“Man-eating?” I say through a cough. “Are you shitting me?”
“Anything,” Darrel confirms in a low growl. “They overlooked the alpha I removed from power eating humans for years, and he only guarded a small part of Heartland.”
“That’s a load of bullshit,” I mutter as the true weight of the situation I’m in starts to settle on my heart. It doesn’t matter that I’m innocent of killing Jacob—I’m guilty of loving Mack. It’s a crime the council will see me gutted for if they have their way. Needing some immediate comfort, I stuff a brownie in my mouth, chew through the chocolatey crunchiness, and swallow. Wiping a few crumbs away, I add, “It’s especially ripe bullshit since what Jacob is doing probably will start a war with the fae, and the fae will win.”
Darrel peers over at me from the side of his eye. “If the fae attack your pack, all three of our packs will immediately retaliate. We have the numbers—”
“To face the fae, maybe,” I say, feeling a little frustrated that I have to explain this. “But what about the trolls? They can only be killed by fae magic—who do you think they’re going to side with? Plus, if they think we’re eating humans, we’re in direct food competition with both the trolls and the dragon shifters. Dragon shifters eat werewolves; they don’t eat fae. And, I know, they talk about it really openly.” I swallow hard as disgust again surges through me. “If Queen Titania wanted Heartland, she’d have set up these alliances ages ago. If she’s here for a different reason, she’s a fae – she’ll take it for spite now.”
They just stare at me, wide-eyed and slack-jawed, but I can’t keep sitting here. My blood is boiling and thoughts churning a mile a minute. Standing, I grab my brownie tray, cross out of Lance’s room, throw open the door, and pace back and forth in the living room, stuffing the rest of the confections in my face. I can feel Darrel and Lance watching me, but I’m so angry right now, I can’t even make myself acknowledge them.
“Fuck the North American Lycanthropy Council. They turned a blind eye to Jacob abusing and debasing his packmates. The NALC’s laws are so corrupt, I’ve had to spend the last two years hiding the fact that I defended myself against a man who intended to force me into marriage and mauled me to the point of death when I tried to escape. And all of this is because the council is so afraid of losing Heartland forest to the fae. The irony is, they’ll probably end up doing just that because they turned a blind eye to alphas like Jacob.”
Pacing, I seethe, burning with anger from the inside out, when my wolf sends me a flash of images—a small red wolf faces a gray wolf the size of a grizzly. The red wolf dives up and snaps her jaws around the great wolf’s neck, and try as the great wolf might, she only sinks her teeth deeper until she’s bathing in the gray wolf’s blood.
“Yeah, in our dreams,” I mutter as I stuff the sole remaining brownie in my mouth. “I’d need a dragon.”
The front door opens and closes, and Aaron walks into the living room with a small smile on his face. “Need a dragon for what? Because I’m pretty sure there are a couple in your office trying to peek into the presents in the Christmas display.”
I drop the brownie tray with a loud bang, go to grab it, change my mind, and jump to grab Aaron’s sleeve. “Aaron, is Mack—”
“Alive? I’m pretty sure he’s alive, otherwise they’re using half of their men to guard a shack off to the side of the house for no reason.” Sighing, he runs his hand over his short, dark hair and gives me a small, reassuring grin, but I’m already diving in to hug him.
“Thank you so much, Aaron. I knew he was alive, but I needed to know—”
“Hold up.” Aaron breaks away from me and steps back a little. “Honey, the men are armed with way more than old pistols and bad aim—from the smell, there was iron and silver ammo somewhere on the grounds. Obviously, these guys have changed their MO—it might be why there’s no sign of a fight in the parking lot.”
Squeezing my eyes shut, I suppress the urge to scream. This keeps getting better and better. Looks like even a dragon is out in that case; no dragon is going to follow me into a death trap. Besides--bringing another supernatural creature into the fight would be breaking just about every law concerning the fairness of pack conflicts. My eyes snap open as a realization hits me like a light bulb literally turning on in my head. “Why am I trying to find a lawful solution to this?”
Noticing Darrel going for my downed brownie tray, I swoop in, gather it up, and turn back. “I’m going to head into the kitchen and wash this first, but after that, I’m going to start making plans to challenge Jacob Knight.”
“You’re going to do what, now?” Aaron asks as a deep crease furrows across his forehead. His hands fist at his side and release. “Can we talk about this?”
I hold up the tray and head toward the kitchen. “Just give me a second, then I’ll explain everything.”
“If anyone is challenging him, it’s one of us,” Darrel says, following me into the kitchen
“Nope,” I say as I pour a dab of soap on a sponge and begin to work it into the brownie pan. Rolling my head back so I can look over my shoulder, I find the three guys standing in a V-formation in the doorway, as if they’re ready to block me physically from challenging Jacob.
As if on cue, all three of them cross their arms over their chests. Wowzer.
“Listen,” I say. “I’m going to challenge your brother. I’m bringing my father, sister, and mother as witnesses and because they’re probably the three most dominant members of my pack. Those asshats, however, will only see my father as a threat. You three can come too.”
“Thanks,” Aaron says, not sounding at all thankful.
“You’re welcome. Anyway, I’m then planning to break pretty much every single werewolf law the North American Lycanthropy Council has—and get Mack the hell out of there by fighting very dirty. And I don’t give two shits if the NALC comes after me for it.” Setting the brownie pan upside down on a towel, I turn fully to face the three alphas. “I’m doing this. I don’t need permission, nor do I need you to help. I’d like it, though.”
Lance drops his posture first, rubbing his knuckles thoughtfully over his chin. “You better have one hell of a plan brewing if you want us to go along with this, Scarlet.”
“I do.” I smile, leaning back against the counter. “Have you ever heard of a fae named Oxonos Hyposis?”
“Yes,” Lance says immediately. “He owns several adult entertainment establishments and properties throughout Eureka. Makes gross profit around two million a year. Frugal. Pays his taxes and invests mainly in real estate.”
“He also turns into a giant armored swamp worm and really, really wants a pair of enchanted dance shoes back from Queen Titania.”
And I get another slack-jawed gape.
“We can’t make a deal where we’re beholden to the fae,” Lance says. “I know you want your friend back, but--"
“We won’t be beholden to anyone,” I say, annunciating clearly. “Do you know what a faery boon is? It’s like a favor a fae grants to someone—it’s super formal.” I wave my hands through the air. “I don’t actually know that much about it, and it doesn’t matter. But us supplying Oxonos with the opportunity to save Mack and take the full credit will be looked at as me granting him a boon. It’s basically what he tried to blackmail me into a week ago. We’ll be doing him a favor by letting him help us.”
Lance points at me, his expression deadly serious. “We go over every single detail of this plan. Every. Single. One. And we go when I approve that it’s completely foolproof, not before.”
That would be a big, fat no, but I know when to hold the argument for later. “Let’s get to planning.”
Chapter Thirty-one
Scarlet
Up until this morning, some part of me thought I could live a normal life. Sure, I was hiding the fact that I killed my alpha, but I had a normal boyfriend, two regular jobs, and an extremely dysfunctional family. But right now, as I stand alongside three men I’m somewhat i
n a relationship with, watching Oxonos Hyposis wade into the swamp, I realize: nope. So long. Fare thee well. Normal is never going to happen for me.
To top it all off, Oxonos won’t shut up. The tall, handsome fae stands waist deep in muck, droning on about his damn shoes while the Knight brothers, my mother, sister, and I stand on a broken-down railway trellis over the marsh. Oxonos’ focus is all for my mother, the only one of us who isn’t gritting our teeth, trying to rein in the urge to throttle him. “Furthermore, I lent them to Titania when she danced at the equinox with Oberon. It was beautiful. Sometimes I wonder if she took the shoes out of envy.”
My mother nods sagely. “Obviously, dancing is your passion and things got out of hand. It’s a passion my daughter Scarlet shares with her lover Mack as well—”
“Mom.”
I grit my teeth at her. She and Bob the over-sharer have a lot in common. How my mother figured out about Mack, I’ll never know. Thankfully, the fact that I slept with Mack flies right over Oxonos’ head—though my sister is staring at me without seeming to need to blink.
“No,” Oxonos shakes his head slowly as he tugs at a foxtail. “I don’t partake in the art myself, but it is my passion to witness others. I created the shoes to make it possible for dancers to leap higher and sashay longer than should be possible.”
“Beautiful,” my mother says.
“Nope. Not in the way he used them,” I cut in as I grip onto the rusted metal handrail and lean a little over the side. “Oxonos, you do remember if you get your shoes back because I helped you today, you're never going to use them on humans again, right?”
“Not in a way that will cause them injury,” he deflects as he smacks another foxtail.
Knowing that’s about all I’m going to get from the fae, I inhale deeply and immediately regret it as the sulfurous stink overwhelms my senses.
Dark clouds hang low above us, and the cool air crackles with static, making me think our surprise party might get a whole lot more interesting. "We really have to get going, Oxonos,” I say. “Do you need us to be here while you…change or something?”
“No…no, I’d just hoped to talk a little before we undergo this journey together. My magic is much less carnal than a werewolf’s.” He emphasizes the word ‘carnal’ as his gaze flicks over to my sister.
I can’t help an internal cringe. Holding up my bare wrist, I say, “Oh, look at the hour—our conversation time has expired—”
“You didn’t set a limit,” Oxonos sniffs.
“A mistake I'll never make again,” I whisper. “But we’re going to head out…now. Seriously, people, go. And Oxonos, please remember the signal is—”
“When you turn into a wolf.” He lifts his eyes to the heavens. “I am highly intelligent, I hope you know.”
“Well…” I trail off, remembering how important it is I don’t thank him. “We’ll be seeing you soon.”
Thank all that is holy, everyone files out and I start to follow when I realize I’m leaving a man behind. Turning on the worn-down tracks, I cross over and gently tug at Darrel’s leather jacket sleeve as he continues to stare at Oxonos like he has no idea what to make of the pale, willowy fae. When I finally get Darrel’s attention, I widen my eyes.
“You ready?”
“For?” he asks, his expression looking stormier than ever, as if the tempest brewing above reflects there too.
“To challenge your brother—we’re late. We’ve wasted at least an hour—an hour of my life I'll never get back, as I obviously forgot to give Oxonos a time limit. Fae 101, and I failed.”
“How do we know he’s not going to turn on us and kill us all?” Darrel growls.
“Darrel…” I blink rapidly. “Oxonos is only going to hurt us if we attack him.” If you’re going to double cross him—”
He spins to me. “Never, Scarlet. I just don’t trust him.”
“I get it. We’re enemies. We’re supposed to be at war. But this area is really small, and we’re all getting along as best we can here. As far as I can tell, the fae who live here want to enjoy the forest and exist in peace just as much as my pack does.”
“That’s what they say,” he mutters. “We’re at war—you might not see it here, but they attack my pack without mercy.”
“Darrel.” Reaching up, I put my hands on his bristly cheeks.
He looks down at me, and I can see the conflict in his gaze.
“Your pack is fighting a war we’re not fighting here. It’s a war we don’t want here—but if we don’t join forces with Oxonos today, it’s a war we’re going to have to fight, and the werewolves will be the aggressors, not the fae.” Going to my tiptoes, I lightly brush my lips over his. I’m not even sure why I do it, maybe just because it feels like the right thing to do. Pulling back, I tell him, “I can see how hard this is for you—thank you so much for trying.”
His gaze softens as his hand wraps around mine. I feel somehow closer to him as I realize now, for a certainty, making him alpha of my pack would have been a colossal mistake. There’s only ever been one true solution to my problems, and I should have realized it a very long time ago. Giving the pack to him would just be continuing my trend of shirking off my responsibilities when truly, it might only cause more danger for my pack.
The truth is: I need to woman the hell up and be the alpha my pack has always needed, and I should have done it the day I killed Jacob. I should have accepted the consequences for what I’d done and defeated each one. I was scared then, and I’m scared now, scared of what I have to become to protect my pack. But if the past few weeks are any indication, I’ll have to unleash the wolf inside of me whether I take up my role as alpha or turn my back on who I’m meant to be.
“Am I supposed to be waiting for you two to leave?” Oxonos calls over. When I look down, I find him splashing from side to side, looking a little lost. How my cynical, sharp sister got hoodwinked by this guy, I’ll never understand.
“No, sorry,” I call over. “We’ll see you there.”
Immediately, the fae dives into the murky waters of the swamp, disappearing under the sludge and not surfacing. The water looks disconcertingly still, and part of me wants to go make sure the fae didn’t just drown, but he’s a swamp worm…can he even drown? Probably not.
Squeezing Darrel’s hand, I tug him gently after me across the railway trellis. We’d picked a spot a little further out than the lower steps, hoping to avoid any shooters in the homeless villages. My mother has already loaded onto the back of Aaron’s bike, and the two seem deep in conversation, but my sister stands a bit off from where Lance waits in his van.
Lance’s hands shake as he glares out at the road. When Darrel and I climb onto Darrel’s bike, the pair make no move to leave.
“Zeezee, you’re supposed to ride in the van up until the driveway,” I say as I buckle my helmet.
“Not according to your boyfriend,” Zeezee throws her thumb over her shoulder toward Lance.
“Lance, are you stuck?” Darrel calls over when Lance doesn’t even acknowledge our presence.
Like most roads, earthquakes broke apart the cement here long ago, and plants sprang up between the cracks. How Lance made it out here, I have no idea, but we can’t spare the energy to lift the van out.
Lance turns slowly. His bright green eyes point our way but seem entirely distant. “Scarlet is going to ride with me and her sister with you, Darrel. We need to discuss the plan.”
“No,” Darrel says. “You two discussed the plans until late in the morning, and we’re following what we all agreed on.”
Lance shakes his head. “It’s my turn with her, and we haven’t gone over the plan as fully as I’d like.”
“Turn?” Zeezee laughs. She makes a circle with her thumb and pointer finger and makes a finger from her other hand go in and out. “Taking turns?”
“Zeezee, be respectful of your sister’s lifestyle choices,” my mother adds in unhelpfully.
A hot blush shoots up my cheeks, and I
growl at my sister, “He means that it’s his turn to guard me. Zeezee. Shut it.”
She holds up her hands in surrender as her eyes fall to the ground.
Shaking my head, I look back to Lance. “I need to be obvious in case there are scouts who shoot first. The drive to their house is less than five minutes anyway. Can you just tell me here?”
He looks away toward the marsh and clenches his jaw. “You’re right, the plan is solid.”
“Yeah, I think it is,” I say.
Without saying anything more, Lance closes his door.
I rest my cheek against Darrel’s jacket. “Suddenly, I don’t feel quite as confident.”
“He wouldn’t have said the plan was solid if it wasn’t. He probably just wanted to quiz you or something.” Darrel sounds a little annoyed about the whole exchange.
“Well, I guess I’m allowed to get in,” Zeezee grumbles as she heads to the side of the van.
“Hey, Zeezee,” I call out to her before she’s out of sight.
She spins, and there’s a flash of wariness in her wide-eyed expression before her face settles into its usual indifferent mask. “Yeah?”
“Thanks for coming.”
“Yeah, sure.” She shrugs. “I’m just surprised you trust me to have your back in a fight.”
“I never once doubted you’d have my back in a fight,” I tell her, and it’s the absolute truth. I just don’t trust her to protect the other parts of me—namely, my heart. But I don’t tell her any of that; she wouldn’t get it, and I don’t see any point in making myself vulnerable to her.
“I think destiny had a hand in making sure you were all with who you were meant to be with!” my mother practically yells.
Dirty Alphas Page 24
