Page 11 of Rogue If You Want To (Fur-Ever Mountain Pack #2)
TORIN
“I’ll be back soon. Just need to check in with Auden and Creven.”
The pair tag-teamed making decisions, though Creven had the final say, with Creven being more thoughtful, whereas Auden was a take-no-prisoners kinda guy.
“You’re hatching something, aren’t you?” My mate was on the sofa, a book balanced on his chest. The day he’d spent with Oak had worn him out.
I made a face. “For that I’d need a nest.”
Otto stared at me, and the seconds dragged on until laughter bubbled out of him. “Very funny. For me to build a nest, I’d have to be pregnant.”
Now it was my turn to stare, open-mouthed. How had we gone from me going to check in with Alpha to Otto talking about babies?
“You lost me.”
“I said hatching, you said nest, and I said pregnancy.” He held up a hand. “I’m not. But otters do build nests or dens before birth.”
My knowledge of shifter lifestyle had huge holes. When all of this was over, I’d need to study.
I reached up and mimed catching a ball. “I got it, finally.”
After blowing my mate a kiss and noting his eyes were already drooping, I headed to Alpha’s office. Creven wasn’t at his desk but talking on the phone in the corner, while Auden was tapping away on the pack laptop.
Though my mate was experiencing fewer nightmares and shifting for short periods, his experience had marked him—not physically, as these scars had healed, but emotionally, he was very fragile.
“Alpha.” I nodded, after witnessing some other pack members, though not all, do the same. “Auden.”
I should’ve been doing something, not letting them use their contacts and authority to find information to use against Lutris. But what good was I, a newbie, who’d never had to fight another beast or go under cover? Not that a wolf shifter could pretend to be an otter.
Creven ended the call. “We have an update.”
Unlike me, my wolf assumed he could battle large and small animals. I can easily take on a bunch of otters .
That’d be a bevy . I was trying to keep the moment light but suspected it was going to get dark pretty darn quick.
“Good or bad?” Neither of them was giving away anything in their expression.
“Something that might help us.” Creven put the phone on the desk but didn’t sit.
Auden took over, saying Lutris, Otto’s brother, wasn't as smart as he thought he was. Most people weren’t, I’d learned.
“Some members of the bevy are beginning to question his version of the stories regarding his father’s death and Otto’s disappearance.”
That was the first positive thing I’d heard since Creven said the pack would protect Otto.
“I spoke to the Alpha of a bear den that borders the bevy territory.”
Not having grown up with shifters, the word “territory” made me think of the Wild West.
The den did business with the bevy, so they were in constant contact, and some of the bevy Betas had hinted at trouble at home. Lower-ranking bevy members had been asking questions because Lutris had just provided a blanket statement about his father and brother.
“They’re not buying the story.”
That was excellent news, though in the short term, it didn’t help Otto. He still had a bounty on his head.
Creven took over. “I’ve been in touch with a pack, and some of the shifters went to school with Otto and Lutris.
” He added that they said the brother was always a little shit, and other than a few close friends who always defended him, most of the bevy steered clear.
There was always tension between the twins, but everyone liked Otto.
Of course they did. He’s lovely.
I was feeling more upbeat as the pair provided details. "So they're doubting Lutris.” I wished I had a way to speed up that process.
“And the pack Alpha says some of the otter shifters are asking where Otto is.”
That didn’t sound good because they might be the ones who wanted the bounty.
“You didn’t tell them he was here, did you?”
Auden gave me a withering look, and I hunched over, wishing I would drop through a hole in the floor. Creven confirmed that he had not. He’d just listened to the shifter gossip.
But we had no proof that Lutris had killed his father and only Otto’s word that he’d arranged the attack on him. So we were nowhere.
“What if we found the bear shifter who slashed Otto and got him to confess?” That would carry weight.
“Good thinking.” Creven gave me an encouraging smile. “We talked about that. Assuming he’s alive…”
Goosebumps prickled over my skin. Damn, Lutris sounded like the kinda guy who’d get rid of the evidence, including the person he’d paid to do it.
“But if he is, what would be his incentive to talk?” Auden asked.
If he spoke out, Lutris would be certain to enact revenge.
I’ll go after him. Give me something with his scent and I’ll take him down .
No, we have to think strategically . Not that I was sure what that was.
“We’d have to apply pressure.” Auden’s matter-of-fact statement sent more goosebumps treading over my skin.
This wasn’t my world, but I’d been thrown into it, thanks to Otto being my mate. I had to get used to it.
“I’ll see if my contact can find him,” Auden said.
And what would we do when we confronted him? I shivered as I reenacted the scene in my head of what he had done to Otto.
Creven was interested in tracking down Lutris’s movements on the day his father died, saying if we could put him at the scene of the murder, that might nullify him being Alpha. Though that would be up to the bevy council.
But that would make Otto the Alpha, and he had never wanted the title. I refused to put him in a position where he felt forced to accept it. But again, perhaps the council could vote for an Alpha not from the current ruling family.
We’d need witnesses to Lutris’s whereabouts on that fateful day, but if he was always surrounded by cronies, they’d never reveal the truth or they’d pay with their life.
“If we find any evidence, Otto would have to present it to the bevy council himself.” Auden eyed me as if wanting to see my reaction. “He’d have to face Lutris and others who backed up his brother’s story.”
I couldn’t agree or refuse on my mate’s behalf, and I hated that whether shifter or human, it was often the victim who was “put on trial.” But what I could say was that as he had trouble remembering all the details of the attack, he couldn’t advocate for himself.
"We know," Creven said. “And that’s why we need to build a strong case before we even involve the council. If we present them with enough evidence, Otto's testimony becomes one piece of the puzzle instead of the focal point.”
This process could take months or years, and Otto and I would have to stay here. It was too dangerous to leave pack land. But we’d reached a point where I had to share our thinking with Otto. By keeping him ignorant of our plan, we were taking away his agency.
“What can I do?” Otto was my mate, and I was floundering, not knowing how to be a team player.
“Look after your mate.” Creven patted my shoulder. “Maybe he’ll remember something that will be helpful in our investigation.”
Otto wasn’t in the cabin, and there was one place he gravitated to. I found him by the stream with his feet dangling in the water.
"Hey.” I sat beside him.
"Hey, yourself." He leaned on me, and my wolf got excited, thinking we were about to mate. “So what’s the plan?”
I filled him in with what I knew, leaving out the bit about him testifying before the bevy council. But he was aware of their laws and might pester me with questions to get to the truth.
“But for now, you have to get well, so your job is to eat healthy food and rest. And that’s an order.”
He smirked. “Oh, I love it when you give orders.”
Shit. My cock reached to his husky voice and come-hither eyes. He needed to recover, not roll around with my length in his hole.
“Maybe we could adjourn to the cabin and you could order me to remove my clothes.” He placed his lips against my ear. “And I could show you how slick I am.”
I stood and dragged him up behind me, in case he changed his mind. We raced over the grass and startled Larkin who was pushing Oak on the swing. The omega sniggered, and spots of pink appeared on his cheeks. I didn’t care that he knew what we were about to do.
“Are you sure?” I locked the door behind us.