Brady knew how much of a possibility that could be, given that they had called in all the packs for this celebration. Still, he had nothing to go on. No description. No details. Yes and No answers were only going to get him so far. He sighed heavily. “Did you see them as a wolf or as a human?”
She looked at him with narrowing her eyes with annoyance, and he realized he had not asked a direct question. “Did you see a human?”
She shook her head.
“And did you see a wolf?”
She nodded.
“Were there more than one?”
She held up two fingers.
“Males?” he asked.
She nodded again, looking at him as if he were one of the bastards.
That would make things harder. He was after not one but two wolves now, with no more information to go on. And he was fast running out of questions to ask.
A welcome knock at the door made both their heads turn.
Emma poked her head inside. “I heard voices. Oh, I see she’s awake.” Emma stepped inside, closing the door behind her softly. “If you’re all right with it, I’d like to examine you a little bit.” She spoke directly to the girl.
Since she was a trusted member of the council, he knew he could leave Emma to investigate this new information. And being a girl, Emma would probably provide more comfort than he could. Brady took the opportunity to escape. “I need to speak with Aiden,” he said, standing to stretch.
Perhaps it was her vulnerability, or maybe his own guilt that a crime had been done on his watch, but as he stepped toward the door a sudden intense need to protect the injured wolf came over him. Rationally, he knew Emma would keep the girl safe; but another more primal part begged him to stay by her side until she had fully healed. He didn’t even know the girl’s name. But the thought of her being left alone, even for a moment, filled him with dread. “Don’t leave her side until I get back,” Brady ordered.
“Of course,” Emma said, the picture of calm against his sudden irrational concern. “She’ll be well taken care of, I promise.”
“I’ll return or send Fallon shortly. We still need to get more information so I can begin searching for the perpetrators,” he added, as he slipped out the door.
FIVE
By now, Brady assumed, Aiden would have already risen for the day, so he expected to find him busy with paperwork in his office. Fallon’s presence in the hallway confirmed it. Either that or she was having an early morning affair, based on the two large mugs of coffee she held ready in her hands. He amused himself with that thought as he came up to the bleary-eyed she-wolf.
“Morning, bright eyes.” Brady winked and opened the door for her to enter.
“Too early for your bullshit,” Fallon groaned. “Let me at least finish this cup before we start verbally sparring with each other.”
“We have more important things to discuss. Raincheck though, okay?” He followed her inside the small office, closing the door quickly behind him.
“Morning, brother.” Aiden acknowledged him without looking up from his papers. “I heard you had quite the evening last night. Slept next to a girl and didn’t even–”
“Not cool, man.” Brady’s tone soured. “She was nearly murdered on my watch.”
Aiden nodded as he glanced up and met his brother’s tired eyes. “Sorry, man, bad timing. But you know I’ve been waiting for a chance to say something like that to you.”
“Under better circumstances, I’d welcome it.” Brady waved his annoyance away with a swipe of his hand. “But we do have a serious problem to deal with. Now.”
“Apparently so.” Aiden took the coffee Fallon offered him and sat down at his desk. “Someone among us is a potential murderer. And you were worried about the Saints. Who’d have thought it would be one of our own to do such a thing?”
“They may not be one of ours,” Brady offered.
Fallon took a seat with her coffee in front of Aiden’s desk and motioned for Brady to take the additional open seat next to hers. “What did you find out?” she asked.
“Not much, unfortunately.” Brady took the seat and kicked his feet up on the corner of Aiden’s desk. “She’s not talking yet, but what I got out of her is she’s from the Reds’ territory.”
“Why would any of them come north? It’s the winter, for god’s sake. They’d freeze their asses off,” Fallon said.
“Exactly what they hoped that girl would do in the snow,” Brady responded. “I can’t say for sure, but it sounds like a plant. She was brought up here to be killed during our celebrations. Someone wanted to stir up trouble.”
Aiden sighed. “That does cause some problems. I’ll put a call into the Regional Alpha and see what’s going on in their realm. But we’ll need to deal with this in-house this weekend. I don’t care what packs are involved – attempted murder is not tolerable. The guilty will be brought to my justice.”
“When you call, let them believe the girl was found dead. I’m curious to see how they respond,” Fallon added.
Aiden’s eyebrow quirked up slightly. “You suspect foul play up to that level?”
“Remember what happened with Giselle?” Fallon reminded him. “Her entire family went under attack, and they’re still sorting out the guilty parties.”
“True enough. Our precarious peace across North America has been touchy of late.” Aiden nodded, stroking his chin. “Agreed. We’ll play this close to our chest, then.”
Not even a few months earlier, Brady had played his part in protecting the little werewolf Giselle during the Alpha trials. The Reds had not walked away without a black spot on their record, as he recalled. Charles, their Regional Alpha, had been one of the chief dissenting council members in that whole debacle. But if they were trying to undermine the other regions or incite pack wars, they had another think coming.
He filed that away for later. Now, he had to focus. Whoever the bastards were that attacked that girl, he had less than two days to find them and punish them. Once the celebration was over, they’d all disperse and he’d lose his window of opportunity.
“While you’re playing the Alpha game, I need to find the ones responsible,” Brady said with a snarl.
“How do you propose we go about ferreting out the guilty party?” Fallon asked.
Her willingness to jump in and help was one of the reasons Brady liked his brother’s mate so much. She hadn’t been born a wolf, but more often than not, Fallon proved that she belonged. Brady thought for a moment. The best way to find the guilty party was to get them all in one place. People with secrets to hide were easy to sniff out, especially when you dangled those secrets in front of their faces. Words could deceive, but body language was a dead giveaway. To do it right, he’d need some pretty impressive bait. “As much as I was against this in the beginning, I think we need to bring the packs together for some games.”
“Games, brother?”
“Yes. I need all the wolves together. Have a huge gathering with meat and drink and get people really happy before revealing our special guest. We will, of course, need to think of something to test the might and skill of our men. Suggest some wonderful prize to the strongest and most cunning.”
“And the girl?” Aiden’s eyebrow lifted.
“Will be our special guest judge of the games. Safe with us, but clearly visible to the masses.” Just the thought of it soured his stomach. Putting the girl out there in the open, in front of her attackers – no doubt it would be nerve-racking for her. If he had any better ideas, he’d bring them up, but plans were not his strong suit. He needed bait, and the best bait of all was dangling the very alive girl to the whole assembly of wolves. It would instantly trigger a reaction from any guilty party, and if he guessed right, would cause them to either run or make a scene. Either of those would work in his favor. With a heavy sigh, he answered, “Revealing her to the crowd will shed light on anyone who has knowledge of her. She’s to be protected, though. Never alone for a minute!”
�
��You’d make a fine Alpha. Should I be worried you might one day use that wit and deception of yours to usurp me?” Aiden chuckled.
“And be forced to endure the drudgery of council meetings?” Brady cracked a smile. “Hell, no!”
“You do that already.”
“I watch videos on my phone and play games while you drone on. The occasional nod and grunt is all you need from me. I’m cool with that. You point, I kill. I’m happy in my position.” Some wolves fought over lines of succession; Brady had never given it a second thought. Growing up, Aiden had always been more like their father. He had the tolerance for the mundane tasks of leadership, whereas Brady could hardly stand the business end of things. Both brothers had been trained as fighters and learned the family business, but when Dad died, there had been no argument over Aiden accepting his rightful title as Alpha.
“Glad to hear it, brother,” Aiden said. “And yes, if we bring her out into the public, she’ll have the protection of myself and Fallon at all times while you do your part.”
“I’ll hold you to that.” Brady hadn’t meant it to sound like a threat. Something about that girl was messing with his head.
“Brother, you’ve already spent the night with her. I thought you’d be moving on by now.” A trace of mockery still clung to Aiden’s voice.
“She’s my responsibility.” It wasn’t a lie, exactly. It just wasn’t the whole truth. He did feel responsible, for sure. But that wasn’t all. A shadow of some other feeling lurked there, too. Something amorphous, that he couldn’t quite nail down. “I want to ensure her safety until I bring the bastards who did this to justice.”
“It will be done, brother,” Aiden promised.
SIX
Not wanting to leave the girl alone for too long, Brady rushed through alerting his security team about the plan and found his way back to the infirmary just as Emma had begun serving breakfast.
Sitting dutifully by the girl’s side, as Brady had ordered, Emma was feeding the injured wolf small spoonfuls of oatmeal from a hot bowl. “You’re back so soon. She’s improving rapidly, now that her natural healing has finally kicked in.”
That brought a smile to Brady’s face, though he couldn’t reason why. Of course healing was good news, but he connected warmly with it as if her health was part of his own happiness. He rushed to her side, with a smile stretching from ear to ear, and took the bowl from Emma. “I’ll sit with her now.”
The girl had recoiled from him the last time they were in the same room, but not now. No frightened twitch or gasp of breath came from his sudden movement. And when she opened her mouth, words flowed out, as sweet and soft as any he’d ever heard.
“I can feed myself, really.” She might not have flinched this time, but he clearly caught the roll of her eyes.
He laughed to himself. She could be annoyed by his overzealousness as long as she was healing. And now that she was talking, he might get more information from her too. Bonus!
“Enjoy it while you can.” Emma said.
“What?” The girl looked confused.
"Being pampered by this big idiot,” Emma snorted, and gave Brady a knowing glare.
“She’s just jealous because I’m not spoon-feeding her breakfast.” Brady all but stuck his tongue out at the haughty wolf. She’d had her chance.
“You two have a history?” the girl asked suspiciously.
“Brady has a history with every girl in our pack,” Emma responded with snark.
That was not what she needed to hear.
Her easygoing smile faded.
Brady cleared his throat and gave Emma his best Get the hell out look. “Don’t listen to her. Especially if it’s going to make you all grumpy again. I was just starting to like this happy, smiling version of you. So much better than the groggy, half-dead wolf I brought in here earlier.”
The girl snorted and nearly choked on her oatmeal. “Okay. I’ll try not to die again if that makes you happy.”
“A girl after my own heart. Staying alive is truly the best thing you could do right now.” Brady offered her another bite of oatmeal. “But a close second would be telling me your name.”
She turned away from the spoon. “Rachel.”
“Well, Rachel, I’m Brady. Second son of the Olde Town pack.” He set down the bowl and held out a hand to her.
She nodded respectfully but didn’t take his offered hand. All wolves grew up learning the chain of command, so hearing exactly where he sat in the pecking order often resulted in an immediate change in demeanor.
“Be cool,” he said. “Just making sure you know I’m here to take care of business. You’re safe. Don’t go getting all choked up now in the presence of all this manliness.” He hoped the joke might loosen her back up.
It failed, of course. She remained silent, staring at him with those gorgeous pale blue eyes.
Her injuries had all but vanished, the bruises faded to mere shadows under her skin, and her hair had been washed and straightened. The only evidence of what had happened to her remained in her posture and the slight trembling as she finally took Brady’s offered hand.
“You’re under my protection. No harm will ever come to you again. I swear it,” he said, in his most reassuring tone.
“How can you swear?” she whispered. Her hand rushed up to cover her mouth moments after she spoke.
It was then he noticed the slight discoloration on her hand: a white line around her ring finger.
She had been mated. And just like that, it all made sense. She hadn’t come here on vacation. And she hadn’t been brought here by a foreign pack to stir up trouble. She was on the run. “You do know who did this, don’t you?” Brady asked with a snarl, his mind immediately hitting the worst-case scenario. The lowest of the low: a mate killing their partner.
She whimpered. All the joy left her eyes, and in that moment, she reverted to the weak and frightened woman he’d found in the woods.
Every fiber of his being filled with rage. A mate was supposed to love and protect their partner. A man did not do this to a woman. How could anyone? The sacred bond between wolves was for life. “You told me you didn’t know the wolf.”
“I don’t know the wolf who beat me. But I know why.” She pulled away and buried her face in her hands, sobbing.
“Did your mate follow you here?” It took all he had to control his tone and not frighten her further as he spoke. His wolf was out and ready for a fight. He himself had been accused of being a jerk and a womanizer, but never in his wildest dreams would he dare to intentionally hurt a woman. The thought of someone who could do that made rage burn within him so much his arm trembled with it.
“I told no one I was traveling,” she said with a sniffle, attempting to put on a brave face – but her puffy eyes and Rudolph nose gave her true emotional state away.
“Credit card receipts are easy to trace for someone looking.” Brady tried to hold back the growl in his voice. Wolves mated for life, and only in death could that bond be released. “I’m guessing your marriage was not a happy one?”
She shook her head, and took a gasping breath. “We were mated to join our packs. My father didn’t know what he was sending me into. And once we were paired, they took me away,” she admitted with a sob.
Antiquated rituals and rites that should have died away years ago. The Olde Town no longer used mated bonds as a treaty method, but outside their territory, he knew the practice was still alive. Even if awkward at first, most arranged marriages worked out, though. Clearly that had not been the case here. “That makes things interesting. Their Alpha will have something to say when things are brought to light,” Brady mumbled, more to himself than to Rachel. That level of politics would have to go up to Aiden. But Brady would thoroughly enjoy bringing down the elusive mate.
“Can’t I just pretend to be dead and disappear?” All the color faded from her cheeks, as if death already gripped her with its icy hands and was draining her life away.
“Murder is not someth
ing we take lightly. If your mate is to blame for what transpired, he will be brought to justice, and that will get back to his Alpha,” Brady said.
She sobbed lightly into her hand. “More will come, then.”
“No. You’ll be safe, I assure you.”
“How can you say that? Who are you to guarantee anything?”
“I’m Brady Whelan. In case you’re not aware of where you are, you’re in the Whelan house, home of the Olde Town pack. Regional Alphas of the North East. You couldn’t ask for a better place to be sheltered.”
A glimmer of light returned to her eyes. “I didn’t mean to insult you.”
She looked at him like no one else had before. To his own pack, Brady was known and well sought after for his position and his strength. She-wolves would do anything to be his. But this girl looked at him not for his position but for his strength. The truth was in her gorgeously pale blue eyes: he was her savior.
And he’d do his best to live up to that title.
“Insults I can take. Seeing you hurt like that again, that is unforgiveable,” he answered back. “We’ll find those responsible.”
“Thank you.” Her words were genuine enough but laced with more fear than any wolf should show. “But how will you manage?”
He hesitated, knowing what it would take. Knowing it might bring her more fear. He didn’t want to do or say anything that might cause her anymore discomfort, but they had precious little time to get to the bottom of this.
Brady let out a deep sigh. “I can’t promise you that this will be easy. But know that I will ensure your protection while I bring the guilty parties to justice.”
“What does that mean?” she asked hesitantly.
“Whoever attacked you assumes you’re dead. I’ll have to reveal the truth to force them to show their hand.”
“Use me as bait?” she gasped, and slapped a hand over her mouth.
He should have expected that from her, and the moment he saw the shock in her eyes, he wanted to scrap the whole plan. He couldn’t force this girl to go through any more than she already had.
Mated (Olde Town Pack Book 2) Page 3
