Page 21 of Never Submit (Bad Wolves #2)

Chapter 21

Torin

M y nightmares are real.

I’m staring them in the face, in the form of a line of black cars containing the members of my pack, all of them hating the move.

I hate it too, but I’m not about to let them know. Not when I’m the face, the will, the beating heart of this pack. I’m the one making the decision and it’s my responsibility to get them out of our downtown building, to take them somewhere safe.

Those who weren’t inside the Steel Claw building are the luckiest. They remain unscathed from the brutalizing attack. A few messages typed out on an encrypted server along with Code Crimson rallies them. I follow the message with typed out coordinates.

My wolves will check the message and know exactly where to go.

As for Mathis…his numbers were low enough. Everybody he has left is with us.

The poor guy.

I’ve felt sorry for him for as long as I’ve known him, but this is a different sort of sympathy. I have no clue what I’d do if my pack suffered the devastating losses his did.

I lead the procession to the old YMCA camp, purchased on one of my weaker days when I thought being generous was the right course of action. I’d let the property slip into obscurity in my head, one of those things you know is there but rarely have the occasion to consider again.

A gift. I thought the old YMCA lodge might be a great gift for Noble, to do whatever he wanted. To teach, to spread his wings, whatever.

The property was purchased under several different umbrella corporations so it’s untraceable. No one knows about it except me. Not even an accountant.

The thing was destined for a bulldozer and a luxury resort if I hadn’t snapped it up for a song.

Now? It’s the best chance we’ve got to recover.

A fucking campsite.

The site is held up by broken dreams and dust. It’s not suitable for my people, but we’re out of options. We’re out of time.

A logistical mess if I’ve ever seen one.

We’re an hour outside of the city in a neutral location. Neutral should equal safety for all of us. I pray it does. My bones ache, my split knuckles are slow to heal, and my grip on the steering wheel tight enough to break it.

I should have realized what bringing Andras’s delta into my building would inevitably lead to. Betrayal, loss.

We ride in silence. We did everything we could to get out back there, but there’s no telling what Mathis is thinking.

Probably blaming me for it.

He can get in line. I stare at the road and flip on the blinker, remembering through the grace of God the path I’ve only taken once before, when I went out to see the property for myself.

I've been so stupid thinking I was one step ahead of the Blood Moon. Andras is greedy and hungry and he knows what he’s doing. My wedding to Catarina means I will be able to count on the Briar pack, but only after our marriage license is signed. And with no way to extract the Moonstone from Ren?—

We’re on our own.

The silence pricks at my skin, and I press my foot down on the accelerator. The line of vehicles behind me carries what’s left of both our packs. Jesus Christ, this really is happening.

I make a wrong turn and end up having to go back about five miles before I find the right exit. The lodge isn’t exactly hidden; it’s on several maps but appears forgotten, so we’ll be hiding in plain sight. It has to be enough for now.

“Where the hell are we?” Mathis grunts out when I navigate off the two-lane road toward a tree-lined path.

Up ahead, covered in layers of grime and frost, is the old sign held up by toothpicks, basically, announcing our arrival to the YMCA’s Camp Arrowhead.

“Looks abandoned,” Ren notes behind me.

I glance at her in the rearview mirror, watching the way she worries her bottom lip, hollow-eyed.

She’s not the only one on edge. My wolves are worried, and they have every right to be. We thought we’d be fine in the building uptown, the same way we’ve always been fine.

Until Andras brought the fight to my doorstep as well. It would be much simpler to blame it on Mathis and his presence but I know the truth. Andras isn’t going to let anyone or anything stand in his way of total domination. He wants complete control, which means he wants Ren and the Moonstone.

He can fuck right off.

It’s taken much too long for the pack to trust me, the pack I inherited from my father, Sullivan. I won the pack’s respect by wanting more than he did, by expanding our power and our hold on the city.

We’re rich. We have properties everywhere. As opposed to Mathis and his stagnation.

I know money, and I know money talks in this modern world.

Is it a crime to want power beyond what the wolf provides? I have it now. I have more than Sullivan ever dreamed of, and still it’s not enough.

It’s never enough.

We finally pull through the heavily overgrown entrance to the old camp. The SUV bounces over ruts in the driveway, massive potholes, and downed limbs with the ease of an all-terrain vehicle.

The trees part, opening into a clearing where several cabins dot the old trails. Ahead, the iron glint of the lake blends into the gray landscape. I turn the truck toward the wooden main lodge and park in front of porch pillars carved like totem poles.

“None of the cabins are updated but they should be in livable condition for now. There’s plenty of wood as long as you can make sure your people don’t set the entire place on fire,” I say.

Dax snorts over a laugh. “Cute.”

“We’ll spread out. There’s enough room for us to not step on each other’s toes. Assign lodgings however you want.” I step out of the driver’s seat, and the first inhalation of fresh air settles in my bones with the weight of an anchor.

Sunlight glints off the lake’s surface, the trees sagging with the weight of too many dead limbs rather than leaves. The main building will easily fit a hundred or more if we go military-style in sleeping bags or cots. The rest will have to sleep in the cabins or in tents for the time being.

I’d rather not let my people rough it that way. Not if we can help it.

I’ve got enough money to get this place to its former glory or better. As long as we don’t draw too much attention to ourselves. This afternoon, we’ll have to be careful how we utilize our time. The night comes much more quickly this time of year and the press of the air promises more snow.

I turn to watch Mathis from across the hood, his gaze missing nothing.

Blood decorates his harsh features and he turns to face me, lips thin, shoulders hunched.

He’s got questions. I’m not in the mood for answers.

Finally, he’s the first to blink in our silent showdown.

“I’ll send men out for supplies,” I grunt. “A few different locations to avoid any attention. Just make sure you take care of your own.”

“Thank you.”

I swallow over a lump of guilt. “Don’t fucking thank me. Just figure it out.”

I promised I’d keep his pack and mine safe, I think as I stride toward the small building tucked into the shadow of the main lodge. I promised them I had the right equipment to make sure Andras wouldn’t touch them.

Look what happened.

The camp’s office building is comfortable enough. I fiddle with the lock and end up using my shoulder to nudge open the door. Dry dust greets me and I shove a hand against my mouth to stifle a cough. It will have to do.

I stride inside, then pull up short by another round of vibration coming from my back pocket. My cell has been ringing all damn day.

Irritated beyond measure, I’m done ignoring it, and whip out the cell to glare at the screen.

My chest tightens. Fuck. I haven’t even given a thought to Catarina, who’s been blowing up my phone.

This missed call is the latest in a string of them going back several hours. I’ve been busy covering my ass .

Vowing to call her back whenever I have a moment to breathe, I use my toe to shove the door shut against the breeze and send out another round of encrypted messages. Within minutes, hopefully, my deltas will rally and return with some much needed supplies and food.

Alone, I drop down on the musty cot with moth-eaten bedding. A cloud of dust puffs out around me as I drop my head into my hands. Could it have been a mole on the inside? My system isn’t without its flaws, but I refuse to believe someone hacked into my security feeds, watching our movements.

Marking when we’d be at the weakest before they got past my security.

And the fucking human…

Sighing, I send out another message. Ren’s little human friend would be in one of the cars in the line. It’s a small matter to have the driver take her to the airport. To put her on a plane.

A few more hours, and she won’t be my problem anymore. She’ll be so far away I’ll never have to worry about her spilling secrets.

Ms. Wexler will owe me for it. Ren…won’t know that her friend is safe. I’m not going to tell her my plans, either.

Why ?

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy torturing her a little bit.

Two days later, the office is spotless. The bedding is changed, a fire roars merrily in the small fireplace, and my belly is full of roasted chicken.

Noble and Ren are nestled to my right in a separate cabin for camp counselors. Wherever Mathis and Dax chose to hole up, I didn’t ask. They might as well be out in a tent slung between two trees for all I care.

We’re safe, Carrigan is out of the country, and Andras has no fucking clue where we’ve gone. I’ve been glued to the cell phone and ignoring my fiancé. Unfortunately, the phone rings again right in the middle of my using it.

Catarina’s smiling profile picture greets me. Should I let it go to voicemail, again? The wedding is in less than three days. Should I answer and brave the consequences?

My palms go sweaty. She doesn’t even know where I am.

Chastised, I press my thumb to the screen to answer.

Catarina immediately starts in. “How. Dare. You.”

I force a smirk into my tone.

“Catarina, my apologies,” I reply with icy coldness. “I’ve been in the middle of some large changes. You understand.”

She heaves a sigh before saying, “No, Torin, I do not understand. We are so close to the wedding and you’ve suddenly decided to press pause on our communication.”

I head out of the suddenly stifling office, toward the lakeshore. Behind me, we’re still setting up, getting settled, and poor Noble is taking on the brunt of organization for the Steel Claws.

I need to help him. Not placate her.

“I understand the wedding is coming up,” I tell her, patience thinning by the second. My fingers curl around the cell. “It hasn’t escaped my notice. I’m simply doing my duty as alpha.”

“Which would be…?”

“When you're my wife, you’ll be privy to that information. Right now, accept my assurance that I’m sorry for ignoring your calls.”

“Something important may be going on with me , which you wouldn’t know.” She’s equally cool. Catarina might as well be carved from ice.

I roll my eyes. “If you find it necessary to be shitty to me, then save it for a time when we both have a moment to spare. Right now, I’m a very busy man.”

It’s absolutely the wrong thing to say, and I know it the moment the words leave my lips.

Catarina is silent for the longest time, stretching it out. Probably because she knows she can. Probably as a passive-aggressive way to punish me for going incommunicado. All of those things and more because that’s exactly who she is and it’s what I need.

It’s what this pack needs.

I close my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose and waiting for Catarina to get to the point. It’s better to wait rather than dig myself a deeper hole.

“Then I’ll let you return to whatever it is you find more stimulating than pleasing your wife-to-be,” she finally says. “Have a lovely day.”

She hangs up on me, and for a moment, I’m the one who stops. Who stares at the lake surface unblinking before I slowly lock the screen.

If I toss the cell in the lake and let it drop, will that save me?

Why am I still working so goddamn hard to prove myself to a man who never gave a shit? My father might have been loved by his pack, but he was a shitty dad. Nothing was ever enough for him, either.

So the question remains. Why did I want to try and please him when it made no difference? Would it ever be my turn to be happy, unshackled from the mental burdens, the constant ache to do more, to be better, to be perfect?

A throat clears behind me, the sound delicate and soft and feminine. I feel her before I turn around. The energy thrumming between us is undeniable once I tune into it, and I’m exhausted enough to be powerless to ignore it.

Ren.

She always finds me, and it’s always during a moment when I’m weak. Rather than show her the weakness, I draw the old familiar mask across me, for protection. To show her just how strong I can be.

By the time I finally face her, I’m stoic once again, and oh so tired of having to be this way.

I lift an imperious brow. “Yes?”

She’s wearing her bright red hoodie, setting off the rich color of her eyes and the dark waterfall of hair. She’s left it loose and flowing down to her breasts. The jeans hug the curves of her legs, those shapely thighs, and the boots have a slight heel to give her an edge and make her ass stand out even more than it does.

I’ve seen her naked. I know the clothes aren’t doing her body justice.

My wolf reacts to the nearness of hers, and I swallow over a growl, locking it down deep. More distractions, more crap, none of it good.

“You looked worried. I’ve barely seen you these past couple of days, not since we got here. I thought…” She trails off.

“You thought what? I don’t need your concern, Ms. Wexler.”

She shifts from foot to foot before she finds her strength and faces me, with fire growing in her eyes. “We haven’t had a chance to speak alone since I sucked your cock. Is that what you want me to say?”

The word clangs through me and said appendage gives a mighty throb in response. I fix her with a look. “So? You think that means there’s something between us?” My smile grows sly. “You were begging for it. I had a weak moment and gave you what you wanted. Now, if you’re done being a nag, I’ve got a thousand better things to do.”

It's a classic brush-off maneuver, to insult her to get her to back away, but Ren isn’t having it.

I step up, and she moves into my path. Blocking me with her much smaller frame. She’s got brass balls, this one. In any other life, I’d give in to the connection between us and claim her. Bite her and make her mine.

“There is something between us. Bubbling. Churning.” She presses her hand to her gut. “I feel it everywhere, Torin. You’re telling me there’s nothing to it?”

“I’ve practically rented a billboard to make you understand,” I reply. “What aren’t you getting?”

There’s nothing, there’s nothing .

There has to be nothing because I can’t allow her to crawl under my skin and settle there. She’s got me unnerved as it is.

I gesture behind her. “There’s too much to do for us to stand here wasting time. Go help your mate, if you’re so inclined. Your energy is much better spent with your people.”

Her people, mine.

What doesn’t belong to her at this point?

I ignore the downcast expression, the way her eyelashes flutter black against her pale skin. I ignore the way my heart clenches as I watch her.

“There is something,” she insists. “I know what I feel. And you have a lot of questions to answer.”

“You don’t even know what you are.”

I take a grim pleasure in watching her flinch back. That was a little harsher than necessary. So cold I almost freeze myself.

“I’m getting married,” I remind her. “What happened between us is never going to happen again. No matter how pretty you look when you beg.”

Ren’s hands fist at her sides. “I know what you’re trying to do.”

“Oh? Care to enlighten me?” I ask haughtily, giving her the option to either fall in line or disappear. The second is the more preferable.

“You’re being a shithead to push me away.”

Her hormones are out of control. I smell her now, so much better than when she was human. They drive her. They consume me.

Like a magnet I’m drawn to her. Against my will. “I’m attempting to get you to focus on the bigger picture rather than on your emotions. They have no place here. Look around you.” I pull up short and grab her by the shoulders.

The second I make contact with her, feeling the heat rush off her skin, I’m burned. I’m scalded to my core and electricity zaps through my fingertips.

“There is so much to do. The scope is massive. You want to insert yourself where you don’t belong? I’ve made sure your friend is safe, haven’t I? Find someone else to fuck around with. And leave me alone.”

I force her back and hate myself at the flash of pain in her eyes.

“I’m just supposed to take your word on it?” she challenges.

Then I turn away and block her out the way I block out everything else. It’s better this way, I tell myself. Better for Ren to understand now that there’s no chance for us. No matter how badly I crave her.