Page 29 of The Tracker's Revenge

I felt I understood his decision. I imagined he didn’t want Stephen coming after him, demanding to be given the dagger and causing a confrontation that would not bode well. It had to be hard for him, to trust the object his son most desired toward those who would readily kill Stephen. But wouldn’t it be infinitely harder to find himself with the choice of murdering his own son or capturing him to face a trial that would surely lead to his death?

I swallowed the lump that rose to my throat. I felt for Ulfen. I didn’t want the man to suffer, but I couldn’t forgive Stephen either. Emotions warred inside my chest, and I hated the way I felt, torn.

“Very well.” Yura rose from her chair, reached forward, and picked up the dagger. “Craig and Walter, please, follow me.” She walked out of the room without waiting for them.

Huh? Where are they going?I sent my question across the room toward Jake via a frown. He shrugged and shook his head to let me know he knew as little as I did.

Craig and Walter followed Yura out of the room. The door closed behind them and silence fell over the room. Two minutes later they were back. The dagger was not in Yura’s hand anymore, and the two men walking behind her maintained serious expressions that gave nothing away.

I nodded appreciatively. One of them had the dagger, but we didn’t know which one. And what if Yura had kept it? That would be clever, wouldn’t it? I peered at their faces, trying to spot the smallest giveaway, but I saw nothing to indicate who was now in possession of the dangerous relic. I wondered if I would have the ability to keep such a tight poker face.

Nah, I can’t even act innocent when I get into Mom’s desserts before anyone else.

“I believe there is one more thing to discuss,” Yura said once she was back on her chair, her tattooed hands folded neatly in front of her.

Ulfen seemed to shake himself as we moved away from the topic of the dagger and turned to other things. “Yes, we need to figure out a way to get rhabo off our streets, and we need to prepare for war.”

Chapter 10

Well after midnight, Jake was walking beside me, quiet and pensive. His strong, tall presence made me feel confident as I climbed the steps toward my condo, located on the second floor of the building. I had refused to go back to Eric’s place.

Without the dagger in our possession, I doubted our enemies would bother to come after us anymore. Everyone had made sure to publicize to their packs that the meeting was taking place. So, no doubt, the knowledge had reached Bernadetta and Stephen, and they’d already deduced that the dagger was gone and the packs were organizing against them.

Jake and I had bypassed the elevator, tired of being confined in windowless spaces. We had made it back from Wolfskeep inside of the same delivery van, and the ride had left both of us in a bad mood.

Though honestly, being trapped in the dark, enduring motion sickness, was a treat compared to the five-hour-long discussion we’d endured after the business with the dagger had been taken care of.

It had been like pulling teeth... out of dinosaurs. It was a wonder the four alphas had agreed to anything, and it would be a wonder if they succeeded in ridding St. Louis of the awful drug and threat.

Unsurprisingly, Travis had been of the mind that we should let rhabo cleanse the city of all the vampires. Though, with Ulfen as his ally, he couldn’t get any traction on the idea.

“The city has been prosperous for our packs,” Ulfen had said. “Before rhabo, it ran like a well-oiled machine. The drug may very well only affect vampires, but they aren’t the only ones who are dying. Scrimmages between our kind and the blood suckers pop up everywhere, and many of us are suffering. I’ve lost several members of my pack already as I’m sure you have. My club was attacked last week, and suffered considerable property damage.”

In the end, they’d agreed that training and cooperation among the packs should be intensified. Apparently, pack members in leadership positions, mostly betas, trained together on an ongoing basis, and the packs were always ready for battle. I’d had no idea.

Damn werewolves and their secrecy!