by Lisa Oliver
“I’d take them out myself if I could. I tried once.” Harry pulled his left hand out of his pocket. Only there wasn’t a hand, just a stump at wrist level where his hand should be. “There’s just some folks that don’t like being told no more.”
Shadow closed his eyes, but only briefly. The crowd was hushed, and he knew what he said next was going to be pivotal for getting the decent members of his pack on his side.
“I meant what I said, Harry, and I’m telling all of you others as well. From now on, this pack and my territory is a drug free zone. If you don’t like it; you’d better get off my land. If I find one illicit drug anywhere, see one person under the influence, spot one individual selling that shit on my streets, and in our homes, then they will be dead. There will be no second chances for that. I can forgive a lot of things, but the abuse of the weak, and drugs are two things that will not be tolerated. At all.”
“Yeah, well, I can see you mean well,” Harry said, showing his neck before straightening again. “I still don’t see how you’re going to accomplish all this, especially with that traitor and the omega…”
“Stop right there, Harry. The rest of you need to hear this, too.” Shadow slung his arm around Rowan’s shoulders as he looked around his pack mates, then indicated to Talon who was standing close behind his mate. “Talon is no traitor. He’s admitted his wrong doings and has agreed to work with me to make things right again. You should also know, the omega Rowan, is the only reason I came back to this territory. I knew he was my mate before I left, and I spent ten years away, allowing him time to grow up into the amazing shifter you see in front of you today. Yesterday, Rowan accepted my claim on him, and agreed that we are fated for each other. Omega, he might be, but he is also the Alpha Mate of this pack. He will be treated with the respect that position deserves.”
Harry looked non-plussed for a moment, and then he let out a chuckle, a chuckle that developed into a full belly laugh. “Oh, my goodness,” he said when he could finally talk. “Those forces that lurk in the shadows had better watch the fuck out. All shifters know how much stronger an alpha can be when he’s true mated to his omega. That is the best news I’ve heard in ages. This pack finally has a chance. Kneel everyone. Kneel and show your respect for our new alpha pair.”
Harry was the first one on his knees, his head tilted to show off his grubby neck. One by one the rest of the pack followed with the exception of the elders, who quietly slipped out of the hall. I’ll deal with them tomorrow, Shadow promised himself as he bid his new pack to get back on their feet again.
Chapter Eleven
“It’s been four days,” Rowan grumbled as he jabbed the escape key on his keyboard with more force than necessary. “If I wanted to spend my time alone, I could’ve stayed single.”
“You are the one who insists on working at your own apartment,” Talon pointed out calmly. “And what am I? A hunk of wood?”
“I’m grateful you’re here,” Rowan said, staring at his screen and seeing nothing at all. “You playing my newest game for me has been really helpful in my ironing out a few bugs it had. It’s just…”
“You miss your alpha,” Talon shrugged as he continued playing his game. “I don’t know why you just don’t tell him to stay home once in a while. The pack’s been a mess for years. He’s not going to fix everything overnight.”
“Huh, try telling him that.” Rowan tried not to let his bitterness swamp him, but for all Shadow’s agreement that Rowan was alpha mate, and he should have a part in anything the alpha did, the damn man still managed to be out of bed and be gone before Rowan woke up in the morning. “I’m worried,” he said, tapping his finger nails on the desk. “I’ve had this horrible feeling in my gut since Shadow said he was going after those drug dealers – you know, the ones who’ve been squatting in those empty houses on Rogue Alley?”
“Damn it,” Talon cursed as the game played that annoying wah-wah noise it made when a character died. “I almost made it to level twelve.”
“You were supposed to stock up on power levels, food, and weapons before you left level ten. Talon, I’m worried about Shadow!”
Pushing back from the corner of the desk he’d made his own, Talon disappeared into Rowan’s kitchenette and started making a pot of coffee. Rowan’s eyes narrowed and he swiveled in his chair, so he was facing the kitchen. “You know something, don’t you? That’s why you’re not answering me. Something’s going down today, and you’ve been told not to say anything about it to me. I’m right, aren’t I?”
“Up until now, I don’t recall you asking me a question. You’re all, ‘I’m worried about Shadow, I’ve got these squishy feelings in my tummy and it’s got nothing to do with the fact I haven’t eaten anything except half a dozen power bars since breakfast’. Which aren’t good for you, by the way. The packaging on those bars might say they are designed to bring you maximum energy, but they’re just full of sugar. Read the ingredients label on the back.”
Rowan growled. Nothing as impressive as he’d heard Shadow do, but neither he nor his wolf was happy with the way Talon was acting. He decided to go for the direct approach. “Talon, is anything Shadow is planning to do today dangerous?”
“Define dangerous,” Talon said, but Rowan noticed he was making a real meal out of filling the coffee machine.
“Fine.” Rowan stood up and plucked his jacket off the back of the couch. “Leave the coffee, I’m going out.” He put on his jacket and headed for the door.
“Cool,” Talon said, abandoning the machine and grabbing his own bulky jacket. “Where are we going, because I could murder some lunch.”
“I’m sure my grandmother will make something for you,” Rowan said brightly, checking to make sure he had his keys before opening the door. “She’s always got stuff on hand to make me a sandwich when I’ve wanted one. Come on.”
“Hang on.” Talon’s grip on his arm was light. “We’re going to visit your grandmother? But, it’s only Thursday. You visit your grandmother on Fridays when you take her baking stuff. I should know. I watched you do it often enough.”
“And that’s not creepy at all,” Rowan teased as he shrugged off Talon’s hand and walked out the door. “I don’t need to take her anything for baking anymore. Craven set up an account for her, and they are making regular grocery deliveries every week in payment for her baking for the kids all these years. Which means, I can go and visit her anytime I like. It’ll be fun. Close the door on your way out.”
“Rowan,” Talon fumbled with the door, and then hurried after him. “Your gran lives on Rogue Alley.”
“I know.” Rowan walked outside and unlocked his car. Holding the driver door open, he waited for Talon to get to the passenger side. “But you and Shadow have taken great pains to tell me how much safer it is there now. It’s broad daylight. We’re only going to my grandmother’s house. I’m not inviting you to an orgy.”
“I’d rather take the orgy,” Talon muttered. “Look, why don’t we go and have lunch in town, and visit your grandmother later. She’s probably got friends visiting. She might not even be home. That’s it. Why don’t you call her first, and make sure she’s there?”
“You want me to call my own grandmother and make an appointment to see her?” Rowan laughed as he got into the car and put the keys into the ignition. “Get in Talon. My grandmother’s always happy to see me no matter what time or day I visit her.”
Talon got in the car, but instead of putting his seat belt on, he reached over and grabbed the car keys, wrenching them from the ignition and shoving his hands, with the keys under his armpits. Given he had four inches and about fifty pounds on Rowan, Rowan didn’t see much chance of him getting them back.
“You can’t go to your gran’s house just yet,” Talon said firmly, staring out of the front windscreen. “If you want lunch, and lord knows I do, I’ll give you back the keys and we’ll go to the food truck at the bottom of Princess Street. All right? Trust me on this.”
Rowan eyed
his friend cautiously. Everything in Talon’s behavior indicated he knew something was going on and he wasn’t going to say anything. “I want lunch.” He held out his hand for the keys.
“You want lunch at the food truck on Princess Street.” Talon dangled the keys just out of reach.
“Fine, if you’re going to be difficult. I want lunch at the food truck on Princess street,” Rowan parroted, waving his hand under Talon’s nose.
Talon frowned but dropped the keys into Rowan’s hand. Rowan smirked, putting the keys into the ignition and starting the car. He reversed out of his parking spot, pointed the car down the road and hit the accelerator. One... two… three…
“Town is the other way,” Talon said quickly. “Stop the car, Rowan.”
“I know where town is,” Rowan said, increasing the pressure on the accelerator pedal slightly. “But I’m not going to town. I’m going to my grandmother’s house.” He flashed a saucy smile in Talon’s direction. “We’ll go to the food truck at the bottom of Princess Street for lunch, tomorrow.”
“Damn it all to fucking hell.” Reaching over, Talon yanked hard on the handbrake that sat between them. The car lurched to a sudden stop. Rowan flopped back in his seat, his heart pounding after almost cracking his head on the steering wheel.
“What on earth do you think you’re doing? You could’ve caused an accident.” Rowan quickly checked the rear vision mirror. Fortunately, he lived on a quiet street and most of his neighbors were out during the day.
“You’re not leaving me a lot of options,” Talon said fiercely. “I had one job today. Just one. Keep the alpha mate from Rogue Alley, they said. Just for today, they said. That’s all I had to do, and now you’re going to make me lose the first home I’ve had in ages, and my job too because you’re just being stubborn.”
“You won’t lose your job or your home,” Rowan said, feeling a bit better now his heart was under control again. “For fuck’s sake, Talon, you have to tell me what’s going on. That bad feeling in my gut isn’t going away. If anything, it’s getting worse. My wolf’s telling me there’s something wrong with our mate and I demand, as your alpha mate, that you tell me what the hell is going on!”
“I promised I wouldn’t say anything.” Talon sounded miserable now, and Rowan felt bad for behaving like a two-year-old trying to get his own way. But the agitation his wolf was feeling was very real. He had to know what Shadow was doing.
“Talon, please. Who’re they? Shadow, Craven and the others?”
Talon nodded.
“Okay, so there’s something going down today, in Rogue Alley, and Shadow’s leading whatever it is, and I assume he’s told my grandmother to go out for the day, am I close?”
Talon nodded again.
“Right, so now we’re getting somewhere.” Rowan looked around. They were still stopped in the middle of their lane. “I’m going to move the car…”
Rowan stopped as the sound of a huge explosion rocked the sky. Looking up, he could see huge clouds of black smoke billowing through the air, coming from the direction of Rogue Alley. “Oh, my gods, Shadow!” Leaping from the car, Rowan started running down the road as fast as his legs could carry him. He’d barely made it ten feet and his bad leg crumpled under him. He knew the logical thing would be to get back into the car and drive to Rogue Alley. But all he could feel was Shadow’s fear, his anger, and a shaft of pain. His wolf was howling, begging to be let free, but he wasn’t on pack territory. The chances of being seen were too great.
“Rowan,” he heard Talon yell for him, but he ignored it. All he could see was that cloud of smoke, and the hint of flames licking the edges of it. He stumbled along; his eyes wet with tears. I’ve got to…
“ROWAN! Look out!”
The sounds of scuffling behind him, made Rowan turn. He saw Talon fighting off two men dressed in black, wearing ski masks. He cried out, knowing he had to try and help his friend, but before he could even move, he felt a sharp twist in his ankle as his leg gave out completely. He hit the ground, barely registering the sidewalk beneath him and suddenly his head was covered in a dark cloth bag. Struggling fiercely, the pain in his ankle shooting up his leg, Rowan quickly found his hands tied behind his back. A dull thud sounded behind him and then pain bloomed along his skull. Fuck, Talon, I’m so sorry. Shadow, where the fuck are you? But then, as what often happens with a sharp pain in the head, Rowan knew no more.
Chapter Twelve
“Well, that didn’t go to plan,” Shadow said disgustedly as he brushed ash and soot off his new and ridiculously expensive suit. He looked around, surveying the huge clumps of metal and concrete strewn across the block. He tapped his ears, first one side and then the other, trying to alleviate the ringing he had in them. “Report,” he ordered. “Is anyone hurt?”
“A few scrapes and bruises. Nothing that won’t heal with a shift,” Marco came over, combing what looked like splinters out of his bushy beard and hair. “Craven’s in among the wreckage now in his wolf form, trying to sniff out why we missed the stink of gunpowder. We should have smelled that well before the door was even opened.”
“Yeah, well these shits clearly know about us and what we are, which is all the more reason they need eliminating.” Shadow quickly checked the rest of his team. Craven’s dark shape was picking through the wreckage and Dominic was helping Harry to his feet. The man appeared shaken, and he was going to have a wicked bruise on his head. “Harry, I thought you said this informant didn’t know about us being shifters, or who we were.”
“I also told you, I got the information about the asshole we were supposed to meet, secondhand from one of the younger guys in the pack. It was him that set up the appointment, not me. Damn fool idea, if you ask me.” Harry scowled as he brushed concrete dust off his clothing. “If I hadn’t have heard that click the moment dickhead Dominic here opened the door without so much as a sniff of what might be behind it…”
“I know, I know. Thank you for saving our lives.” Shadow rubbed his hand across his face, his fingers coming away covered in dust. “The fact someone was trying to kill us is obvious. This was supposed to be a meet and greet, and then we were going to a ‘buy’ not a fucking execution. But who’s behind this? A human or someone in the pack?”
“You’ve got something else you need to worry about,” Dominic said grimly. “In case you’ve forgotten, you’ve got an alpha mate who’s been grumbling to Talon that his newly claimed mate doesn’t talk to him or let him know what’s going on.”
“He can’t know about this,” Shadow said quickly. He didn’t want to think what Rowan would say if he knew Shadow and his friends had set up a meeting with drug dealers. It was why he’d purposefully blocked their bond and suppressed his wolf before the meeting was even scheduled to start. He needed to come across to the scumbag drug dealer as human as possible.
“And you don’t think he’ll find out?” Marco shook his head. “For fuck’s sake, Shadow, there’s a big assed hole where the road outside Rowan’s gran’s house used to be. He’s not blind.”
“Gas leak?” Shadow shrugged. “It was just fortunate the squatters are gone, and Rowan’s grandmother is providing food for the builders over at the community hall today. Fuck. This is one hell of a mess.”
“Yeah, well you’ve got an even bigger mess coming,” Marco said, as the wail of sirens could be heard coming nearer. “Craven, get your damn clothes on, we’ve got company coming.” The big wolf gave one last sniff and then loped off around the back of Rowan’s grandmother’s house.
“As for you,” Marco said, slapping Shadow on the chest. “You need to think long and hard about the damage you’re doing to your mating, by not keeping that sweet omega of yours fully informed. If these bastards are after you, and I’d bet next month’s salary they are, then Rowan’s in danger. The whole pack knows who he is, and that the two of you are true mates. If we’ve got issues with pack members…”
“Then they’ll know what I’ll do, or what I’d be prepared to
give up, to keep Rowan safe.” Shadow sighed. A large fire appliance rattled down the alley, closely followed by another truck, men pouring out of both as they swarmed the scene. Two police cars also arrived and suddenly the area was crowded. “I know. I’ll talk to him - I’ll talk to him tonight, or just as soon as we’ve gotten rid of this lot.”
Straightening his jacket, Shadow kept his shoulders back, as he approached the most officious looking gentleman. “My name is Shadow Bronc. I own the land around here and was present for a meeting when the explosion happened. What can you guys tell me about the cause of this mess? Me and my business associates could’ve been killed.” As Shadow’s father always used to say – the best defense is a good offense every time.
Listening to the Fire Department Chief drone on about possible issues in the sewer pipes, Shadow opened his link with his mate, wanting to reassure himself Rowan was safely in his apartment where he should be. He frowned as his wolf came up with nothing. In fact, his wolf wanted out, frantically, annoyed Shadow hadn’t paid heed to the warnings he’d been trying to give. Which can only mean something’s wrong with my omega. Fuck it all to hell.
“Excuse me, Chief,” Shadow said as soon as he could get a word in edgewise. “I’m sure your investigators know what they’re doing. My apologies, but I have another urgent appointment. Can I introduce you to Dominic Stiles, my second in command? He has full authority to take your report and will co-operate fully with all aspects of your investigations.”
Without waiting for the man to reply, Shadow waved Dominic over, then signaled Marco and Craven to his side as he strode from the scene. “I can’t sense Rowan at all,” he muttered as soon as they were out of earshot from everyone else. “We don’t have a direct mind link, but I can always get a sense of where he is and what he’s doing. I blocked our link earlier, and shut down my furry side, but now, I’m getting nothing from Rowan, and my wolf wants out in the worst way.”
