Dad shrugged. “There’s not much we can do until Castro sends us our first clue.”
I hated sitting here and waiting. It gave Castro too much power. But what else could I do?
Nico looked from me to my dad. “We’ll be ready. I’ve got men scouting the surrounding areas for any whispers about a white wolf. With them being so rare, Castro won’t be able to hide for long if he makes the mistake of stepping foot in Presley Acres.”
White wolves. Nico was right. He’d be easy to spot. Castro and Liza’s snowy color wasn’t like the blonde you got from a bottle. They stood out like sore thumbs.
My mind drifted to the devastating truth: my father’s actions had wiped out the arctic wolves, making Liza and Castro rarities in these parts. There were more in other parts of the country, but in our neck of the woods and the surrounding states, white wolves just weren’t a thing.
“I’ll keep you both updated. Let me know if he reaches out to you all.” Nico departed just as swiftly and stealthily as he’d arrived. A shiver ran down my spine. Damn, the guy was eerie.
Dad chuckled. “Creepy fucker, but he’s damn good at what he does. He’s exactly the kind of ally we need in times like these. He’s the only man I would trust with our lives.”
I nodded, unease bubbling in my gut. My father was right, though. In this treacherous game, we had to rely on those we trusted with our lives. Nico was one of the few, and I was convinced we’d need him more than ever.
“You’ll need someone like that when you become alpha. Someone you can depend on no matter what, especially when it comes to life-and-death situations.”
I nodded again.
“I know it seems like I’m throwing you in at the deep end, but I’m just blurting out whatever I think of in the moment. There’s so much to pass down to you, and I want you to be prepared.” Dad sighed. “Speaking of being prepared, how did your conversation with Liza go?”
“I really don’t want to talk about it.” I picked at a loose thread hanging from the hem of my shirt, avoiding eye contact. The weight of responsibility pressed heavily on my shoulders as he probed about my conversation with Liza. A tangle of emotions swirled within me: doubts, fears, insecurities threatening to consume me whole. I dodged the topic, not yet ready to confront my own vulnerabilities about Liza, or about us not being prepared to mate.
“I’m sorry. I know this is a lot of pressure to put on you, but I would be remiss if I didn’t remind you that you mating sooner rather than later is for the sake of the pack. I know you don’t want to hear this, but you might have to consider a temporary mate.”
My head snapped up, and I nearly bared my teeth at my father.
“Don’t look at me like that. This is all for the sake of the pack. You wouldn’t have to stay mated to them. It would just be for the ceremony so I can pass on the alpha power before it fades. Once you take your place, you could break the bond and go on to claim Liza… if that’s what you both wanted.”
The notion of a temporary mate reared its ugly head, and it was a bitter pill to swallow. I groaned, resisting the idea with every fiber of my being. “I’m not going to do that. I won’t settle for a temporary bond. We’ll solve Castro’s twisted game and then I’ll claim Liza as my mate.”
Pride shone from my father’s eyes, but I saw the concern as well. “I expected nothing less from you, Ty. But remember, the pack always comes first. We’ll do whatever it takes to protect our own.”
My resolve solidified. The pack was my family, my responsibility, but Liza was my heart, and I would fight tooth and claw to ensure her safety and happiness.
I took a deep breath, steeling myself for the challenges ahead. The tangled game had just begun, and we were about to plunge deeper into its treacherous depths.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting long shadows across the office, a sense of urgency lit inside me. We were up against a sadistic fucker. A master manipulator who reveled in tormenting us.
With every passing second, the clock ticked louder, each beat a reminder of the stakes at hand. Liza’s safety, our future, and the pack’s survival hung in the balance.
42
LIZA
Ty had been acting strangely the past few days, and every time I tried to get him to open up about it, he brushed me off. He’d even held up a finger and shushed me while reading a text. Usually, I wouldn’t put up with that kind of thing, but with him being so buried in worry and responsibility, I didn’t want to add to his issues.
The tension between us was starting to grate at me, and I had reached a point where I didn’t even want him around anymore. I nearly suggested he go back to the Keller Estate instead of moping around my house, but I’d grown accustomed to his presence, and the thought of him not sleeping in my bed made me sick to my stomach.
Regardless, we were walking on eggshells around each other. I had no idea what had transpired during his meeting with his dad, but I suspected it had a lot to do with his current behavior. After mulling it over, I concluded that Dominic must still be urging Ty to move forward with our mating ceremony, and that had probably led to a conversation about us not being ready.
I sat on the edge of my bed, trying to wrap my head around everything that had happened in the past few days. What Icouldn’t understand was the wall he’d suddenly erected between us. He wasn’t attentive and barely spoke to me, and when he did, it was with a bite in his tone.
Maybe he didn’t appreciate me standing up to him and insisting I needed to fulfill my commitments to my clients. More likely, though, I’d upset him when I told him we weren’t ready to be mated. I could understand that he was stressed, but so was I, and I wasn’t seeing the same understanding from him. Our frustration levels were at a peak.
My phone rang, jerking me from my thoughts.
“Do you have any free time today? Or do you plan to spend your time with Ty between your legs?” Sabrina asked when I answered.
