Her nose wrinkled. “You don’t believe that.”
No, I didn’t.
“Is it fair to make the pack pay for my choices?” I shrugged, not sure what the right course was. “What if I’m making a mistake?”
“What if you are?” she agreed. “What’s the worst that can happen? We save lives? We offer people hope or an alternative to being owned by Norwood?”
I stayed silent, digesting what she was saying.
She lowered her legs to the floor, leaning forward. “Norwood took Maren. They took Kit and Jayla, too, and who knows how many others. I highly doubt it’s some sort of pack exchange program.”
I rubbed my jaw and nodded.
“Norwood blew up the Summit,” she said quietly. “They killed dozens of men and women. They killed Luke, and almost killed Dad. They tried to kill you. Who else will hold them accountable if we don’t? We could close our borders, lock ourselves in and probably hold them off. But what about the smaller packs? Are you okay with letting them be overrun by Norwood or Long Mesa?”
She narrowed her eyes, fire sparking in their depths. “How many more little girls have to grow up being molested by grown men or listening to their mom being raped on a daily basis?”
Fuck me, that hurt.
The air whooshed out of me. Katy was right, of course.
What Skye and her mom had endured, what Zara and Bella had survived, was proof that Norwood, Long Mesa, and their allies needed to be stopped. And the honest truth was, Blackwater was the only pack that had enough power to attempt stopping them.
“When did you get so smart?” I asked wryly, shaking my head.
“I’ve always been brilliant,” she replied smugly as she stood up. “You just finally started to notice it.”
I got off the bed and smiled at her. “You’re wrong. I’ve always known how smart you are, Kit-Kat.”
By the time I showered and came downstairs, Larkin was halfway into making breakfast for everyone. Sam stood next to her, watching as she explained the right time to flip a pancake over.
Rhodes was perched on a barstool, his gaze intently watching Larkin as she moved. His fingers tightened around his coffee mug as Sam’s shoulder innocently brushed Larkin’s.
He looked over as I approached, shaking his hair out of his eyes. “Hey, man. How’d you sleep?”
“Shitty,” I admitted, walking to the coffee pot and pouring a cup into a mug. I joined him at the barstools. “Skye called me this morning.”
Larkin spun around so fast she slipped on the hardwood floor. Sam caught her before she put her hand down on the hot stovetop and helped her regain her balance.
Despite saving her from a burned hand, Rhodes growled at Sam, his expression darkening until my brother let go and took a step back from Larkin. He held up his hands innocently, eyes wide as he watched Rhodes warily.
“Is she okay?” Larkin demanded, coming around the side of the island until she was within distance of Rhodes. He snagged her around the waist and pulled her to his side, resting his head on her shoulder as they both looked at me.
“She’s good. I’ll fill you guys in on everything later. It’s late where she is, so she was going to go to sleep.”
Larkin kissed Rhodes before stepping away and moving back to the stovetop.
It was so natural, so effortless.
And it made me miss my mate all the more.
Rhodes cleared his throat, pulling me from my thoughts of Skye before I could spiral too far down.
I took a drink of the bitter liquid, flinching as it scalded my tongue.
“Where are we with Griffin?” he asked quietly.
I blew out a long breath. “He’s thinking about joining us, too.”
Rhodes’s brows went up. “No shit?”
“No shit,” I confirmed, taking another sip and praying the caffeine would somehow make things clearer.
“Would they come here, too?”
Larkin glanced back at us. “They have over six hundred people in their pack, right?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Getting them would be big.”
She bit her lower lip, worrying it between her teeth. “But if they come here, that’s a lot more people we need to find housing for.”
“I don’t think they would come here,” I admitted. I didn’t see Griffin leaving his pack lands. His family had been there for hundreds of years. “But we need their numbers, and they need our support.”
“Joining us might be their only play,” Dante said as he entered the kitchen from the stairs, followed by Ryder.
Ryder sat down in the stool next to mine, but Dante stayed standing behind him, settling his hands on Ryder’s shoulders.
“Norwood has taken the packs in Missouri and Louisiana,” Dante explained, his gaze meeting mine with a type of seriousness that made my jaw clench.
“That was fast,” Rhodes grumbled.
Ryder leaned back against Dante’s chest. “That means even with us and Windale, Norwood now has more pack members than we do. If this turns into a dog fight, we’re seriously outnumbered.”
“But not outmatched,” Rhodes remarked darkly. “We could still take them if it came to it.”
Larkin put a loaded platter of pancakes on the island, but none of us reached for them. Her worried eyes met mine. “Will it come to that?”
“I don’t know,” I replied honestly, frowning into my coffee mug.
“What about the GPA packs that are our allies?” Sam asked, bracing his hands on the granite of the island. “We can count on them, right?”
“We’re behind the eight ball, kid,” Ryder told him grimly, drumming his fingers on the counter. “Norwood knew this was coming, so they’ve had time to plan. They have footholds across the country. Even if our allies don’t join them, Norwood has enough power and people to isolate them until they either give up or die unless we can move quickly.”
I steepled my fingers, thinking. “We need to lock down all the packs in the Pacific, especially the smaller ones.”
“It won’t be enough,” Katy said as she and Dax rounded out our group in the kitchen. “We need the Canadian packs, too, and we might want to look into some of the Southern packs.”
“Long Mesa is a Southern pack,” Larkin pointed out. “I don’t see them offering us much help.”
“And we wouldn’t fucking take it,” I retorted coldly. Once I was finished with Norwood, Long Mesa would be next. I would dismantle that pack shifter by shifter.
“But Long Mesa has a pretty significant enemy in the south that we could use,” Katy pointed out, pulling a pancake off the top of the pile and taking a bite. “Stone Valley.”
“But with the history they have with Addie, do you think they would join us?” Rhodes asked reluctantly.
“Maybe,” I said, thinking that over. Stone Valley was a decently sized pack based in Texas, but they were also friendly with most of the Mexican packs. Those packs had been their allies when they were warring with Long Mesa.
“But they may just see it as joining us means they’re against Long Mesa,” I mused, rubbing my jaw. “There’s still a lot of bad blood between those two packs.”
“Again, because of Addie,” Dante pointed out quietly. “She’s from Long Mesa, and the reason their feud started.”
I shot him a dark look. “Addie is Blackwater now, so it doesn’t fucking matter.”
“It might to them,” he said slowly, playing devil’s advocate.
“It might not,” Katy countered, leaning against the island. She reached for my coffee and took a drink before making a face. “Seriously, Rem? You can’t even use sugar?”
I wasn’t a huge coffee drinker. I was drinking it now for the caffeine buzz I needed thrumming in my veins, not for taste the way Sam and Katy did.
I scowled at her and grabbed the mug. “Get your own.”
She rolled her eyes and headed to the coffee pot.
“What’s the plan for today?” Dax asked, finally speaking up.
I gla
nced at my brother, frowning. “Don’t you have school?”
He snorted. “Dude, it’s the end of the fucking world and you want me to worry about school?”
“You’re a kid, so yeah,” I snapped, glaring at him and then Sam.
“We can help,” Dax argued.
“You can help by getting your asses to school,” I replied archly.
Dax opened his mouth to argue and I cut him off.
“Dax, I don’t know what’s going to happen next week or next month,” I admitted, letting the weariness of the last few days into my tone. “So for now? Just … be a kid.”
Larkin turned to both the twins and gave them a soft smile. “Actually, it’s probably for the best you two are in school. It will help the younger kids see that there’s nothing to worry about if they know you guys aren’t missing.”
Dax sighed, still annoyed, but Sam seemed to understand what she was saying.
The two of them should have been finishing out the last months of their school year with the pack before going to GPA in the fall. The school for the pack covered grades kindergarten through ninth in one building.
Sam and Dax were Holts, part of the Alpha family. Like it or not, the kids looked up to them.
“Let’s go get ready,” Sam said finally, coming around the other side of the island and motioning for Dax to follow him.
Katy waited until they were upstairs before she snorted. “Are we supposed to go to school, too?”
I frowned. After GPA had closed, a makeshift school was set up for those students. I had been doing a hybrid version of it at home since I needed to go over plans for the Summit. But looking around the room, I realized none of us had any idea if or when we would be going back to school to finish our senior year.
Shit. I hadn’t really stopped to consider that pulling my friends into council duties might be fucking up their college plans.
“I already talked to Amanda,” Larkin said, lifting her chin as she mentioned one of the teachers from GPA. “She’s going to compile all of our assignments on a weekly basis so we don’t fall behind. They’re giving us a lot of leeway to get them done, and counting a lot of what we’re doing for the pack as independent study. Anything you guys fall behind in any of the basics, I’ll tutor you or she will.”
I smiled at her as Rhodes grabbed her around the waist, kissing her neck.
“I love when you tutor me,” he said playfully, nipping at her throat.
Blushing, Larkin ducked her head.
I cleared my throat. “Thanks, Lark.”
“What’s on the agenda today?” Ryder asked, leaning forward.
“Larkin and I are meeting with the architect for the new houses,” Katy spoke up, sipping her coffee. “We’re hoping we can expedite the timeline and have the first houses done this week.”
“Is that even a possible timeline?” I knew shit about building houses, but ten days to have a house built seemed kind of fast to me.
“We have all the materials on site,” Larkin replied with a nod, “and they broke ground while you were at the Summit. We have the permits and everything already in place, and several men have volunteered to help out.”
“I can come, too,” Ryder offered. “I can probably bring another fifteen or twenty people from our pack to help.”
“That would be great,” Katy said with a smile.
“I guess we’re on the phone tree again?” Rhodes asked, looking at me. “Calling packs?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“If you want Stone Valley, you’ll have to make that call personally,” Dante told me grimly.
I finished my coffee. “Let’s get to work.”
16
Remy
The leather chair creaked under my weight as I leaned back again. No position made this seat any more comfortable, probably because it wasn’t really mine.
I glanced around my father’s office and stifled a sigh.
I remembered this room from when it was my grandfather’s. It had been dark wood and stone, the massive desk carved out of a black rosewood tree had been the statement piece in the room then. My grandfather believed the office should be an extension of his role as Alpha, presenting just as formidable an appearance as he did.
The first thing Dad had done when he became Alpha was renovate the room. The stone had stayed since it was part of the house, but the dark woods were replaced with neutral colors. The desk that my grandfather had made was now in storage, and a more modern, sleek looking desk was in its place. There was also a sitting area that was clearly well used.
Dad had always encouraged us to join him in his office. While his father had been strict and guarded, Dad wanted a more open relationship. Mom was welcome anytime, but it was usually Dad who called her into this space, often seeking her counsel whenever a big decision needed to be made.
Their marriage was a partnership in every sense. From family to pack, they handled everything in stride as a united front.
It was what I had always wanted for myself.
Michael paused in the open doorway. “You ready?”
I nodded, glancing down at the open laptop. I had spent the morning listening to Rhodes, Michael, and Dante making calls, joining in where I could. Three packs had already agreed to join us, and Griffin was heavily leaning towards it as well. Hopefully those numbers would convince Stone Valley that ours was the side to join.
“I could have called him myself, you know.”
“Kincade follows high protocol,” Michael replied with a resigned sigh. “You know the drill.”
James Kincade, the Stone Valley Alpha, was nearly ninety years old and completely old school when it came to pack law. Protocol dictated that the betas set up the meeting. In person was best, but considering the current state of things, neither of us was going to leave our pack for a talk. Setting up a video conference was the only option, and Michael insisted I needed to be sitting in the Alpha’s office when this conversation happened.
Kincade hadn’t been at the Summit since he was mourning the death of his mate, who had died weeks earlier. His son had gone to represent their pack.
Griffin had found his body after we left.
I logged into the video conference and waited for him to join me as Michael went back to his office to make more calls.
When his face filled the screen, I inwardly winced. The man was dressed in a suit, and I was in a black t-shirt and jeans.
“Alpha,” I greeted, hoping he didn’t comment on my lack of formal attire. “Thank you for joining me. My condolences on the loss of your mate and your son.”
Kincade looked like he was on his last legs himself. Shifters aged slower and lived longer than humans, but this man looked every second of his ninety years. He was pale, almost withdrawn. Rumor had it, he planned to step down as Alpha after the Summit, ceding the pack to his heir.
“Thank you,” he replied stiffly, adjusting his tie. “I was told that you had a proposition that might be of use to me?”
“We would like for you to consider allying with us against Norwood,” I said plainly.
“And this benefits my pack how?”
Did I really have to spell it out for him?
“Norwood is responsible for the bombing that killed your son, and they’re allies with Long Mesa,” I replied evenly.
His eyes narrowed. “You’re practically a child yourself, Alpha, but surely even you know of the history my pack has with Long Mesa?”
I resisted the urge to growl at being called a child.
“Yes,” I grit out instead, not willing to tank this meeting because he insulted my pride a smidge.
Not yet, anyway.
“Then you also know the source of that tension was caused when Adalynne Markham violated the marriage treaty between our packs. She insulted my pack, my family, and especially my son.” His lip curled in disgust. “And you now offer safe harbor and sanctuary for the one who committed such crimes against my pack.”
“Adalynne Markham was bo
nded,” I pointed out evenly. “A bonded pair supersedes any marriage contract. You know that.”
“And where exactly was her mate?” he demanded. “No mate was ever seen. She was unmated and unbonded when she was found to be impure and with a bastard in her belly.”
A growl rumbled out of me before I could censor myself.
“That bastard is my mate,” I informed him coldly. And was he really making a big fucking deal that Addie hadn’t been a virgin? Even if she hadn’t been pregnant, the fact that she had slept with someone else was a big deal?
His gaze flickered off screen for a moment. “I did hear that you had bonded. Congratulations.”
I tried not to roll my eyes. He sounded really freaking happy about it.
“Thank you,” I clipped out.
Kincade eyed me for a moment before taking a deep breath. “I am willing to acknowledge that my pack is … in a less than ideal position right now. I have seen what Norwood is doing, and any friend of Long Mesa is an enemy of mine.”
“We have that in common,” I admitted, my shoulders relaxing from where my muscles had bunched up.
Kincade steepled his fingers thoughtfully. “The whole reason we sought out and agreed to the marriage contract was so we had a binding tie between the packs. It’s an old tradition that the younger generations seem to have forgotten.”
“Most people want to marry for love, not obligation,” I muttered.
“But it is that obligation that can forge a lasting alliance,” he countered with a small smile. “I find myself at a crossroads, young Alpha.”
Somehow I had a feeling his crossroads were about to become my problem.
I waited for him to continue.
“My grandson is barely nineteen. He was to be his father’s heir, and now possibly mine. On the other hand, my son’s beta is older, wiser, and could likely make a challenge that will see him as our new Alpha.” His smile twisted into a bitter grimace. “I am an old man. I would see my pack protected before I am no longer able to serve them.”
Legacy (Blackwater Pack Book 3) Page 13
