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“I think we should pull Bryn out of the deal entirely. I know we talked about how important it is that we do this right, but dammit, Night, it doesn’t sit right with me.” He ran a hand through his hair. “We need a new plan, one that keeps her as far away from that fucker as we can get her. I really like her, Tavi and Violet like her—shit, the whole pack is practically in love with her, and it wouldn’t be right to use her like this.”
He was right, but I couldn’t give him an answer. I didn’t like the idea of handing Bryn over at all, but I hadn’t come up with a good alternative for the plan. Telling Redwolf outright that we were breaking off the deal like that might make things even more dangerous for the pack and for Bryn. Who knew how the fucker would respond if we changed plans so suddenly?
“I hear you,” I said, “but for now, we should focus on how we plan on retaliating against the Kings for Iggy.”
We’d buried Iggy in a plot of land in her favorite section of the forest. It was a small ceremony—just her family, me, Dom, and Iggy’s close friends. It was the first time I had seen Iggy’s family since I broke the news of her death, and the first thing they’d asked me was what I was going to do about her death. They rightfully wanted some retribution for their loss.
Dom sighed. “Alright, what do you propose?”
“We could do the same thing they did—send a special team to attack them while they’re unawares.”
“I don’t know. I don’t think that’s direct enough.”
“That’s fair.” I would never attack children, expectant mothers, or their infirmaries directly, but it was hard to know exactly how to respond when Iggy had meant so much to the community, and to me, as a member of my inner circle. “We could target someone who Troy keeps close to him.”
“An assassination,” Dom said with a nod. “We’ll send a few sentries to do some recon. It’ll be easier to know who to target once we know their names.”
“Actually, I already know a few of their names.”
Dom blinked. “Wait, really? How did you get that kind of intel?”
“I went through a good source.”
Dom faced me, crossing his arms. “And who was that good source?”
I coughed and glanced away. “Bryn.”
Dom paused, and then he grinned. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were trying to make peace with her.”
“Shut up.”
Dom tsked at me. “So testy. What did you think of my training schedule proposal? There are dozens of young wolves that are eager to show that they have what it takes to be part of the elite squads. Preston, Mark, Vince, Jasper—”
The moment I heard that young wolf’s name, I growled. My wolf moved close to the surface—his teeth elongating, his claws sharpening. I nearly ripped through my chair as I gripped it, trying to breathe through the unexpected reaction. My beer rolled off the table and shattered against the ground with my movements.
Dom stared at me. “What the hell?” he demanded, his voice echoing in my mind.
I didn’t reply, though it would be easier to do telepathically than to attempt to form words through all my sharp teeth. It took me several uncomfortable moments to get my wolf under control. As my breathing calmed from growling rasps to human panting, Dom left the table to grab me a fresh beer.
“So,” Dom began as I pulled the beer close to me, “you wanna talk about what the fuck that was?”
“No.” My response was clipped, brooking no argument, but Dom wouldn’t leave it at that.
“Tough shit. Night, I’m your beta and your best friend. If something is eating at you, I want to help you. That’s what I’m here for. Also,” he added, “you’re reminding me of when we were preteens just surviving puberty. If you can’t control your shifts or your emotions, it’ll be a problem for what we’re setting out to do.”
I sighed. I knew Dom was right, but it wasn’t exactly easy for me to come out and say what had been bothering me. Then again, there wasn’t anyone else in the world who I trusted more than Dom and my mother, so I might as well come clean.
“It’s that damned woman,” I admitted.
Dom blinked. “Wait, Bryn?”
“From the moment I caught her scent, my wolf has been almost impossible to control around her. He loses it whenever she’s nearby.”
That was part of the reason I was so choked up when I talked to Bryn during the shifting ceremony. My wolf wasn’t jealous of Pax. In fact, he was incredibly proud of the display and had wanted to come out to congratulate her too. It had taken everything to keep myself in check. But damn, it had been a beautiful moment.
“I’ve been having dreams for months now, but they’ve increased to almost every night since I brought her here,” I explained. “Usually, they’re of me in bed with a woman whose eyes are the same color as Bryn’s. I’ve started to think of the woman as Bryn, and every time I have one of the dreams, it’s even more difficult to keep my wolf in check.” I shook my head. “Bryn also…she gets under my skin, and I can’t shake her off no matter what I do. It’s been so hard that I was considering moving her to the other side of our territory just to make sure that I could avoid her.
“Obviously, I never followed through. I think some part of me knew it wouldn’t help anyway because somehow, I always end up near her. And now she’s got free rein of the compound. It’s impossible for me not to see her or smell her or hear her voice. She’s everywhere. And it’s too late to put her back on restrictions. She’s already won over everyone who’s met her, which confuses the shit out of me.” I rubbed my eyes. “It’s fucking with me.”
