grabs Nico and George backs away down the alley. He shifts back into his human shape and shakes his fist at us.

“You’ll never take me!” George yells. “I’ll show you! I’ll show all of you!”

Behind George, a tall, slender shadow steps into the alley. All of us react as we see her, and shock breaks across George’s face as he realizes there’s someone behind him.

He turns around slowly to see Macy Ramses standing in the middle of the street, blocking his path.

“Macy!” he gasps. “I never—I mean—I didn’t—you have to listen to me! It’s all lies—I can explain!”

He’s practically jabbering in fear as he backs away. The uneven stones in the road trip him up as he scuttles backwards, and he lands heavily on his ass, one hand up as if to hold Macy at bay.

“I want you to know, George, that what I am about to do, I do in my husband’s name.”

“No, Macy,” George moans. “Please, don’t!”

She glares at him, her eyes so hard, they glint like steel. With a swift wave of her arm, she shifts, a tall, beautiful white wolf appearing as her elegant blue dress slowly flutters to the ground.

“Macy, no!” George screams.

The wolf bares her teeth, snarling. She springs forward to savage George, ripping him open. I back away from the violence, and Winnie hugs me.

“Nico,” I whisper, turning around to find my son. I collapse into Galen’s arms, hugging Nico as hard as I can.

“Mom?” Nico murmurs, still watching Macy take George apart.

“Yes, honey.”

“Excuse my swearing, but Grandma’s a fucking badass.”

I laugh softly, ruffling his hair. “She sure is,” I answer, hugging him.

Galen puts his arms around both of us, and I know deep in my heart that we are safe and all our wounds can finally be given the chance to heal.