by Lisa Kessler
“I might have an idea.” Luke’s voice broke through my inner turmoil. “My Alpha wasn’t a fan, and you probably won’t be, either, but I think it’s our best chance to get Isabelle and the others out.”
“I’m listening.” And also trying to keep my heart from pounding out of my chest.
“How many in your Pack are loyal to Caldwell?”
I frowned, scanning through Pack members’ faces in my mind. “We’re all obedient, but there are probably only two that are loyal. Bo and Blake. They’re his right-hand men.” My stomach soured. “Caldwell gave me to them. I’m their mate.”
Luke shook his head, his expression stern as he turned my way. “No, you’re not. He may have forced you to be with them, but that makes you their prisoner, not their mate.”
Something in his bright blue eyes was like a balm on my battered spirit. I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I can’t be certain about a few of the other born wolves, but none of the bitten wolves have any deep loyalty to Caldwell.”
“Born wolves?” He cursed under his breath. “Are you telling me he’s having men bitten, too?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Rapid growth. They’re bitten, and he gives them the ultimatum—obedience or death.”
“Insane.” Luke shook it off, pacing. “So he has numbers but not strength.”
I shrugged. “He trains them all.”
“That’s not what I mean. A Wolf Pack is strong because we love each other. We argue sometimes, but when the chips are down, I never worry I’ll be facing danger alone. They’d die for me, and I’d do the same for them. No questions asked. That’s loyalty. It comes from love, not fear.”
Damn. No wonder Caldwell hated this Pack. They made him seem pathetic.
“So they’ll come down here to help you?”
He rolled a shoulder back, flipping the sandwich in the pan. “I told Adam not to send anyone.”
I frowned. “Why?”
He glanced my way. “Because I think the best way to protect my Pack, and free yours, is to take out Caldwell. No one else has to die.”
“You’ll never get a chance.” I shook my head. “He’s always protected by Bo and Blake. And if he’s got them training men, he’ll have another Pack member on guard.”
Luke nodded and put a sandwich on a plate. “That’s why you’re going to bring me to him.”
My eyes widened. “Are you nuts?”
He put the plate in front of me. “Think about it. If you bring me to Caldwell, you weren’t running away, and if I was in Sedona because I was leaving my Pack, I’d have inside information for him. He’d be crazy not to take me in.”
My pulse raced. “This is a suicide mission.”
“No, it’s not.” He went back to the stove. “It’s probably going to involve some hell, but I’m worth more to him alive than dead.”
“And how are you going to get the chance to…take him out?”
Luke crossed to the closet; he took out a duffel and opened it, exposing a couple of handguns and ammunition. “I’ve also got a long-distance rifle stashed in the crawl space over the bedroom. I’ll figure out his schedule and find a good sniper position.”
I raised a brow. This was insane, but it could work. I met his eyes. “You’ll only get one shot.”
“That’s all I’ll need.”
He was confident, I’d give him that. My mind raced through possible scenarios. Could I just waltz back into the Pack? They’d found the van, but that didn’t mean they knew I’d been trying to run to Reno. The plan would probably hinge on how we played my return.
And when.
I swallowed a bite of the sandwich as Luke took a seat on the couch. “Tomorrow we have a Pack meeting at Caldwell’s place. He’ll have his hands full. I could show up and let him know I found you and you want to arrange a meeting.”
Luke tensed. “I don’t like sending you in there alone.”
“It’ll be more hostile if we show up together. I’m already a member of the Pack. He doesn’t consider me a threat.”
“Maybe.” He nodded, his gaze turning toward the window. “What’s the meeting about?”
I took another bite. The man cooked a mean grilled cheese. “One of the jaguar shifters from Nero is coming to inspect the Pack and plan the trip to Reno.” I paused for a second and added, “Caldwell will want as many of us there as possible. There’s no way he’ll punish me for showing up.” I glanced over at Luke. “This could work.”
He met my eyes. “Do you know who Nero is sending?”
“Sebastian. He’s—”
“Antonio Severino’s son, heir to the entire Nero organization,” Luke interrupted as he stood up. “Don’t mention me in front of him.”
I frowned. “You know him?”
He nodded. “Yeah. And there’s a good chance he won’t believe I’m joining this Pack. I don’t want him tipping off Caldwell.”
“I’ll be careful.” I finished my sandwich and got up to return the plate. Luke remained silent over by the window, and suddenly uneasiness seeped into my skin. I didn’t want to stay here. Although he’d been nothing but kind to me, I didn’t have a good track record with men.
But I didn’t have anywhere else to go.
As if he could hear me, he grabbed his gloves off the counter and headed toward his bedroom. “We can’t just hide in here and wait to see if they come for you.” He came back out with a jacket, beanie, and gloves. “Put these on. Let’s drive to the Grand Canyon. I’ve heard it’s only a couple hours away. We can get there in time for the sunset.”
I took the clothes, trying to come up with some excuse, but he smiled, and my defenses faltered.
“I’ve never seen the Grand Canyon.” His eyes sparkled. “Have you?”
I chuckled, shaking my head. “Nope.” I pulled on the beanie. “And maybe we can stop at a store so I can get some essentials, too.”
He nodded, grabbing another jacket off the hook by the door. “Sure. There’s a store in Flagstaff that should keep us far from your Alpha’s reach, right?”
“I hope so.” The truth was, I didn’t know how Caldwell’s powers worked. I only knew the last two times I tried to escape he found me before I got outside the city limits. We stopped at a store in Flagstaff, and I grabbed a toothbrush, hairbrush, and some lip balm. At the checkout, I hesitated, but Luke paid the bill, saving me from using my credit card.
Luke was…too good to be true. Where did this guy come from? I kept pinching myself just to be sure he was real. Half of me expected him to use his kindness as leverage against me.
We spent the rest of the drive talking about nothing, but it never seemed forced or awkward, and gradually, I started to forget that tomorrow morning I’d be facing Caldwell again.
He parked inside the gateway to the canyon, and we put on our coats and gloves. The wind bit at my cheeks, the gusts tugging at my ponytail.
Luke came around to my side of the car, chuckling. “Coming to see the Grand Canyon in winter was probably not my best plan.”
I grinned. “We just need to get our blood pumping. See you at the lookout.” I spun around and ran.
The cold air stung my eyes, but the strength in my legs, the speed—I couldn’t describe the rush. Not with words. Running was one of the few times I didn’t hate being a werewolf. I loved the power and freedom.
As I neared the scenic viewpoint, I slowed. Luke was right behind me. I bent over, fog puffing out of my mouth with every breath.
Luke chuckled beside me. “Good thing we’re the only ones nuts enough to come out here today, or we’d have people pushing us to join the Olympic track team.”
Shit. I straightened up. “Sorry. I forgot about being seen. I could’ve exposed us all.”
He shook his head, his gloved hand catching my chin until I met his eyes. “Don’t beat yourself up. We’re fine.” His lips curved into a smile. “And you were right, I’m not freezing my ass off anymore.”
Just like that, he turned toward the canyon. I followed h
is gaze, and my heart pounded. There wasn’t a giant neon sign or any fancy marker along the edge. It didn’t need it. Right there before our eyes was a time machine. The layers of history were marked in the different gradations of color along the canyon, and words couldn’t describe the size. “It’s massive.”
He nodded. “Postcards don’t do it justice.”
We walked a little closer to the rim, the wind getting more ferocious with each step. He sat on a bench, and I perched on the other end.
The gusts of wind assaulted my heightened senses. I caught the scents of rabbits, donkeys, coyotes, but the most distracting was Luke. He had a clean, natural scent. Masculine and a little rough.
“Makes our problems seem tiny, doesn’t it?”
His voice jarred me from my thoughts. I nodded. “Yeah. This canyon was here long before I was bitten, and it’ll be here way after I’m gone.”
Luke peered over at me. “If Caldwell is having his Pack bite humans and changing them, he’d have to keep them off the grid until he was sure they could be trusted. That’s got to be expensive. How does Caldwell fund this Pack?”
“He doesn’t trust me with that information, but I know Nero has been sending us weapons. I inventory them at the bar after hours.” I shrugged. “They could be giving him money, too.”
“Damn it.” Luke shook his head. “We had no idea this was going on down here.”
He didn’t say anything more. I glanced over at him, catching my hair to tuck it behind my ear. Even his profile was strong, honorable. I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Are you worried you won’t find her?”
“My mate?” He met my eyes. “Honest answer? Yeah.” He focused on the canyon again. “Last man standing in my Pack doesn’t help.”
“Does everyone find their mate eventually?”
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Most do, but not everyone.” He paused, his voice dropping, but I had no trouble hearing him. Werewolf perk. “My uncle never found his mate. He ended up a bitter drunk.”
I crossed my arms against the cold. “Do I have a mate out there, too, now?”
He straightened up, a crease in his brow. “I think so. I’ve never met a female werewolf who wasn’t bitten by her mate, so I don’t know for sure, but the wolf is alive inside you now, and she has the same instincts mine does.”
“So I could touch some stranger and my wolf would decide he’s the one?” I shuddered at the thought. “What if I hate him?”
Luke laughed. Deep and warm.
He looked my way. “You won’t hate him. I’ve seen enough of my packmates find the other half of their soul. It’s not always a smooth process, but fate hasn’t messed up even once.” He sobered, his eyes searching mine. “Whoever he is, he’s lucky, and he doesn’t even know it yet.”
Chapter Four
Luke
She broke eye contact, choosing the canyon over looking at me. I stared at Raven’s profile, the wind tugging at her dark hair. She was beautiful, intelligent, and resilient. She had to be to have survived this Pack and then escaped it.
And for a minute, I wished I could choose my mate. Raven.
Enough. I huffed out a breath, forcing my gaze in another direction. Wanting something didn’t make it real. And even if choosing my own mate were an option, we had to free her sister and protect my Pack. Tough to focus if our wolves were distracted. I needed to let it go and trust my mate was out there, somewhere.
Time to change the subject. I cleared my throat. “So did you go to college before you were bitten?”
She shook her head. “No. I used to sew. I designed costumes for cosplay, mostly.” She shrugged. “I guess I dreamed about being a costumer for a theater someday.” Raven glanced over at me. “What about you? Any college?”
“Nah. I love working outside with the horses. Once I started at Adam’s ranch, I knew that was my path.”
She smiled. Damn. She blinded me for a second. Seeing her happy strengthened my resolve. I had to help her out of this Pack.
“I’ve gotta ask.” Her eyes sparkled. “What’s it like being Logan’s twin brother? Do people mistake you for him?”
I rubbed my gloved hands down my thighs. “Back in Reno they do. I used to get a kick out of the groupies, but now…” I stared at the canyon. “One-night stands aren’t as exciting anymore.” I chuckled. “Damn, a few years ago I never would’ve dreamed I’d be saying that.”
She laughed as her gaze locked on mine. “Thanks for bringing me here. I forgot life could be so…simple.”
I reached over to grip her gloved hand. “You’re not going to be in that Pack much longer. This is going to work.”
I wasn’t sure if I was trying to reassure her or myself, but either way, I intended to see it through. Caldwell was going down, one way or another.
…
The bright morning sun blinded me as I rounded the corner of Caldwell’s street. We’d talked almost all night, but I didn’t feel tired. My nerves were too jacked up to sleep anyway.
I pulled over, my gut twisting into a knot. “I don’t like sending you in there alone.”
Raven glanced over at me. “This is the best chance for me to slide back in without any retaliation for me disappearing. He’ll be distracted with Sebastian around. It’ll work.”
“Text me after you talk to him.” I broke eye contact, focusing out the front windshield. “And don’t mention me around Sebastian.”
“I won’t.” She got out and slammed the door.
I watched her walk away, but all I could think about was Sebastian Severino.
When my brother mentioned Sedona to Sebastian a few months ago, Sebastian shut it down, ignored it like it wasn’t worth discussing.
But he was involved the entire time. I shouldn’t have been surprised. Sebastian always looked down on werewolves as lessers, and Nero had been kidnapping women for over twenty years, converting them into jaguars and using them for their shifter breeding program.
But even so, this was lower than I thought Sebastian could stoop. Women bitten and used as breeding stock.
How did that bastard sleep at night?
Probably better than I did.
…
After I got back to the ranch, I grabbed a cup of coffee and called Adam. He answered on the first ring. “Luke? Everything all right?”
Loaded question. “Sebastian is in Sedona today.”
“If Nero is involved with their Pack, that’s to be expected. You’re lying low, right?”
“Yeah.” I stared at the ceiling. “Nero is funding Caldwell with weapons and most likely money, too. They’re pushing them to grow the Pack. Fast.”
“Grow the Pack, as in?”
I took a swallow. The coffee hit my stomach like a bitter pill. “They’re biting men and women that Caldwell thinks are strong and making them werewolves.”
“You have got to be fucking kidding me.”
“Gets worse.” I blew out a breath. “Caldwell has his eye on Reno. I think Nero isn’t going to chance us killing any more of their mercenary teams. They’re sending another Pack to avenge Damian’s death instead.”
Adam was quiet for a few seconds. “Doesn’t sound like Sebastian will be any help to us this time.”
“Looks like he’s on the other side of the chessboard for now.”
“How soon can you get back here? We need to prepare for what’s coming.”
I rubbed my forehead. “There’s another problem.”
His pitch dropped, the Alpha command coloring his tone. “This isn’t your Pack. Not your responsibility. Come home. The sooner we beat them, the sooner we can help the bitten wolves.”
I frowned, shaking my head, struggling to break free from my desire to please my Alpha. I yanked my phone from my ear, pulling up the goofy selfies Raven and I took at the Grand Canyon the day before. Raven’s smile lit up the screen.
Focused again, I put the phone to my ear and cleared my throat. “You’re right, I probably can’t save them
all on my own, but I won’t turn my back on the one that asked for my help.”
“This isn’t a game. They will kill you.”
“They don’t even know I’m here yet.”
“I’m coming down there.”
I shook my head. “You need to stay in Reno. If they come for you, the Pack needs you there.”
“You can’t do this on your own.”
“Fine.” I sighed. “I’ll call Logan. If we can take Caldwell out of the equation, the Pack will crumble.”
Adam paused. “I already sent Sasha down your way. She should be there later today.”
I got up, frowning. “I told you I could handle this.”
“I didn’t say you couldn’t, but members of my Pack don’t walk into danger without backup.”
I set my coffee down and rubbed my forehead. “Does Sasha understand the situation? If Nero’s in town, they could recognize her. She used to work for them, remember?”
“Enough.” Adam growled. “It’s done. Sasha knows the risks. And they won’t know she’s there until it’s too late.” Adam paused. “Watch your ass and wait for backup, okay? I don’t want to bring you home from Sedona in a body bag.”
We ended the call, and I poured another cup of coffee. If I could figure out Caldwell’s patterns, I could stake out a spot for a clear sniper shot without his Pack ever suspecting. This could work. Once I had an attack plan, Sasha could help me finish him.
All I needed to do was get on the inside.
…
My cell buzzed in my pocket as I walked down the barn aisle. I pulled it free, glancing at the screen. Raven had texted me a couple of hours ago to let me know she was all right, but I was still disappointed when it wasn’t her name on my phone.
I clicked to answer. “Hey, Sasha.”
“Hi, Luke. Just wanted to let you know I’m about an hour away. Is it safe for me to come by your place?”
“Yeah. I’ll be here.”
“Good. See you soon.” The call ended.
I finished checking all the horses’ water buckets and headed for my cottage. So far winter in Sedona had been mild. No real snow yet, but the wind was frigid. I flipped the collar up on my coat to cover my ears.
