It was also a comfort for Dewi, because it meant more eyes on her mate, helping her take care of him.
Dewi found Peyton, Trent, Duncan, Badger, Beck, Joaquin, and nearly a dozen others, all Enforcers, gathered in Peyton’s office.
Joaquin immediately stood to relinquish his chair to her, but she waved him off and instead took up a position along the wall, where she could lean against it and watch the room.
Pregnant or not, she still had her own way of doing things, and she didn’t want to ever be caught flat-footed.
The last time that happened, she and Ken nearly died.
“Starting without me?” she asked, feeling a little irate that it appeared to be exactly what they’d been doing.
“Just chatting until you got here,” Peyton assured her, settling her ruffled hackles.
“Any more news?” she asked. “About Faegan Lewis?”
Peyton shook his head. “No. But our first order of business is we need to make a decision about who to move to your territory. And not because you’re pregnant,” he quickly added when he obviously could tell she was getting ready to protest. “Because we already discussed this. You need more than just Carl and Mateo there.”
She sensed something was…way off. “What’s going on? What haven’t you told any of us yet?”
He shared a glance with Trent and took a deep breath. “There’s been a few…disquieting inquiries cropping up here and there.”
“Disquieting how, and where, exactly?”
“Central and South America. Maybe some residual stuff from the Segura thing, I don’t know. We’re going to start a new round of relocations for anyone who wants to move. To Florida, mostly, unless they already have family elsewhere we can move them close to. Then…” He took a deep breath. “Then I’m going to pull Ramirez and Alvarez. Recall them back to the States and permanently assign them here.”
“Whoa, wait. What?” This was news to her. Also, it pissed her off more than a little that Peyton was breaking this news to her in front of the others without consulting with her first.
“Dewi, I’m not going to keep Enforcers down there in harm’s way.”
“It’s their job to be in harm’s way. That’s what we train and pay them for—to protect the pack. What about the people who don’t want to or can’t relocate?”
Peyton slowly shook his head. “No excuse not to relocate. Pack will pay for it. Including new identities, if necessary. Seed money to start over, whatever assistance they need.”
Her eyes widened. “Peyton, there are at least two hundred wolves, that we know of, scattered between Mexico and the southern tip of Chile.”
He arched an eyebrow at her. “Tell me something I don’t know.”
She wasn’t sure if he was truly grokking the scope of this operation. “And that’s not counting human spouses, children, and close relatives, like in-laws.”
“I know, Dewi. It will be made clear to them that they can either take this opportunity to relocate here, including close family they’d like to bring with them, on the pack’s dime…or they’re on their own from here on out. Between the drug cartels and everything else, it’s becoming too much of a wild frontier. I won’t spread us thin like that when we need our Enforcers here in the States. I won’t leave our team out there alone, either.”
Dewi was still trying to process that. “Okay, relocations. Then what happens if they don’t want to relocate? We abandon them?”
“We’re not abandoning them. They’re being given a chance to do this. If they don’t take it, then they’re on their own. Believe me, I don’t like doing this, but I’m done screwing around. It’s too dangerous down there.”
She needed a moment to process that. “So I’m getting Ramirez and Alvarez in Tampa permanently?”
“There, unless you want them based somewhere else. I want to divide our territory between east and west of the Mississippi. Putting them with you means I can shuffle others around in the middle of the country. That’ll keep our Enforcers from getting spread too thin. Going forward, I want to hold Musters on the East Coast at least once a year. Probably in the spring, and then in Idaho in the fall. I want to build closer connections between our packmates. We’ve been scattered for too damn long. It’s ironic that, in this day and age, we don’t know each other better than we do. This isn’t the first time we’ve talked about that issue.”
No, it wasn’t. This was, however, the first time Peyton had talked about forcing the issue of relocations. Up until now, anyone who was of their pack could always ask for assistance in relocating and setting up new identities, if they needed to. It wasn’t just being nice—it was a matter of survival. Shifters lived long lives. Staying in one place too long could draw unwanted attention, meaning a necessary relocation and new identity.
Dewi studied Peyton and Trent. She felt the…dark air swirling around them, tinged by their thoughts.
Their concern that went far beyond being worried over the doings of drug lords.
Something far more sinister and threatening to their pack’s existence was in play, and they weren’t telling her everything. She didn’t take her focus off her brothers. “Can me and Peyton and Trent please have the room for a minute, everyone? Thanks.”
Peyton nodded and everyone else filed out, Badger trailing them and closing the door behind him.
She walked over and leaned in close, reaching for Peyton’s and Trent’s hands. This wasn’t a conversation she wanted overheard.
Therefore, Prime powers.
Since Trent wasn’t a Prime, it was easier for her and Peyton to have a completely silent conversation with him if they had a physical connection. Peyton reached out his other hand to Trent, who took it, closing the circle between them.
“What the hell is really going on?” she asked.
Peyton’s answer bothered her even more. “We don’t know, Dew. Abundio Segura, Manuel’s uncle, has a completely legal business on paper. But we’ve had informants pass the news that there have been a few weird hits on stuff. Like someone trying to get more information about the Idaho compound, seeking info on Carl and Mateo, even looking for Brianna. There were hits on Carl and Mateo’s old bank account, the one Abundio knew about, and apparently some woman showed up at their apartment and was snooping around. They tracked her back to Abundio’s. They’re still working on trying to ID her.”
“Shit.” Dewi slowly shook her head. “Carl and Mateo said they deliberately misled Manuel to steer him in the wrong direction about who and what we are. So that his uncle would simply think he was insane.”
“They did,” Peyton agreed. “This isn’t on them. But we’re entering a whole new era where it’s stupid easy for some asshole to hop on Google Earth and start poking their snouts where they don’t belong. Even thirty years ago, Gillian could’ve easily taken fifteen minutes and cranked out a bogus ID for someone that would’ve stood up to law-enforcement scrutiny here and abroad. Everything’s computerized now, so we’ve lost that luxury. It’s getting more difficult to relocate people, and it’s only going to get harder from here on out.”
Trent added his thoughts. “The sooner we get people moved and settled, the faster they can build new lives here, and that means they’ll blend in more easily. We can keep better tabs on everyone, protect them. We’ve got two more Primes we want you to take a look at for Enforcers—and yes, obviously, you get final say on them. We want them both stationed on the East Coast, since our numbers are building more in that region. That way we have someone who can reach any part of their particular territory within a couple of hours to help smooth trouble over, if necessary.”
“You mean Priming cops or government wonks, if necessary?”
Peyton grimly nodded. “Exactly.”
“Why is this a secret from the others?” she asked. “Especially Badger, Duncan, and Beck?”
The brothers exchanged another glance before returning their focus to her. Peyton spoke. “Because I was passed a rumor on the phone twenty minutes ago th
at there might be a rogue shifter. Possibly a wolf. They’re maybe willing to sell information on shifters, especially female or pregnant wolves, to a government. Not the first time I’ve heard that rumor, either.”
Anger flared through her as she pointed at the door. “You think one of them? Because I will lay down my fucking life for any of them. I trust them completely. They are not traitors.”
“Calm down, Dewster,” Trent said. “Not them. We don’t know if the rogue is a Prime or not, or even where they are, yet. Honestly, we’re not one hundred percent positive it is a wolf. For now, the fewer people who know this, until we know more, the less chance of this getting out there and causing fear. We’ll tell Beck, Badger, and Duncan later tonight, once everyone else has left. I want to loop Joaquin in, too.”
“Why?”
Trent’s gaze darkened with his anger. “Because Malyah isn’t—”
“Pregnant yet, but she is a mate,” Dewi finished as the truth hit her. “And Joaquin is an Enforcer. Dammit.” She let out a grumble. “And Nami’s pregnant, too. Son of a bitch.”
The brothers nodded. “Exactly,” they both said.
“We need to include Carl and Mateo. They’ll need to know this to protect Brianna, and Tamsin. Might as well include Martin, too. He’ll need to know, since he’s local.”
Peyton nodded. “You’re right.”
Dewi had a thought. “Wait. You said ‘a’ government, not ‘our’ government. Is that really why you didn’t want me going to help hunt that corgi fuck? Because you think someone wants to sell us out? Maybe me in particular?” While it wasn’t a state secret that she was pregnant, no telling who now had that info. There were probably no wolves in North America, or at least affiliated with the Targhee Pack, who didn’t know who she was.
Her expectant mother status was probably news all over.
Peyton grimly nodded. “Yeah. This latest rumor is separate from the Faegan stuff. That they want to try to grab a pregnant wolf. Preferably an Alpha. And let’s add to that if Faegan does get desperate enough, who’s to say he won’t go to some government or military organization, show them what he is, and promise to team up with them and deliver a lot more if they’ll protect him, or at the very least pay him? It’d be bad enough having one shifter traitor. But someone like Faegan? He could do a lot of damage across various shifter species.”
Dewi silently groaned. “Not because he’s a good guy and connected, but because he’s a bad guy with a lot of contacts we might not even know about. Shit.” She sighed. “And the only known female Prime Alpha, who happens to be pregnant right now, would be the jackpot of a lifetime for some fucking scientist.”
Her brothers nodded.
That put an entirely different spin on things.
She released their hands and spoke aloud. “Let’s get them back in here. You’re right. We need to relocate people as soon as possible.”
* * * *
Once they finished with the other Enforcers, Peyton, Trent, and Dewi dismissed everyone except Duncan, Badger, Beck, Joaquin, Martin, Carl, and Mateo.
Their core Florida team.
Peyton quickly summarized what was going on, including the new rumor, and swore everyone to secrecy. It was with no small measure of satisfaction that Dewi sensed their collective outrage, to a man.
No, she’d literally bet her life—and the life of her unborn daughter—that there were no traitors within her Enforcers. Even if she had missed something, Peyton, Badger, or Duncan would have picked it up. Especially in the wake of the Endquist attack. In the past nearly fourteen years since she’d been the Head Enforcer, Dewi had either tested and selected the men for their position, or if they’d already been Enforcers when she took over, she’d talked with them, checked them out.
Badger looked especially enraged by the news. “If that barmy sod dares show his bloody face in the States,” he growled, “we’ll have someone kick his fuckin’ cunt in if I don’t beat ’em to it.”
“Before we chop his head off,” Beck grumbled.
“The blood order about Faegan Lewis stands here, too,” Peyton said. “Faegan sets so much as a toe on this continent, I want his head. The Targhee Pack will match Trevor’s cash bounty, too.” He looked to Trent. “Make sure word gets spread throughout the US and Canada.”
Trent nodded. “I’ll update everyone.”
“Also, pass the word anyone caught helping Faegan Lewis will fall under a blood edict from this pack,” Peyton said, his voice bearing a distinct hint of a growl at the end. “I don’t think any of ours would help him out, but I’m not taking any chances. I’m sick of these assholes.”
“You’re not the only one,” Dewi grumbled from where she once again stood against the wall, arms crossed over her chest.
Peyton glanced her way. “New standing pack edict—anyone gives aid and comfort to a declared enemy of our pack, including enemies of the Staffordshire Pack, they will fall under the same fate as our enemy. I’m tired of these fuckers.”
“Thank the Goddess,” Dewi said. “It’s about time someone starts seeing things my way. Funny that it took you finally about to become a father to shift your thinking.” She was usually the one who wanted blood for serious transgressions.
Peyton turned to look at her. “Dewi,” he said, “I already know what it’s like to feel like a father.”
“Being an uncle to Trent’s pups isn’t the same thing.”
“Mebbe not,” Badger piped up, “but Peyton an’ Trent loved an’ cared for ye like fathers after yer parents were murdered,” Badger said. “As did I. Ye’re my daughter, in my heart.”
“He’s right,” Trent said. “You’re our baby sister but we went from being your big brothers to being your dads.”
She blushed.
Even Beck nodded. “I’d agree with them, but that conversation would get really weird really fast.” He shot her a playful smirk.
Dewi laughed. “Yeah, but I chased you, and I never thought of you like a dad, so it wasn’t creepy for me.”
Badger chuckled. “She was eighteen, lad. If it dinnae fash me, ye shouldn’t worry about it. If it had bothered me, no one ever woulda found yer hide.”
Someone knocked on the office door.
“Come in,” Peyton called.
The door opened, and Ken’s head poked through. “Dinner’s ready.”
Dewi pushed off the wall. “Let’s grab it and growl,” she said, wanting a break from the weighty conversation.
“We’ll finish this after dinner,” Peyton said.
Later that night, once they concluded their conversation, and after Dewi returned to the cabin with Ken, she laid awake in his arms as he blissfully slept next to her.
Yes, she absolutely couldn’t head to the UK to participate in the hunt for Faegan Lewis. She had to stay here in the States.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t shake her worry that there might already be an impending ambush of one of theirs from an unknown direction and foe.
An ambush she as of yet had no way to anticipate or repel.
Her hand came to rest on her stomach.
And here I am, a prime liability.
Chapter Five
After the Enforcers emerged from their meeting with Peyton, Trent, and Dewi, Nami sensed Beck’s mood had turned dark and foul.
Unfortunately, with everyone around, she didn’t dare try to ask him what was going on, even through their mate bond. If it was something she was supposed to know right now, she trusted that he’d tell her.
Although it felt uncomfortable sensing his prickly, restless, angry energy all throughout dinner. Normally, her wolf man was sweet and bubbly, especially now that they were expecting. Doubly so being surrounded by friends and family he didn’t get to see on a regular basis.
If this was the side of him that had governed his personality before they’d met, it was no wonder those who knew him well insisted his overall mood had vastly improved following their mating.
Much in the same way those same pe
ople commented on how Dewi was now a changed woman for the better following her mating to Ken.
For dinner, Nami was seated directly across the table from Badger. She even tried catching his eye a few times, hoping for a hint of what was going on, or at least a reassuring smile from him that all was well.
The grizzled old wolf had quickly taken up residence in her life and heart as an adopted father. Not just to her, but to her three siblings, Lu’ana, Malyah, and Da’von, as well. He was also a doting adopted grandfather to Lu’ana and Reggie’s almost-three-year-old daughter, Bebe.
Damn sure a better father than our biological one. Maybe this was all for the best.
Correction, there was no maybe about it.
I wish Momma could’ve met them all.
Nami had her doubts in the beginning, wondering if there’d be any problems with her and her siblings joining the extended Bleacke family, since they were black and the Bleackes were…
Well, most everyone else in the Targhee Pack was not black. There were quite a few Hispanic packmates but, other than them, melanin was sorely lacking. Apparently, there were more who lived in South America.
Pleasantly enough, there’d been no problems thus far. And everyone, from Dewi, to Beck, to Peyton himself, had assured them if there ever was a problem, to not only feel free to speak up, but to make sure they brought it to them. Was their new family perfect? No, but they were teachable, and wanted to hear when they screwed up so they could do better. The shifters also weren’t blindly optimistic and defaulting to the, “Oh, we’re colorblind,” bullshit some well-meaning people thought was helpful.
One of the benefits of being a packmate was instant acceptance because of their pack ties. They were all in this crazy life together. There were the rare bigots, of course, but Nami and her family hadn’t encountered any among the shifters as of yet. Dewi had assured Nami that whenever one popped their head up, they were nearly always instantly shunned by the pack.
That was something Duncan, and the pack Alphas before him, had insisted on—unity. The Targhee Pack had grown as large as it was throughout the centuries by welcoming strays, so to speak. Even before the founder had left what became the UK and set off for America. Even then, most of them had come from various places, loners who’d lost their packs through war, or through attacks from humans or other shifters, and had banded together for safety.
Geek-Speak (Bleacke Shifters Book 6) Page 4
