Desert Wolf (27 page)

M
aria finished setting
the last tray of food on the table before glancing at the wolves filling the room. Her discomfort, though evident in her scent, didn’t reach her kind expression. Shock echoed through his pack—the loss of so many and so brutally had been a blow to them all. “If you need nothing else…” She addressed her comments to him, although two other Alphas stood inside the room and a fourth was on the television screen they’d converted to a monitor to allow for Skype. “I will retire to the town this evening to give Alicia a hand with the painting at her shop.”

The shopkeeper hadn’t wasted the time or resources in beginning to rebuild and open her coffee shop. His people needed it, and his daughter refused to stay away where she might be safer and returned to Summit the moment he’d sent a wolf to bring her—a move he’d only taken when she informed him she’d drive herself, if need be. “Thank you, Maria. Trask is waiting outside, and he will assign a wolf to you.”

His daughter, like his mate, would get a Guardian whether she liked it or not. The loyalty of his pack had been sorely tested and many had come through for him. Among them, Trask and his men proved their oaths binding.

“Thank you, Maria,” Sovvan said, her voice still too soft and weary for Cassius’ liking. The scope of her injuries, coupled with the emotional blow of losing her Guardian, had left his mate in a fragile state. The brunt of the pack’s ills were still new to her, and yet she coped with them. Coped with them during the funerals for so many wolves over the last several days when she should have been in bed. The next funeral—Faust’s—would be the worst for her. The decision to notify the Irish pack held the final decision on the location of his service, but Cassius would make sure Sovvan was there, wherever they held it.

“I’ll be back later.” Maria addressed Sovvan. “You can talk me through the preparation of the gumbo.”

“I’d like that.” The women had bonded, and Cassius appreciated the care. Only once his daughter left and he’d secured the door guaranteeing them privacy did he turn to face the wolves gathered in the room, including the Chief Enforcer—one wolf he’d never thought to invite into his territory. Then again, he’d done a lot of things lately that he’d never imagined doing.

Mason Clayborne took one chair with Tyler and Claire bracketing him, while Serafina occupied another, with her mate Linc at her back. Brett Dalton watched the proceedings from his screen with two wolves in attendance—his mate and second, presumably. A phone call connected them to Etienne in Delta Crescent and A.J. in Willow Bend.

Though food and drink waited for them, no one ate except for Sovvan. He’d given her a sandwich from the first tray, and she had a mug of strong chicory, a gift from Serafina. Studying the gathered, he paused on Julian. The Enforcer leaned against a wall, arms folded, expression inscrutable. “Have you had any word from your people in Diesel’s territory?”

No one had heard from the Yukon Alpha in months.

“No.” Julian shook his head. “I have no one close enough to penetrate the wilderness where he houses them. They are too busy chasing Russians.”

Taking a seat next to his mate, he glanced at her. Though it was hot outside, she wore a long sleeved top and had wrapped herself up in a blanket. The loss of her Guardian would take time to heal. She pressed a bare foot against his thigh, and he covered it with a hand. The connection grounded him. “Someone needs to go.”

“Agreed.” Mason picked up the thread. “I’m closer. It would make sense for me to send wolves…and he did come when I invited him.” The last made more sense than the first. Whomever they sent would need to fly at least a portion of the journey.

“Have someone in mind?” Serafina regarded them all with a patient, relaxed manner—one he refused to be fooled by. His mating with Sovvan bothered her, yet she’d also given him her blessing without asking for anything in exchange. When the other shoe dropped, he needed to be ready.

“Yes.” Mason glanced at Tyler then drummed two fingers against the arm of his chair. His mate was pregnant again, making his appearance in person a surprise. The Willow Bend Alpha didn’t conform to their previous norms and, in light of all their recent changes, perhaps it was a good thing he didn’t. Sending Claire and Tyler was a good choice, at least from Cassius’s point of view. “Claire and Tyler have requested to remain in Sutter Butte while your pack recovers, provided you consent.”

Astonished by the offer and by Mason’s delivery, Cassius raised his brows. “I would be a fool to turn them down.”

“In other words, yes, please, and thank you so much.” Sovvan’s response earned a chuckle from everyone. His mate proved far more diplomatic than he would ever pretend to be.

“Just don’t get any ideas about stealing my wolves.” Mason added the last, though his grin made a lie out of his hint of a growl.

“No promises.” The gentle tease in Sovvan’s otherwise tired voice further defused the tension in the room.

“Be careful, Cassius. She is a very good leader and, if you allow it, she will take over the running of day to day necessities.” The warning from Serafina wasn’t necessary, but the encouragement her sentence offered had Sovvan smiling.

“My mate can do anything she wants,” he declared, more than content to let her light his way. “She is right. I was saying…” He cleared his throat. “Thank you.”

Claire gaped at him for a split second before saying, “I’ll be damned. Your mate is a miracle worker.” More laughter with him and at his expense, but Cassius didn’t care.

Sovvan curled her toes against his thigh and smiled at him. “She’s all that and more, but that doesn’t answer the question of who you’re sending to the Yukon.” They needed to get their discussion back on track. The sooner they finished, the sooner the other Alphas would get the hell out of his territory, so he could concentrate on his pack and his mate.

“Ranae Buckley.” The name earned a reaction from Tyler and Linc. The men’s gazes jerked to Mason. Just how many Buckleys were there?

“Hear him out,” Serafina said, glancing at her mate. Linc nodded once, but his fists clenched and his knuckles went white. Tyler’s tension threaded his shoulders, and Claire touched his arm.

“It was my idea,” A.J. said from the phone, and his brothers switched their attention to the unseen triplet. “Not one I undertook lightly, considering where she will need to go. Linc, do you remember when Diesel approached Serafina here in Willow Bend?”

“Yes.” A single syllable from an annoyed brother. “He thought he scented his mate.”

“Right. He apparently had the issue a couple of times here...”

“No way,” Tyler interrupted. “No way Ranae is his mate.”

Cassius ran a hand over his face. This was why he didn’t do the touchy feely shit. Too much drama. Sovvan nudged him, and he glanced at her empty mug. Squeezing her foot lightly, he accepted the cup and rose to refill it. Her plate was also empty, but at his inquiring eyebrow, she shook her head. A half-smile played around the corners of her mouth. Pleasure flooded him. His mate’s strength served her well and, if she could find some small reason to be joyful, he’d endure all the soap opera they could throw at him.

“I didn’t say she was.” A.J.’s voice held a far more patient tone than Cassius would have used. “However, each time he
thought
he scented his mate, one of us was around.”

“Well, I’m sure as hell not his mate,” Linc grumbled, and Serafina’s deep throaty laugh earned a chuckle from Sovvan. Refilling the mug with chicory, Cassius shook his head.

“None of us are,” Tyler said. “The three of us are mated, so what the hell does that have to do with Ranae?”

“Family groupings share similar scent markers.” Cassius answered as he turned to face the stares regarding him. “What? I wasn’t hatched. I know what family smells like. Even if you three didn’t look alike, you’d still have similar markers. If Ranae is your sibling, then she likely does as well.”

“Diesel’s a jerk,” Linc said. “Ranae doesn’t need to have anything to do with him.”

“You said the same thing about Claire,” Tyler challenged. “Look how well that worked out.”

Shaking his head, Cassius carried the strong brew to Sovvan and pressed it into her hands. She mouthed a thank you as the Buckley boys’ argument threatened to get out of hand.

“Enough.” Mason apparently shared his opinion.

On the screen, Brett’s mate had covered her mouth with her hand to try and suppress her giggles. “You’re right, it is a little like Big Brother, Wolf style,” she murmured, but the sudden silence made her words louder. The corner of Brett’s lips twitched, and his second roared with laughter.

“I don’t recall our last meeting being remotely this funny.” Nor was this one. Cassius wanted them to get their shit together.

“It’s been a long few months, brother,” Brett said. “We’ve all been a little butt-hurt.” The dig was well-placed. “So let us enjoy the mirth where we can.”

“Exactly. Ranae is a good candidate. She has the strength of will and the skills to survive, not to mention being pig-headed. Give her a mission; she’ll do it.” Mason sliced a hand through the air. It was done.

“I’ll go with her.” Julian’s announcement added yet another unexpected element. “If the Russians are making a move, I’ve dealt with them before. I’ve seen the photographs of Brett’s prisoner, met the child, and I’ve been to Yukon territory.” He wasn’t asking permission. “Have your wolf meet me in Seattle.”

“Done.” Satisfaction creased Mason’s expression. What the hell was he up to? “Speaking of the child…” He glanced at Serafina. “What are you doing with the girl?”

No one said anything. Sovvan’s toes dug into him at the reminder of the little girl who’d killed Faust. For the life of him, Cassius couldn’t follow the law in the matter. The girl had attempted to murder Sovvan, and she’d succeeded in killing Faust. Her people lost. By the law, the child should be killed. No way was he killing a child. Passing her off to Serafina, at her request, might have let him off the hook. Did it make him a bastard because he didn’t want to know the girl’s fate?

“I haven’t decided,” Serafina said, her tone carefully neutral. Linc’s hand settled on her shoulder, and she twined her fingers with his in a move so natural, Cassius had to wonder if she even noticed. “She is a child. Someone, presumably the Russians, programmed her to do what she did. That makes her a victim, as well. In any other circumstance, I would ask Sovvan to look after her and forge a connection, so we could help her.”

“I can’t.” Though a tremor ricocheted within the words, anger, not sadness, filled her eyes. “I saw inside her. I hate what they did, but I can’t help her. Not when I want to kill her.”

“As I said, in any other circumstance that would be my preference. Faust was my friend, too. You might as well be my sister. For now, Maddy will return to Delta Crescent with me. Johan and his mate can take point, but she will stay with Linc and me.”

“Don’t let her cook or get anywhere near your food,” Cassius warned. The child had poisoned Bianca, ending a healer. He clenched his fist. “They trained her well, whoever they are.”

“We’ll get answers.” Brett’s expression remained uncharacteristically grim. “We have one of theirs in custody and under tight watch. No more surprises.”

“We all need to be more alert. They haven’t made any overt moves, that I know of, in Delta Crescent.” Serafina leaned forward. “That doesn’t mean they aren’t there, and we haven’t discussed Three Rivers.”

A sour note for them all.

“If the Russians are using Luciana’s pack as a launching point, we have more than just a Lone Wolf problem.” The Delta Crescent Alpha continued. “We agreed to give them six months. It’s been five.”

“End them.” Brett’s statement was so unlike the grounded Alpha. “She’s not holding it together, and it has become a threat to the rest of us.”

“Agreed.” Mason said slowly, and to hear him admit as much sent another shockwave through the room. “We have done all we can for them, but Luciana needs to answer for the Russians that came through to Hudson River, and we need to know where the ones who hit here came from.”

“There’s a chance they came from Mexico.” Serafina played peacemaker, and voice of reason, though she did not seem opposed to Brett’s stance. “We need a full vote of all five of us.”

“No, we don’t.” Brett countered. “Diesel didn’t give a damn about them one way or the other and, as I recall, Cassius wanted to eradicate them. Has that changed?”

They all focused on him. Had his mind changed? Or had he? “Do we have proof she did it?”

“What?” Brett frowned.

“Knowingly granted the Russians entry. Do we know she allowed it?” Anger threaded through his veins. “I didn’t. I would have killed the bastards
if
I had known they were here.” The fault was his. No amount of fracturing within his pack could excuse the failure. The Garcias had been butchered. The loss of so many, and he’d attributed it to abandonment. “If she knew, if she willingly complied with allowing them in, then yes. She needs to go. Her pack may be salvageable.”

“Is Cassius Lucera seriously acting as the voice of reason?” Serafina studied him, though no emotion revealed her opinion.

“No, he’s acting like a man who has just been burned. My pack is wounded, and we’ve suffered an egregious loss. I will not forgive any complicity she may have had with them—
if
she had it.” How many men, women and children who’d trusted his system had been lost? Believed in it and been failed by it? How many had died because they couldn’t trust one another? Sovvan’s arms came around him, and he covered her hand where it rested against his abs. “If you want my vote to terminate her and her pack, bring me proof. Until then, my vote is to alert them to the issue and judge her reaction.”

No one said anything. Mason scrubbed a hand over his face. “It’s the more sensible reaction.”

“One not borne of emotion.” Serafina seemed to lean toward agreement. Her gaze flicked to the screen. “Brett?”

“Fine. Who the hell gets us proof?”

Everyone looked at Julian and he inclined his head. “Very well, but I will deliver the news to her personally before I meet Ranae in Seattle. The Enforcers will not remove a sitting Alpha.”