Desert Wolf (19 page)

“Good.”

Instead of leaving, he waited right there, and his power lapped at her like so many lightning strikes hitting the earth. Fine, if he wanted to be pissed. He wasn’t alone. Faust snarled when she scrubbed soap into his fur, but he endured the contact.

The wolf shook as she got him toweled off. By the time she finished, she was as soaked as he was. He made it into the hallway and paused when he caught sight of Cassius. The two faced off again, but before she could intervene, the Alpha pointed down the hallway. “Go, lay down. Sleep.”

The command hit her Hound so hard, he nearly went down in the doorway. When she would have followed him, Cassius took her arm. “You’re not going anywhere that isn’t with me.”

T
he little Omega
didn’t try to disguise her temper, though she didn’t make him carry her from the healer’s house. Trask and his wolves moved, obeying orders to relocate Bianca, Maddy, and Faust to his compound immediately. Claire and Tyler left on the mission he’d given her. She knew Justin’s allies better than any of the wolves, and two people moved with more stealth than a group. If Justin left any aspirants to his deranged planes, Claire would find them and eliminate them.

It was not a task he’d asked her to perform lightly, and her mate had looked less than pleased at the request, but she went. No matter what happened, he told her where to meet him in the desert within seven days. Though the Reaping was five weeks away, he was calling it sooner.

The naming of the time was his right. Considering the lengths his pack attempted in their efforts to stop him, he no longer possessed any sympathy for upsetting them. Fortunately, Sovvan didn’t fight him as he guided her through the town with a hand on her arm.

Their route took them past the burnt out coffee shop, and she paused so swiftly her feet actually skated against the cobblestones from his stride. Pivoting, he frowned at her, but then he followed her glance to the blackened shell of the building. Alicia sat in the center of it all, crying silently into her palms.

All the anger in Sovvan’s face leached away, and she glanced at him. “You have to help her,” she murmured.

Guilt and empathy were not emotions he experienced. “Others will care for her. I need to get you…”

Turning into him, Sovvan pressed two fingers to his lips. The gentle action sent electricity arcing through him. “I know I’m angry, and trust me when I say we will still have a huge argument later, but if someone else were going to help that woman…they would have done it already.”

Following her gaze, he studied Alicia. Silver streaked her dark hair and soot smudged her tired face. She rocked back and forth as she cried. Her near sub-vocal sobs wrenched at his conscience. Shifting his stance, he scanned the neighborhood. Despite the level of damage and debris, as well as his orders to begin the cleaning and repairing, no one was around.

“Dammit, Sovvan, I need to get you to the compound. I can come…”

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “This is part of what you have to understand. Your greatest weakness is finding the most expedient path. You don’t trust, not in others, not in yourself—in taking the time. You see the objectives, and you weigh them. Right now, you are valuing my safety over the comfort and pain of your wolf.” Tugging her arm away from him, she spread her hands wide. “You will say it is because you need me to save them, but if you can’t save that woman right now, who are you trying to save?”

What the hell was she talking about? It had been one thing after another. Alicia’s shop burned. Fine. The loss was a setback, he’d build another. The mutiny in Sovvan’s expression warned him.

“I’ll come back.”

“No you won’t.” She pivoted and stalked across the space, ignoring her soaked clothes and shocky condition. He caught her before she entered the gutted building.

“Woman.” The growl escaped before he could stop it. “Stay here.” If she insisted on going inside, she could be hurt. Better if he took the risk. Alicia was his, after all.

Folding her arms, Sovvan inclined her head. The immediate agreement roused his suspicions. They didn’t have time for these games, not with all the potential threats piling against them, against Sutter Butte.

Ducking beneath the half-collapsed doorframe, he made his way across what had been the floor of the shop. Hell, he’d been there the day before to meet with Trask. Going to one knee in the soot, he studied the widow. Her shoulders shook—her whole body really—shaking and trembling with her grief. Gritting his teeth, he checked on Sovvan. She stood exactly where he left her, and she gave him a small encouraging smile.

Kill something? No problem. Give someone hell? He could do that? Protect his people? Goddammit, he was trying, but he had no idea what to say to the weeping woman. How did he apologize for failing her?

“Alicia,” he called her, wrapping everything he knew of her into her name. Setting a hand on the back of her head, he racked his mind for the right words. He was a killer, a soldier, a fighter, not a healer or a caregiver. Parents gave comfort. Healers soothed souls. Cassius broke bones and crushed his enemies. “I will do what is necessary to punish the offenders, and we will rebuild your shop.”

The older wolf lifted her head slowly, tears tracking through the soot on her cheeks. Her weary eyes, exhausted and without hope, punched him. “Alpha?” The disbelief in her tone cut him. “Why are you here?”

A damn good question, but one he should ask, not her. “You were crying.” It came out gruffer than he intended.

“It’s all gone. Everything I built…they fought and knocked over a lantern, and then it just began to burn. I tried to put it out, but they were all fighting.” Though he still rested a hand against her hair, she began to rock. “Killing and blood, that’s what we know. Who cares if it burnt? We’ll just build another. What is one dream to an old wolf?”

A lot. Anger flooded him anew. “It will never be what you had before, but it will be better. We will build it together. All of us.” If he had to break legs, he’d get them all involved.

Alicia gave him a puzzled look then glanced around the shop. “You have other things to do, Alpha. The Reaping comes. You must be ready to defend yourself. They all want to kill you now. It’s like a madness in the blood…”

Cassius frowned, but he listened carefully. “Who wants to kill me?”

She shrugged then wiped at her face as though realizing the smudges dirtied her skin. “You know I am not one to spread rumors, Alpha.”

“I know, Alicia. You’re a good woman. Solid. Steady. You care about others, and you believe in doing good, honest work.” All were qualities he valued in her. When she moved to stand, he rose immediately and helped her to her feet.

Puzzled, she frowned at him again and then patted his arm tentatively. “Thank you. As I was saying, I don’t like rumors. They have spread through Summit for weeks word that you plan to eradicate the pack.”

He truly hadn’t believed he could be anymore shocked. He’d been wrong.

“They…many of the younger wolves are saying you’ve lost the will to lead and the taste for the fight. They say it is why you wanted to bring in an Omega, so you could turn us all on each other. Then, once the pack is gone, you will be free.”

It was the most ridiculous and insulting thing he’d ever heard. Where the hell did they get these insane ideas? “Alicia, I give you my word…my pack’s safety is all I am concerned about.”

“I believe you, dear, yet there is an Omega standing right there watching us that gives credence to those rumors. Be careful, my Alpha. I think you are a good man, but good men are most often the ones who die.” Leaving him to chew on her advice, she limped away and waved off his offer of assistance.

Staring after her for a moment, he clenched his fists rather than smashing what was left of her shop. He waited till Alicia was out of sight before rejoining Sovvan. When she opened her mouth, he raised a finger. “Not another word until you are inside the compound.”

For his second shock, she inclined her head in obedience. A good thing, considering the number of wolves watching them. He’d grown more and more aware of their sneaking in closer, peeking, and looking… None approached Sovvan or interrupted Alicia, but he was done taking chances for the moment.

Scanning the buildings around him, he took Sovvan’s arm and began the ascent to the compound’s gates. Rumors. Lies. Misdirection.

The problems in Sutter Butte went far deeper than even he’d realized.

It wasn’t a potential rebellion, it was war.

T
he potency
of his passion seemed to crackle in the air around him as he guided her through the gate at his compound. Inside, several wolves awaited them and their presence seemed alien. In the few days she’d been in Summit, the only scents within the walls had come from Cassius, Faust, and Maria.

Had it really only been a little over twenty-four hours since she’d literally been ready to climb the walls? In the center of the courtyard, she paused. In addition to Trask, there were five other wolves she didn’t know. The little girl, Maddy, stood with her hand firmly in Maria’s, but though she detected both Faust and Bianca’s scents, neither were there.

“We put the Hound in his room with his things and some of hers. He was pretty much out cold, but the familiar scents should keep him calm.” Trask seemed to include her in the notification. When she would have gone to him, Cassius caught her arm and tugged her back.

Biting back a snarl, she gave him a long, silent look until his gaze collided with hers. His fingers tightened rather than loosened, but she received the message. Determined to support him before his pack, she minded her tongue while adding another topic to their future battle.

“Bianca?” Cassius said.

“Unconscious, but as far as we can tell, she’s just exhausted.” He glanced at Maddy then Sovvan. “Probably overwork. It happens. Everything else seems normal. Do you want me to send for one of the other healers to check on her?”

“Not yet. The others are all tied to their families.” He’d mentioned the families before, but she didn’t understand how factions within his pack wielded such power, particularly when he was Alpha. Trying to keep track of all her mental notes would give her a headache.

“We need to talk,” Cassius continued. “Maria, will you take care of Maddy for me?” At the housekeeper’s nod, he glanced at the little girl whose lack of expression struck Sovvan as more than odd, it was almost eerie. Even her eyes looked dead. A shiver of apprehension slid over her. “Maddy, you will listen to Maria, do you understand? You’re safe here.”

“Okay.” No happiness, no sadness, no pleading, nothing. Edging closer to Cassius, Sovvan fought against the uncharitable thoughts the child elicited.
She’s been traumatized. You’d probably be disconnected, too.

It was more than that, though. Even her wolf crouched, wary and…hostile. The unsympathetic and wholly aggressive reaction of Sovvan’s wolf was a new one for her.

“With me,” Cassius said to the others. He led the way into his house. The tromp of so many feet in the quiet spaciousness echoed against her soul. Everything seemed wrong, off…and she couldn’t put her finger on what it was or why.

They entered the spacious living room, with its beautiful windows and airy feeling, but when Cassius closed the doors, hemming her in with the six strange wolves and himself, the doors locking together clanked like an old-style dungeon, sealing off all the exits.

“I’m not going to pretend any of this is normal,” Cassius said as he guided her to a chair away from the others. At his unspoken command, she sat and clasped her hands together. The other wolves did an admirable job of not staring at her, but Trask seemed as interested in her reactions as she had been in the lack of Maddy’s. His scrutiny rippled over her, and she tried to get a grip on her breathing.

The last thing they needed were these dominant wolves freaking out while Faust was down. Cassius took a stance angled between her and his wolves. They, in turn, ranged around the room.

“I’m also not going to pretend this will be easy. Has Trask informed you of the plan?” The constant rumble of anger in his tone lowered his voice to an audible growl.

“You want to end the Reaping once and for all.” It was the first time Sovvan heard the idea laid out so plainly.

A second wolf, no less fierce than the first added, “And terminate the factionalism within the pack and create central locations like Summit that are about living and growing together.”

“Yeah, where we can hold hands and sing Kumbaya and shit.” This from the third, and the ironic note at the end actually made her laugh.

“Something like that.” Cassius stood tall, his hands at his sides. He didn’t posture or pose. He owned the room, commanded attention, and even her wolf took notice. “The constant jockey for position, the grudges, the blood matches…they’ve divided us. An entire generation of wolves now believe it behooves them to murder their way to the top of the food chain through assassination and poison rather than direct conflict. The one-on-one fights outside of the Reaping were bad enough, but it’s grown worse with every passing year.”

“Justin.” Trask said.

“He was the tipping point.” Cassius agreed. He glanced at her. “Justin was a Hunter I used to communicate with other packs. We do not allow Enforcers here and, as you know, when we communicate between Alphas, the phones aren’t our first choice.”

“Or they weren’t, not until the last year or so.” She knew for a fact that Serafina spoke to Mason and his mate regularly. Her mating to Lincoln added a new layer to the complex relationship between Delta Crescent and Willow Bend.

Cassius nodded once. “Justin, however, was a very clever wolf. He wanted to be Alpha, and in Sutter Butte, there is only one way to achieve that goal.”

“The Reaping.”

Another nod. “The Reaping was designed to honor our ancestors, to acknowledge who we were as a pack and what we’d survived together. It was supposed to keep us strong and to identify who are most powerful wolves were so they would stand before the rest.”

“It sure as shit ain’t that anymore.” Trask grunted as he sat propped on the back of the white sofa. His black leather and chains looked so at odds with the space. Then again, it didn’t seem to suit Cassius either. They projected these images of wild, untamable violence and sat around in calm, white room with its soothing pastels of the desert.

Which was the real them?

“No.” Cassius sighed. “Our problems have magnified. The Russians made a run at Hudson River.”

Shock rippled along Sovvan’s spine. The Russian packs were akin to the boogeymen of their history. They’d made a few attempts to sneak through Delta Crescent over the years. The Hounds all had standing orders where the Russians were concerned—eliminate them on sight and ask questions later. They were never to get a foothold in the pack’s territories. Snarls echoed around the room. Apparently, Sutter Butte shared the negative sentiment.