“But it would have been my head,” Eli said, “if the pup here hadn’t stepped in.” Eli shook his head. “I’ve never seen anything like it. He intentionally intercepted that chain—with his leg—letting it wrap around his shin, and then yanked back, ripping the chain out of the guy’s hand and whipping the free end around the other guy’s arm in the same motion. Where’d you learn how to do that, kid?”
Jeffrey stared at his shoes, scuffing at a loose piece of leather with the sole of his other sneaker. “Um… My pack’s enforcers like to use bullwhips.”
There was a short silence as the meaning of that statement sank in. Either the kid had been struck with a whip often enough to learn that little trick, or he’d seen someone else do it.
“And just what pack is that, Jeffrey?”
At Aaron’s question, the boy’s eyes came up to meet his gaze. They were steady on his, and defiant. A hint of the man he would become was visible as he straightened to face Aaron. “My old pack, I meant to say. I left when I was fourteen.”
“And now?” Aaron asked, already knowing the answer.
Jeffrey shook his head. “I’ve been on my own.” He glanced away, down the hall, eyes distant. “That’s why I hooked up with Bill and Larry. They said they’d vouch for me with their Alpha, if I helped them with some tracking.” He looked back to meet Aaron’s gaze. “I’m a good tracker.”
“I know you are,” Aaron said. “And a good fighter. So how come you came to warn me like that, Jeffrey? They won’t be vouching for you now.”
Jeffrey looked away again. “I don’t want to join that pack anymore. They’re as bad as my old pack. I was already thinking of splitting when they went to steal that human. But Larry said it was just—” He broke off, rubbing the back of his neck. “Um… he said it was a mating thing… and she wouldn’t get hurt… and I thought—
“But then I smelled you there, on her territory and…” Jeffrey looked at him with such misery in his eyes, Aaron felt himself softening. “But when you showed up— I couldn’t run from a fight… so when you offered me mercy—” He looked away, a flush creeping up his neck. “I took it.”
“Nothing wrong with that, Jeffrey. You fought well and accepted your defeat. I can’t fault you for that.”
“I never meant to steal any humans. They just wanted me to track the lures. I didn’t know she was—” His gaze flickered briefly to Eli and Zeke, and then back to Aaron. “Anyone’s…”
And Maiden help him, watching the way the kid hunched his shoulders, Aaron could believe him. Young, alone, confused, he couldn’t know much about true mating ceremonies if he’d left his pack when he was fourteen. The lure of Pack could be very strong, especially to a pup who’d been a loner for so long.
Jeffrey’s eyes flicked up to Aaron’s, something desperate, and maybe just a little hopeful in them.
“How old are you, Jeffrey?”
The boy licked his lips and glanced away. In that moment, he looked vulnerable and uncertain, and very young.
“Seventeen,” he said. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed.
Aaron sighed and pulled out his phone. “Go sit, Jeffrey, take a load off that leg. I have to make a call.”
Aaron left them there in the waiting room and went outside to make his call. He had to do this quickly. He wasn’t looking forward to it. He scrolled down to Lucas’s number.
“Lucas, we had run-in with Mont-Tremblant. Four of them attacked at Lyla’s store.” He gave a quick rundown of events, then drew in a deep breath.
“So. I want to bring Jeffrey into the pack. He’s just a kid, only seventeen, and he’s been on his own for a long time. But he’s shown honor in his actions, he’s an excellent tracker, and a scrappy little fighter. I think he’d be an asset to the pack.”
There was a long moment of silence. Aaron held his breath. There had been a time when Lucas would have accepted his assessment without question. But he might have lost that. After Lyla.
“You trust him?” Lucas’s voice was quiet. Serious.
“Yeah. I think we can trust him. And I’ll keep a sharp eye on him until you can get here and accept him.” Once Lucas formally accepted Jeffrey into the pack, the magic of the pack-bond would prevent him from committing outright treachery. But until then, the pack would be vulnerable. “I’m thinking he’d make a good apprentice to Jesse.”
There was another short pause.
“Fine. Bring him in. But you watch him. I’m trusting you with this. Not Jesse.”
A tension that Aaron hadn’t known he was carrying, eased. Knowing Lucas still had confidence in him meant more than he’d realized. All of a sudden, his chest felt tight.
“Thanks, Lucas.” His voice came out gruff. “I’ll keep my eye on him. He’s a good kid.”
Lucas sighed. “Right. Okay. Well, figure out somewhere to put him. I should be back tomorrow.”
And that brought Aaron to now, sitting on the couch in the living room, Lyla next to him, interrogating the newest—almost—member of the Rabbit River Pack. The kid looked even younger dressed in Jesse’s old sweats, his hair still damp from the shower. The dark blue hoodie seemed to swallow him whole. But Jesse’s clothes were the only ones that had a hope of fitting him, or at least not sliding right off. Elizabeth had taken one look at the kid, demanded a fresh change of clothes, and shooed him up into the shower. Then she insisted that everyone sit down for a peaceful dinner before any questions were asked.
Truthfully, he’d been happy to let Elizabeth take charge. Drilling the kid for information in front of Lyla wasn’t going to be fun. But he needed to find out everything he could. He was uncomfortably aware of the pack’s increasing vulnerability. Marten would know soon enough that he and his brothers were in the area. It wouldn’t take much for him to figure maybe Lucas was here too, and come poking around. If not to challenge Lucas outright—at the very least to look for Aster.
Aaron tried to push away the guilt he felt at bringing this down on the pack. He was doing his best to see they were prepared, but he knew they weren’t ready for a challenge. That didn’t change the fact that if he hadn’t brought Lyla back here, Marten would have her already. And he knew what Marten was capable of.
He, Lucas, and Gage had been away from the pack when Marten had first showed up at Mont-Tremblant. Even so, he’d heard all about that gruesome battle. No way would he let Lyla anywhere near that lunatic.
Aaron suppressed a sigh and wondered where to start. “Okay, start at the beginning. How did you get hooked up with Bill and Larry?”
The kid sat there like he was on trial, all sharp cheekbones and darting eyes. He licked his lips nervously. “I ran into Bill outside the Mont-Tremblant territory. I’d heard they had a reputation for taking in strays, but when I got there… they weren’t anymore.”
His gaze met Aaron’s briefly, and then flicked away. “They had a new Alpha.” He stared out at the front windows for a moment and then met Aaron’s gaze directly. He looked very adult. “You’re from there, aren’t you? Your brothers carry the Pack scent.”
Aaron nodded. “Yes. We are all from there, originally. Lucas, who you will meet tomorrow, is the old Alpha’s son. We didn’t want to be part of that pack either after the new Alpha took over. I’m hoping my brothers will join the Rabbit River Pack too. But my parents are up there, with the old pack, so…”
Jeffrey nodded, as if confirming something to himself.
Aaron drew a deep breath. “Do they know we’re here, Jeffrey? Did Bill or Larry ever say anything about looking for missing pack members, maybe Lucas, or me?”
“The only one they talked about looking for was the sister. Aster. And, um—” his glance darted to Lyla, “Lyla.” He ducked his head. “Only we didn’t know her name.” The kid stared down at his shoes. “They seemed more interested in females.”
“Right.” Aaron rubbed his forehead. “Go on with the story,” he said.
“So, I was about two miles outside their territory, wondering where t
o go next, when I found this lure. It—” He broke off and flushed, his eyes darting to Lyla, and then down to the floor. “It was… weird. Really strong. And I was trying to figure out what it was, and who would have left it, and that’s when Bill showed up. He said that if I could track the lure to the source, he’d vouch for me with the pack. But he never said anything about— stealing women.” His mouth tightened and his gaze turned to Lyla. “But I did find out. Later. I should have… done something. I’m sorry...” His words trailed off, almost inaudible. He dropped his gaze and stared at his feet, his hands clasped together on his knees.
Lyla cleared her throat. She couldn’t quite reconcile this skinny kid with the three men who’d come into her shop to buy that ax. Yes, he was tall, and had broad shoulders, but he hardly looked imposing. He was mostly skin and bones. Then again, she had been concentrating on the ringleader. She fiddled with her bracelets. Damn. How she handled this would have a big impact on this scared, lonely kid. She took a deep breath.
“Everyone makes mistakes, Jeffrey. It’s how you handle them and learn from them that’s important.”
He looked up at her. His eyes were a deep blue, almost navy, and they swam with tears. He nodded and shifted his gaze away, swallowing.
“So tell me again how you followed the lures. You said there was more than one?”
Aaron’s voice sounded harsh to Lyla, like he wasn’t quite ready to give Jeffrey a pass. But he’d taken the boy in. She watched Aaron’s stern expression as he regarded Jeffrey. She got the feeling he was planning to be a little hard on him. Enough to make the young man feel like he’d done his penance, and give him the structure he’d need as he struggled with that difficult transition between boy and man. Her heart squeezed a little at the thought. Aaron was such a good guy.
“There were seven of them. They led straight to the hardware store.” Jeffrey’s gaze flicked up to Lyla and away again. “They didn’t really need me to track them.” He rubbed his hands down his sweats. “They were strong.”
He shifted nervously. “I, um, did track you to your house. And I could tell someone else had been there.” Now his gaze swung to Aaron. “Your scent was faint, but I smelled it. So then when you showed up, I got a really bad feeling. That’s why I came back and dropped that lure where you could find it.”
“You dropped it?” Aaron’s voice was sharp.
“Yeah. I figured you should know about it.” He was still rubbing his hands up and down his thighs. He sat hunched in his chair, gazing miserably at the floor. His slim form was dwarfed by the oversized furniture. Lyla couldn’t help it. Her heart went out to him. She knew what it was like to lose your family young and feel like you were all alone.
“Why me?” Aaron asked.
Jeffrey glanced at her again, just for a second, and then back at Aaron. “Like I said, I could smell that you’d been there. I um… kind of thought she was yours.”
“Smart kid,” Aaron said, with a slight smile.
His gaze shifted to hers. She felt pinned there, heat rising to her cheeks. Did everyone think that? She bit her lip and looked away, feeling shaky and drained. The kid was probably right.
After the fight, with her knees so weak she thought she might just collapse, when Eli pulled her in to help hold her up, all she could think was it should be Aaron. It was Aaron’s strong arms she wanted around her, his reassurance that she was okay. And that he was too. That they had all survived. It was such a relief when he finally pulled her into his arms—she’d broken down and cried.
Aaron asked Jeffrey something else, but Lyla wasn’t listening. Soon she and Aaron would go upstairs, and she’d have to face this thing between them. She couldn’t put it off any longer. She’d have to face her demons. And bare her soul to do it. As much as she wanted to, this was one confrontation she couldn’t run from.
Which was what she’d been doing for a long time now, she thought suddenly. Running from one confrontation after another. First, doing her best to avoid Aunt Zoe. It was one of the reasons she’d married Doug. Zoe couldn’t stand him. And vice versa. Doug had insulated her neatly from her aunt’s influence. And he knew nothing about the witches, so she’d had a great excuse to avoid anything to do with that too.
And what a disaster that turned out to be. But when she’d finally admitted the truth, what had she done? She’d run away again. Coming up here and letting distance separate her from her troubles. Except it hadn’t worked. Someone had set that lure— and she’d bet anything Aunt Zoe had something to do with it. Why, she couldn’t quite put her finger on yet, but—
“Lyla?” Aaron’s voice broke her out of her thoughts.
“Sorry. What?”
“Do you have any questions you want to ask Jeffrey before we all turn in?”
“Um… Did Bill or that Larry guy ever say anything about a prophecy?”
“Prophecy?” Jeffrey’s surprise couldn’t have been faked. His eyes were round and his voice went up a full octave, breaking at the end. Poor kid.
“I’ll take that as a no.” She smiled to lessen the sting of her words.
“Um. No. Never. They talked about… mates. Mostly.” Jeffrey’s face was beet red and he couldn’t meet her eyes.
Lyla sighed. Time to face the music. “Well, I guess that’s it for tonight. We can talk more tomorrow.”
Aaron nodded. “Boaz,” he called.
Aaron’s oldest brother appeared at the top of the stairs.
“Can you get Jeffrey here settled for the night?” The two brothers shared a significant look. Lyla hid a smile. They were too cute, these brothers. She could clearly read Aaron’s don’t-let-him-out-of-your-sight-for-a-second look, met with a no-shit-Sherlock look from Boaz.
“Come on, pup,” Boaz said. “You’re bunking down with me.” He waved the young man up the stairs.
Jeffrey rose and ducked his head. “Okay, then. Well, good night.”
“Good night, Jeffrey,” Lyla said, trying to make her voice warm and reassuring. This couldn’t be easy for him. Boaz was just about the same size as Aaron, and with his stoic demeanor, he could be very intimidating. And that was if he liked you. Lyla had a new appreciation for her introduction to the pack. It wasn’t just her. They didn’t take easily to strangers.
“Night, kid.” Aaron rose to his feet, putting out a hand to pull Lyla to hers.
Here we go, she thought, and allowed him to lead her to the stairs.
Chapter 16
Marten slammed the receiver down on the old black wall phone. He stood there for a second, motionless. Then he whipped around, ripping the phone from the wall. He hurled it across the room with such force it cracked the solid wood paneling on the opposite wall.
Jail. They were both in jail. In the U.S., Maiden help him. He was going to have to send someone to post bail. And then there would be a trial. Those two rat-brains would probably end up doing time.
He scrubbed a hand over his face and tried to think. Armed robbery. Assault with a deadly weapon. Maybe even attempted murder. Attempted kidnapping, if the woman decided to pull that card.
He kicked savagely at the breakfast bar that separated the kitchen from the rest of the cabin. They would have to skip bail. He was tempted to just let them rot, but that wasn’t an option. The kind of time they were looking at, behind bars, that would bring on the Sickness for sure. At least, he thought it would. And nobody could afford to take the chance.
If they could get bail. Canadians might be considered a flight risk, so close to the border.
“Bloody Maiden!” He banged his fist down on the counter. “Dirty-dog-fucking, slobbery cock-suckers!”
How had they managed to screw up so badly? All they had to do was grab the human. Not start a shootout like this was the Wild West. Things might be in flux within the communities of the People, but basic principles—don’t do anything to attract the attention of the humans—still held. Would always hold.
He resisted the urge to kick the breakfast bar again, trying to rein in h
is temper. He could see that dick-brain Larry pulling a gun, maybe even shooting it. But Bill? Were all his loners losing it now? They should be protected. He’d taken the Mont-Tremblant pack to protect them. The image of a bridled gray wolf lying beneath the pines—blood soaking the fallen needles a deep crimson red—flashed through his mind. His heart clenched. He hadn’t been able to save Gary.
He smacked the counter with his open palm. They should be safe! He should be safe. The pack-magic should protect them all. But the bond was weak. And he could feel it weakening. He’d never heard of that happening. Then again, until recently, not many packs were taken by force. His mouth twisted. Not that there’d been any choice.
He blew out a frustrated breath, staring down at the dark carpeting without seeing it. So many males thrown out like so much garbage. Left to roam the countryside looking for whatever scraps the packs would toss them—
He’d thought if he could gather them together, maybe they’d be protected. But he’d had more than seventy males in his ‘pack’ when the first one began showing signs. He’d had to put down more than a handful. And then… Gary.
He slammed his fist back down on the counter. Didn’t those dog-brains realize what they were doing? They were sowing the seeds for disaster. For all of them. With that many out on their own—
An epidemic of the Sickness was not something the People could afford. Not in this time of assault rifles and aerial bombardments. The People would be wiped from the earth.
He turned and walked through the room, staring out the back sliders. It was the Alpha-bitch’s fault. He gritted his teeth and worked to unclench his hands. Maybe he shouldn’t have expected breeding rights. Maybe that was going too far. Maybe if he’d just—
But Leanne had been a beautiful woman, even if she was in her sixties. The People aged well. And he had right of conquest. What new Alpha wouldn’t want a female? Not as his mate, he was only thirty-two, but… His heart squeezed a little. He could admit that had been a mistake. He’d never expected her to come at him like that. It had been reflex, defending himself.
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