Page 92

COLE

T rent informed me that we needed to meet at a small coffee shop in Harbor Mills rather than the alpha house. It was a strange request, but I didn’t question it. Along the way, he sent me another text.

Trent: You remember Chris Riddle?

Where was this going? Chris Riddle had been the pack enforcer back in the day.

He’d been one of Dad’s top men in the pack when I was a kid.

He’d taken over the job from his father when he’d passed away.

From what Dad’s beta Ricky Danvers had told me a few weeks ago, Chris was banished from the pack when he began digging into Dad’s problems.

At the next stop sign, I responded to Trent’s message.

Cole: Yeah. The old pack enforcer?

Trent: Yup. Just didn’t want you to be surprised when you got here.

My brow furrowed. Was he serious? Had he made contact with Chris? Was he really at the coffee shop with Trent?

The bleat of a horn behind me snapped me out of my reverie, and I pulled through the intersection and added a little speed to the truck, arriving at the shop a few minutes later.

The bitter scent of ground coffee assaulted my senses, making my mouth water.

In the back corner, I spotted Trent and an older guy with salt-and-pepper hair and a thick mustache.

Chris Riddle. Son of a bitch.

They both waved to me, and I went to join them.

“Chris,” I said, extending my hand. “Been a real long time.”

“Sure has, boy,” he said with a thick Southern accent as he shook my hand. “Ain’t you grown into a shit-kicker? Look at ya. You’re even bigger’n your daddy was.”

Taking a seat, I called the waitress over and ordered a drink.

“So,” I said, glancing back and forth from Trent to Chris. “What’s this all about?”

“I found the contact numbers for the pack at your house,” Trent said. “I saw Chris’s name and made the call. He agreed to meet. I thought we could pick his brain on how to protect the pack.”

Glancing over at Chris, I said, “Did Trent fill you in on everything that’s been going on?”

Chris blew out a breath. “Hell, yes, he did. Dammit, Cole, I had no idea. Me and Ricky and the others barely started asking questions before Lance tossed us out. Hell, if I’d known it was this bad, I’d have done more.

I thought it was a man getting pissy as he got older.

I’m sorry as hell about all this. Especially about your boy. ”

“Is there anything you can think of that we can use to stop Kyle?” I asked. “Some kind of old pack law or rule that might give us an upper hand?”

Chris sipped his coffee. “Trent told me about this whole last-will-and-testament shit. Neither of you think the paperwork was filed?”

“I don’t think so,” I said as the waitress put my cup down in front of me.

“We haven’t been able to find any record of the original will being changed in the county clerk’s records.

We’re pretty sure that’s why Kyle’s being this aggressive.

They thought they had the pack dead to rights, but then my father died before finalizing the new will. They need me to sign it over to them.”

Chris grunted noncommittally. “But they have an official copy of a will that says otherwise?”

“Yes,” Trent admitted.

“See, the issue is, regardless of what you’re saying, having two wills saying two different things is a legal fucking nightmare.

Truth be told, you’ll more than likely come out on top after litigation through a shifter court.

The problem is time. It could take months—hell, maybe even years to get it sorted out.

All that time, you’ll have Kyle breathing down your neck. ”

I thought about spending years looking over my shoulder, and my wolf snarled in irritation.

“If it comes to that, this fucker may decide it’s better to knock you and your boy off for good.” Chris snapped his fingers. “Then, the only person available to take the pack is that bastard Dallas.”

“What about any old, antiquated laws?” I offered. “Trent and I haven’t been in this very long, and I never had a great relationship with my father. Even back when I was here, I didn’t put a lot of emphasis on learning the ins and outs of leading a pack. Is there anything I can do?”

Chris eyed me for a few seconds, chewing at the inside of his cheek. When he finally spoke, it was in a whisper. “There is one guaranteed way to settle this once and for all. Challenge him for supremacy of the pack. A fight to the death. Winner takes all. It’s ironclad.”

Trent and I shared a look. I knew about that little loophole, but I hadn’t really considered it until that moment.

It was something that was done far more often in earlier generations.

I wanted Kyle dead, sure, but for some reason, the idea of challenging him to a one-on-one fight seemed more surreal.

My phone buzzed, and I flipped it over, reading the text. My heart lurched in my chest, and I looked up at Trent.

“We gotta go. Kyle called Avery again.”

“Shit,” Trent hissed. “Okay.”

“Chris,” I said, looking at the man, “I really appreciate you coming to talk with us. And I’m sorry about what my father did.

I just want you to know, if this works out, you and the others who were cast out will always have a place in Harbor Mills.

I understand if you don’t want to come back, but the offer is there. ”

Chris and I shook hands again.

“I’ll think about that,” Chris said. “I’ll let the others know. For what it’s worth, I’m rooting for ya, boy.”

Outside, I pointed at Trent’s truck. “You drive. We can come back for my car later.”

As we pulled out of the parking lot, Trent shot a look my way. “Are you sure you’re up for this?”

I frowned. “What?”

“Challenging Kyle. I thought about it, but I haven’t mentioned it yet. Are you up for killing a man in combat?”

The thought rattled around in my head like a pinball. I’d imagined killing Kyle any number of ways the last couple weeks, but I’d never actually taken a life. The enormity of it was almost too much to think about.

“It’s not easy,” Trent said. “It’s difficult using a gun, much less your bare hands, teeth, and claws. I know from experience.” There was a darkness in his eyes, a shadow he usually kept hidden. “It’s not enjoyable. Not even when it’s someone you hate. Trust me on that.”

But there was no other way, was there? Not after everything Kyle had done. If what Scotty told us was correct, then he was up to even more awful things. Kyle wasn’t the sort of person who deserved to live.

My phone rang then, the caller ID showing Langston.

“What’s up?” I answered.

“Hey. Have you heard from Avery or Zayde?”

“I did,” I grunted. “Kyle called her.”

“Yeah. Just got off a call with Zayde,” Langston explained. “He says he was successful with getting access to Kyle’s phone, but he’ll need some time to hack into it. It’s heavily encrypted, but Zayde doesn’t think he’ll have any issues.”

“Good. We’re heading back to the alpha house now. We should be there soon,” I said. “How’s the trip going with Scotty?”

“Should be at our destination in another hour. Once we get there, we’ll get things settled. I’m not going to come back until I’m sure the guys running security are comfortable.”

“I’m worried,” I admitted. “After talking to Scotty, Kyle sounds even more unhinged than we thought. And I already thought he was a psycho, so that’s saying something.”

“More worried than you were before?” Langston asked.

“Yeah,” I said, drumming my fingers on my knee. “This thing with the mad scientist doesn’t sit right with me. It makes me think Kyle’s got even more up his sleeve. All of this seems to be spiraling. Getting bigger, you know?”

Langston sighed. “Yeah, you’re right. You know what I said last night about wanting to do this on my own to prove something to myself?”

“I do.”

“Well, I had a change of heart. This is too big for us. I’m man enough to admit that now, especially after all this talk of Kyle’s plans. I’ve put in a call for reinforcements. I’ll have more news on that later.”

Some of the tension in my body dissipated. “That sounds great. I’ll see you guys whenever you get back.”

I slid my phone into my pocket and looked over at Trent. “Langston’s getting some more people to come down and help us.”

“Thank God for that,” Trent said. “Should I put a call in to Chris and Ricky? See if the other old betas want to come in to help?”

I shook my head once. “No. Dad pushed them out. That had to hurt. I don’t want to try and mend old wounds by asking the men he disrespected to fight and possibly die for me.

If we get into a truly desperate situation, then sure, but not right now.

I don’t want them to have to make that decision after everything they’ve gone through. ”

“True,” Trent said grudgingly.

By the time we arrived at the alpha house, Avery and Zayde were already there.

I bolted out of the truck and ran inside.

Avery was standing in the kitchen, and Zayde sat on the couch, working on his laptop.

She glanced at me, her shoulders hunched and tense.

When I caught her eye, I could see the exhaustion in her gaze.

“How are you?” I said as I pulled her against my chest.

“Fine, I guess.” She sighed. “I had to do a lot of pretending on the phone with Kyle, and it was goddamned draining, to be honest. Acting like I could possibly want anything to do with him made me sick to my stomach.”

I couldn’t stand the haunted look in her eyes. “No more of that. I don’t give a shit if it helps us, but I don’t want you doing anything you don’t want to. Especially when it comes to Kyle.”

“If it helps get Ashton back, then?—”

“No,” I said, cupping her cheek. “We’ll figure out another way. You’ve done enough. The next time he calls, you can tell him to go to hell for all I care.”

Avery made a sound that was a cross between a whimper and a sigh. “What if he hurts Ashton? I can’t let that happen just because I don’t want to pretend to flirt with him.”