by Anya Nowlan
“You lovebirds on the rocks already?” David continued questioning her as if he didn’t already have all the sordid details.
“It was just supposed to be a fling,” Rachel groaned with a sigh. “How was I to know he was going to stick around? And now he’s talking about mates and stuff, getting possessive. That’s not what I signed up for.”
“And what do you think will happen once you give me this location?”
“You convince him to leave.”
She shrugged, avoiding his gaze for a moment.
“You can’t be that naïve,” David scoffed.
“You don’t have to convince him with words,” she said, meeting his gaze. “Just don’t kill him, okay? I might not want him, but he’s too pretty to kill.”
David sunk back in his seat, clucking his tongue.
“Well. Aren’t you full of surprises.”
“Look, it was fun while it lasted, but now I’ve gotten mixed up in something I definitely didn’t want any part in. You have the whole pack on your side, he has, what, six guys? I’m not dumb, I can calculate the odds,” Rachel continued, managing to sound detached as she stirred the spoon in her coffee.
“Okay, you’re out of the game. No one will bother you. Now tell me what this place is,” David demanded, convinced.
“It’s the abandoned sawmill in Oakwood,” she said, doing her best to keep her heartbeat even.
“And you think he’s there right now?”
The gleam in David’s eyes was damn near murderous.
“Well, I just dumped him. If ever a man needed some alone-time…” Rachel shrugged, letting David come to his own conclusions.
“Let’s go then,” he said, standing.
“What?” Rachel sputtered.
“I want him to see it was you who betrayed him. Get up,” he commanded. “Get up now, or the deal’s off,” he added with more menace when Rachel didn’t move.
This wasn’t part of the plan.
If she argued, it would look suspicious. But going with him would only work against Dayton.
“Fine, but you better keep his teeth away from my throat,” she warned, thinking on her feet.
She didn’t have any other option but to play along and hope she could make her escape at the right time.
“Don’t worry. We’ll make a couple of stops on the way,” David said cheerily.
She found his smile revolting.
David barked commands into his phone after they got in his car and started driving. Rachel was quiet in the passenger seat next to him. He hadn’t told her where they were going. In fact, he hadn’t said much of anything to her since they got in the car. Rachel was more than fine with that.
She was just supposed to get David to show up in the right place, and she was growing afraid her act would falter. Just one wrong reaction or careless sentence and David could be on to her. The success of the whole plan now rested on her shoulders.
Dayton is relying on me, she reminded herself. They all are.
When they arrived at Keith’s old house, Rachel was not surprised. David had pretty much turned it into his center of operations where he held meetings with his closest allies.
Their plan had already accounted for David not being alone when they got to the final location. He was tough, but even he knew he couldn’t take Dayton in a one-on-one fight. It didn’t matter. Dayton had discussed his uncle’s behavior with his little rebellion at length.
They were all sure he wouldn’t attack right away. He wouldn’t be able to resist an opportunity to gloat and grandstand, especially if surrounded by his admiring lieutenants. That would give the others enough time.
“Stay here,” David growled, and Rachel nodded.
Rachel stayed in the car while David went inside. There was another car already parked out front. From the strategy meetings she recognized it as belonging to Paul, one of David’s lieutenants. It wasn’t long until she spotted the man himself, following David out of the house.
Edward and Frank, his other two buddies, also trailed along. Rachel’s blood froze when he saw another man. His imposing frame was difficult not to recognize.
Travis.
He was a factor they hadn’t counted on. Everyone had been shocked when he announced himself to be David’s mole back at Dayton’s house. They just assumed money had been involved as the man had shown no real signs of loyalty before. Who knew the two men were so close?
David’s flunkies piled into the other car while he returned to the driver’s seat next to her. Rachel couldn’t stop her heart from pounding.
Could Travis’ presence throw a wrench in this whole thing?
“You getting nervous there, sweetheart?” David asked, picking up on her accelerated heartbeat right away.
“He threatened me when I broke it off. And now I’ve sold him out to you. He’s going to be pissed,” Rachel said, hoping that was a believable enough explanation.
“Don’t worry. Travis can snap him in half like a twig, no problem,” David smirked.
That’s what I’m afraid of.
Rachel took deep breaths, pleading with herself to keep her cool.
“Good,” she smiled, the thumping of her pulse subsiding.
* * *
Picking up David’s merry band of jackasses and driving around the thick woods looking for the right spot had taken them hours before they arrived at the old mill.
That should be enough time, Rachel thought nervously.
David sent his men to sniff the place out. They shifted and did a quick, silent run around the old building. They turned back into men as they returned to the car, and Paul gave David a short update.
“No one in smelling distance, only one person inside,” he said.
Rachel let out a small breath.
Good, they’re far enough away.
David nodded approvingly before getting out of the car.
The men led Rachel into the building, flanking her on both sides. The first few rooms they passed through were small and cluttered with old equipment. She noticed claw marks on some of the walls. Everything smelled damp and musty with a hint of sodden wood and metal.
The smaller rooms gave way to a massive empty hall with high ceilings in the middle of the building. Near the back of the space stood Dayton, clad in black jeans and a dark-grey button up. His eyes widened imperceptibly when he noticed Rachel.
She hoped her quickening heartbeat would be interpreted as fear while she fought the urge to run to him.
Not yet.
“Hello, nephew, fancy running into you here,” David jeered.
“Uncle, can’t say I’m happy to see you,” Dayton responded.
“Heard about your little break-up. Can’t keep a woman happy, hmm?” David mocked, certain he had the upper hand.
Rachel looked at the outline of a phone in Dayton’s pocket.
I hope he smelled us coming in this dank hole, she thought, glancing around.
“Not a great loss,” Dayton said off-handedly. “Seems she’s not very loyal anyway,” he added, throwing Rachel a repulsed look.
She hoped David bought it. The last thing she needed was for the man to realize he had the greatest piece of leverage over Dayton standing right next to him.
“Be smart about this, Dayton. Whatever you tried to do, you’ve failed. The girl doesn’t want you, the pack doesn’t want you, you’ve put poor Sam’s life in danger. Quit while you’re still ahead,” David said, his voice deceptively sweet.
“Clearponds are not quitters, you should know that,” Dayton answered, his eyes beginning to glow yellow.
“You are barely a Clearpond,” David spat out. “But out of respect for my brother, I’m willing to let you walk away on the condition that you never show your face around here again,” he continued, looking proud of being so magnanimous.
Rachel’s face twisted in disgust.
Travis suddenly spoke up, measuring Dayton with his gaze.
“I bet I can get through to him,” he sa
id, starting to walk towards Dayton.
If this devolved into a fight, there was no telling what the outcome would be. Whatever it was, she realized it would be ugly. Rachel knew she needed to stall.
“Hey, can I go now? It smells here,” she huffed loudly.
“Shut up,” David growled.
At least their altercation had stopped Travis in his tracks.
“No need to be rude. I did my part. You said you’d leave me alone,” she pouted, counting seconds in her head.
David grabbed hold of her neck and squeezed. Rachel panicked, struggling to breathe.
Dayton rushed towards her, but Paul, Edward, Frank, and Travis quickly stepped in, meeting him half-way.
David’s grip on her neck loosened as he considered Dayton, who was struggling to get past the wall of men.
“Seems you’re more attached to this one than you let on,” he sneered.
“I’m fine,” Rachel croaked out, wheezing for breath.
We just need a little more time…
Dayton’s fangs were already out, ready to rip through David’s protectors, when he suddenly stilled.
“There is no violence allowed during pack meetings. Let her go. Now,” he demanded.
“What are you talking about? This isn’t a pack…” David started, scorn dripping from every word.
His ears pricked up, his buddies were already sniffing the air.
“What is this?”
It took a couple of seconds before Rachel heard it as well. Footsteps, a lot of them, heading right towards their location.
Bodies started flowing into the room, so many she soon lost count.
David’s face drained of color, and Dayton grinned wickedly.
So an old wolf could be beaten with something other than fangs and claws. Or at least Rachel hoped he could be.
Sixteen
Dayton
Relief surged through Dayton as the entire Clearpond pack filed into the small space. They hadn’t planned on the fact that David might take Rachel with him. It gave his uncle leverage – something Dayton definitely didn’t want him to have.
Having David otherwise occupied had given Dayton and his friends some very necessary time to gather the number of supporters they needed and to set the pack up at a distance that made it nearly impossible to sense or smell them. All Dayton had to do was text one of them the signal word when David arrived, and they would come as one.
Getting David to show up without making him suspicious was the tricky part, but Rachel had taken care of that.
“The real pack meeting is two weeks away!” David thundered, grabbing hold of Rachel’s throat again.
“Anyone can call a pack meeting off schedule as long as at least half the clan agrees to back them,” Dayton said, closing in on his uncle.
“Stay back,” David warned, his hand tight around Rachel’s neck.
He was scanning the crowd wildly. They formed a large buzzing circle around Dayton, Rachel, and David.
“Half the pack supported you?” he asked with angry amazement.
“Guess you’re not as popular as you thought,” Dayton shrugged, his eyes fixed on Rachel.
She gave him a weak smile, mouthing, “I’m okay.”
David’s posse had already backed off. They knew the rules and were aware of how the pack enforced them.
“Release her!” someone from the crowd shouted.
“This woman is my mate,” Dayton started, attempting to reason with his uncle. “You will let her go unless you want to further show everyone you have no regard for the way wolves do things,” he warned.
Some of Sam’s original group of friends started edging closer to the center of the circle, snarling. With slight surprise, Dayton noticed Cody had joined them, his nose still a little swollen.
David shoved Rachel at Dayton with a powerless cry. He caught her, giving her a brief hug. Rachel grabbed hold of his hand and squeezed it, staying at his side while rubbing her neck.
“You have demanded this meeting,” Paul’s voice came from the crowd. “Say what you need to say.”
Rachel gave Dayton an encouraging smile before walking to the edge of the circle. He wished she could stay at his side, but wolves did things in a certain way. She was not officially his mate, and until then, she could not stand by his side through things like that.
Dayton was planning on changing that as soon as he could.
“Thank you all for coming, especially those who gave me their backing to call this meeting in the first place,” he started off. “I chose this place for a reason other than its remote location. If you walk to the back room, you’ll find it’s still splattered with your brothers’ blood,” he continued, his voice rising.
A couple of growls erupted from the crowd.
“And this isn’t the only place where wolf blood has been spilled in recent years. There are too many to count. My father, may the spirits guard his soul, has failed you. My uncle has failed you. This pack has been fighting unnecessary battles for too long, and it’s time for a change.”
The roars were louder this time.
“I haven’t been here, I know. But I’m here now, and I’m here to lead us into a new chapter. No more toiling away just to survive. It is time we flourish, be the powerful force we once were!” he continued, spurred on by the crowd’s reaction.
He felt every word he spoke, resonating back twice as loud. He didn’t need to question his goals anymore. He knew exactly why he was there, doing what he was. This was his calling, his fate.
The throng of people started to move, fists rising into the air, shouts filling the emptiness of the mill. Dayton noticed some of the older wolves were regarding him cautiously, standing still in the jostling mass.
“Many of you know me already, or know of me at least. Those who don’t, all you really need to know is my name. Dayton Clearpond. I am the true Alpha of this pack, and I challenge David Clearpond for the privilege to lead you!” he finished with a roar.
The horde surrounding him echoed the sound with a couple of howls and barks thrown in. Dayton looked around to see Rachel give him a quick thumbs up, a huge grin on her face, before wading through the crowd towards the back of the room. She was probably feeling a little out of place.
David’s face contorted with anger. This had totally caught him off guard, which was pretty much the point.
If Dayton had waited the two weeks for the next official pack meeting, who knew what could have happened. It gave David too much time to undermine his progress in winning the pack’s trust or to hurt someone he suspected of leaning towards Dayton’s side.
“Now, unless over half the pack objects to my claim, which is doubtful, you are going to have to fight me and win to remain Alpha,” Dayton said, glaring victoriously at David.
“You’ve done your homework, I’ll give you that,” David answered with steel in his voice.
Dayton couldn’t help but feel smug.
“But you’ve forgotten one thing. The Alpha can choose a champion to fight for him,” he continued, a hint of a smile on his face. “Travis?” he called out.
The sea of people parted as the giant of a man pressed forward to the center of the circle. He flexed, his biceps as thick as Dayton’s thighs. For a moment, Dayton stilled before all the resolve he had felt when speaking flooded him once more.
No true Alpha backed down from a fight.
This ought to get interesting.
“You weren’t going to be much of a challenge anyway,” Dayton told David with a shrug.
That earned him a couple of laughs and whoops from the pack.
Travis finally reached him, and Dayton had to crane his neck to look up at his face.
The bigger they are, the harder they fall, Dayton assured himself.
The pack backed away, giving Travis and Dayton more space. David disappeared into the crowd.
Travis started circling him, a smirk on his face. Something told Dayton he’d been looking forward to this particular op
portunity. Dayton gave the man a quick once-over, assessing his options. Sure, Travis was bigger than him, but there was more to a fight than just size and brute strength.
Travis lunged first, trying to grapple him. Dayton danced away easily, glad to see that the man’s hulking frame made Travis somewhat slower than him.
Not letting Travis attack again, Dayton made his move, landing a flurry of punches to the man’s midsection. Travis let out a quiet groan but seemed otherwise unaffected.
Is this dude even made of flesh? Dayton wondered, shaking his fists loose for a moment.
Travis swung at him in a wide arch, his meaty hands grabbing at Dayton. Dayton narrowly escaped the brunt of his blow, ending up with a row of bruises on his shoulder, his shirt ripped.
The crowd had grown silent, watching the match with bated breath. This would decide everything. If David managed to remain Alpha, you could bet he was going to do some serious house-cleaning.
Dayton let his wolf come to the surface, his teeth gnashing. He jumped towards Travis, simultaneously pulling his elbow back. He put all his strength behind his punch, roaring as he aimed his fist. It landed on Travis’ jaw, and the man stumbled back, disoriented.
Dayton didn’t let up, continuing to level the man with blows, the sounds of flesh on flesh filling the room, until Travis was backed up against the circle of people around them, blood dripping from his face. Several pairs of hands pushed him back towards Dayton.
Travis shook his head, regaining his footing. His eyes turned golden and fur broke out on his face as he hurtled towards Dayton mid-shift with a savage roar. Travis’ teeth snapped in Dayton’s face as they both went tumbling down.
Travis was on the cusp of a full shift as the men struggled on the ground, a blur of fangs and claws. Dayton managed to create enough space between them to swing his elbow right into Travis’ ribs. The impact rolled Travis on his back, knocking him out of the shift.
Dayton followed the movement, his elbow still pressed to Travis’ ribcage, and applied even more pressure, putting his whole body behind the motion. There was a crunch, followed by Travis’ howl.
