Page 51 of Blood and Magic (RBMC: Helena, MT #2)

“More will come,” Kodiak reiterated, drumming his fingers on the table. “They always come.”

Ruby rolled her eyes and scoffed.

“Have something to say, Rubes?” Kodiak raised his eyebrows as he looked at his sibling.

She took a deep breath and leaned forward on the table. “All due respect, brother, but you must end this treaty with the Vanderbilts.”

Some members murmured among themselves. A few even cleared their throats, seeming uncomfortable.

I glanced at Orion, who immediately looked at me with a knowing glimmer in his eyes.

Any dissenters would have to pry our mates from our cold, dead hands.

It was true, I took an oath to be loyal to the pack and the MC, but that only went so far.

My girl would always come first. Always.

“They are the reason this is happening,” Ruby continued. “Their father killed our parents. If not for them, Holden would still be alive.”

“So we should punish the children for the actions of their father?” Kodiak asked. “We should blame Maeve and Sol for Marx’s behavior?”

Ruby leaned back in her seat and hesitantly shifted her stare to both Orion and me. “No, of course not. But we shouldn’t associate with known enemies of the?—”

“Sol is a member of this pack,” Orion said.

“And in one more week, Maeve will be as well,” I added.

“Guin has signed over the territory that Uther Vanderbilt stole from us,” Kodiak explained. “We have an interest in Vanderbilt Holdings, and if things continue to go as they have, we’ll have made enough money this year to run as many guns as we want.”

“Not to mention other things,” Talon continued. “We’ll never have to worry about cleaning our money again. Financially, this deal has been very advantageous.”

“Just because you want to fuck Guin Vanderbilt doesn’t mean?—”

Kodiak slammed his hand down on the table and stood, his eyes shifting red, his canines elongating. “Enough, Ruby.”

She quickly diverted her gaze to the ground. Kodiak was alpha of the pack for a reason. He was the biggest, strongest shifter in the room.

“Listen very closely. All of you.” Kodiak glared, his tone dropping into a growl.

“If anyone knows the pain Uther Vanderbilt caused, it’s me.

I lost my parents, my wife, and my predecessor because of him.

If he weren’t already dead, I’d be doing everything in my power to make that happen.

But he is dead.” The alpha directed that last bit at his sister.

“Instead of fighting two enemies, we now only have one. It makes no sense to continue this useless rivalry, especially not when we have benefited from it.”

Kodiak straightened and crossed his arms, emanating all the power of a rightful president. The crowd fell silent, and a few members shifted.

“We are safer now because of our truce with the Vanderbilts. Our children, our elders, the pack, is safer now.” He raised an eyebrow and tongued a canine. “But this is not a dictatorship. If anyone wants to challenge me for the top spot, you are more than welcome to try.”

He paused and waited for someone to come forward, but not even Ruby moved. A threatened alpha was truly a sight to behold. With his wolf in his eyes and dominance radiating off him, none of us even breathed loudly.

“No takers?” Kodiak nodded. “So be it. Any talk of breaking the alliance will cease immediately. Am I clear?”

“Yes,” came the chorus.

“Good,” he said. “In three days, we will mourn our dead and give Holden the send-off he deserves. He died to protect my daughter and a fellow packmate. He went down like a soldier, and for that, we will never forget his sacrifice.”

“We will never forget his sacrifice,” I murmured as the chant echoed around me.

“We’ll resume operations.” Kodiak sat and looked at Orion, giving him the go-ahead to read off the run schedule. The veep went through the upcoming trades and planned visits from our brother clubs.

“Lore went back to Virginia,” Orion said. “But he’ll be our envoy from the Steel Roses from here on out.”

“Do we think he’ll talk?” Larentia asked.

“No,” Orion said. “He knows what will happen if he does. He’s still processing everything he saw.”

“What about our friends from the other chapters?” Poe added.

“We’re good,” Orion continued. “Everyone runs a tight ship. And you know what they say about loose lips.”

“There’s one more thing,” Larentia added, leaning forward on the table to rest her elbows on the wood. “Before she left, Marta warned us about some strange reports the witches have been getting from the Canadian border.”

This piqued my interest.

“She says there’s a big pack moving closer to our territory,” Larentia explained.

“Is it Zion?” Kodiak asked.

“She wasn’t sure, and the Harlots risked enough by sending her out here. They’ve got their own shit to deal with and can’t spare the extra eyes.”

We weren’t the only shifter pack in North America, nor were we the only ones of our kind.

There were others out there, ones that could change form at will, that weren’t enthralled to the moon.

But we were the biggest, except for our neighbors to the north.

In Calgary, Alberta, a pack of other moon shifters had been forming for years, led by a bear named Zion.

He’d once been a member of the Helena pack, a patched and blooded Bastard.

But after our former alpha, Kerrick, went rabid and died, Zion had disappeared.

We later learned he’d started his own pack, one that only took in predator animals—wolves, wild cats, bears, and the like.

This, by itself, wasn’t unusual. It happened anytime a new alpha was born and grew strong enough to lead on its own.

One day, it would happen with Kai, and as long as he remained amicable with Kodiak, there was no reason for us to treat him any differently than we did now. We could go on as allies and friends.

But Zion hadn’t been born an alpha, and he had no right to go MIA.

It should have been enough for us to take off after him and deal our personal brand of justice.

But Kodiak had forbidden it. We had our hands full with the Vanderbilts and the Scorpions, and chasing after a deserter hadn’t been high on our list of security risks.

Until now.

“Mill.” Kodiak said only my name, but I understood the assignment. Find him. Figure out what he’s doing. Report back.

“On it,” I replied.

“Thank you,” the alpha said, “and try to get a lead on Percy Vanderbilt. That little prick is well past his expiration date.”

“Agreed.” I could have Channing and my team expand our search area. With more eyes and some upgrades to our systems, we could keep track of every threat that got even a millimeter too close. What happened with my mate wouldn’t occur again. I’d swear to it if I had to.

“Anything else?” Kodiak asked.

“I think that’s enough for one day,” Orion said. Everyone else agreed, and Kodiak called an end to the meeting, but when I stood to leave, he raised a hand in my direction.

“Mill, a quick word.” He leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms.

I sat and waited until everyone else left before raising an eyebrow at the prez.

“Finally going to take my patch?”

He snorted and shook his head. “No, of course not. I wanted to check in.”

“Christ, here we go.” I sighed. “I take it Morwyn sent you her findings.”

“She did,” he said. “I’ll perform the mating at the next new moon. But that’s not what I was talking about.”

“I have a few ideas to upgrade our perimeter.” I laid out my plan, relieved at his appreciative look as he nodded.

“I like it,” he said. “Get Talon on board so you have the funds. I want weekly progress reports, and let me know if you need anything.”

“Thanks, Kodiak.” I eyed him with a more scrutinizing gaze. Bags hung under his eyes, and he rubbed his palm over his face like he needed the friction to stay awake. “How are you doing?”

“Fine,” he said, but both my wolf and I sensed it was a lie.

“Maeve says Ginny was a badass,” I continued. “She refused to back down from those fuckers, holding her ground at every step of the way.”

Kodiak smirked and went eerily still. “She gets that from her mother.”

Fond memories of Kendra floated to the forefront of my mind. She and Kodiak had been a power couple, and when their girls had been born, I’d never seen Kodiak so happy.

“I think the apple doesn’t fall far from either tree,” I said.

“Fair enough.” He chuckled and nodded. “Listen, I know you’ve been feeling some things since the attack, and I need to reiterate that it wasn’t your fault.

I ordered you to run tech and come to the office that day.

I was the one who pulled in all our strongest shifters.

If the blame lies on anyone’s shoulders, it’s mine. ”

“No,” I started to say, but Kodiak held up a hand to stop me.

“When I give you an order, I expect you to follow it. You hand that control over to me, and my duty as alpha is to keep everyone safe.” He tilted his head to the side. “Do you understand?”

“Yes,” I said, swallowing down the tension and guilt that bubbled up my esophagus. I didn’t want to be rid of my shame. I deserved it. But hearing Kodiak say that was like a balm to my soul. My wolf stopped riding me so hard. My conscience let loose of the reins. I breathed easier.

“Thank you,” he said. “Now get out of here. Your brother’s been looking for you, and your new mate is probably bereft without you.”

I couldn’t imagine Maeve being bereft about anything, but I didn’t argue. I nodded, stood, and held my hand out to him. He grabbed it and shook.

“You deserve forgiveness and grace, too, Kodiak,” I said. “I remember Kendra; she wouldn’t want you to be lonely.”

“Who says I am?” He furrowed his brows, but I raised an eyebrow, saying so much without words.

The man looked like he wasn’t sleeping, and I barely saw him in the cafeteria these days, which made me wonder how much he was eating.

Much more of this, and he might crumple under the weight of all he took on.