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Vinnie’s gaze sharpened. “I can see him doing that. It wouldn’t have worked for him, though. Once you’ve met your mate, they’ll always call to you on some metaphysical level unless you imprint on someone else.”
“Exactly,” said Alex. He looked back at her. “I don’t think he’s here to hurt you, Bree. If he was, he wouldn’t have snuck into your house to leave you jewelry. He’d have snuck in it to kill you. He didn’t. He didn’t try to harm you in any way. You’re probably the person who’s safest from him.”
“I agree,” said Luke. “It’s others who need to worry.” He shot a meaningful look at Alex, who only shrugged.
Vinnie took a step toward Bree. “I will still have my enforcers log and follow every move Calvin makes. After all, there is a chance he left the necklaces at your house, just as there’s a chance that Drina simply left the pride. We won’t take any chances here.”
“But you’ll also be on the lookout for Paxton because, like Alex, you think he’s back,” Bree said quietly, her gut all tied up in knots.
The Alpha sighed. “Yeah, shit as it is, I do.”
Fuck.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Elle sighed over the phone the following afternoon. “Do you think Paxton is back?”
Stepping onto her patio, Bree squinted against the glare of the sun. “There’re certainly plenty of reasons to assume he is—and I’ll admit, it does seem likely. Alex certainly made a very convincing case.” Which was why anxiety sat like lead in the pit of her stomach.
“But you don’t want to believe it.”
“No, I don’t. Besides, I don’t think Paxton would particularly care that I’ve renounced my claim on him.”
“Moira said he didn’t share well.”
“No one went after any of my ex-boyfriends. I wasn’t serious about them, no, but I’m serious about Alex—no one’s tried to kidnap or hurt him.” Bree crossed to a rattan chair and sank into the seat cushion, careful not to spill her lemonade. “If Paxton is alive and truly upset enough by my renouncing my claim on him that he felt compelled to leave me necklaces, wouldn’t he have tried to eliminate Alex from the equation?”
“I guess so. Especially if something as small as Drina spouting crap was enough to set Paxton off. But he would think it was his ‘duty’ to eradicate any threat to you.”
“And yet, Dani has never been targeted by anyone.”
“Yeah, but she hasn’t publicly announced that she means to ‘end’ you or hand you over to people who might want you dead. I’m not saying I believe Paxton’s back, I’m just making the point that Dani’s merely being a dumb skank whereas Drina declared she wanted you dead. What exactly did Drina say to you that night in your house? You only told me what happened after the session was over. I need more details.”
Oh, how Bree wished she could say to herself “fuck confidentiality” and spill it all. “I can’t tell you. It would be a breach of confidence.”
“God, you and your morals.”
Bree snickered. “If I don’t have at least one or two, I’ll burn in hell for sure.”
“It was these ‘morals’ that made you let her into your home. You should have told her to go pollute someone else’s air.”
“Giving her the benefit of the doubt was my mistake.” Bree lifted her glass to her mouth, and a cube of ice bumped her lips as she drank her lemonade. “Odd as it may seem, given that she was a pain in Alex’s ass, I’m not hoping she’s dead.”
“Do you think the hyenas might have taken her? I mean, if one of their clan or informants hang around The Tavern the way the fox did right before he took you, they’d have heard that she was willing to help them. They might have thought she’d be useful.”
“Possibly. I don’t know.” Bree’s mouth curved slightly as a squirrel ran across the rear of the wooden fence that surrounded the garden, separating it from the wooded area behind the cul-de-sac.
“Hopefully the tip my dad received earlier will amount to something and he’ll now have the location of the hyena’s base.”
“It didn’t, sadly. Alex called me a short while ago. The hyenas weren’t there.” He, Vinnie, and the others were on their way home.
“Damn. How hard can it be to find one clan of hyenas?”
“Very hard, apparently.” Sighing, Bree placed the cold glass against her forehead to help cool her down. “Maybe we can talk about something else.”
“Oh, I’m all over that plan. Did I tell you I’ve seen actual proof that Damian is the Antichrist?”
Bree blinked. “Huh?”
“He has ‘666’ just behind his ear. It was well-hidden, but I found it.”
“Found it, or scrawled it on his skin with a sharpie while he was sleeping?”
“Does it really matter?”
A silent chuckle shook Bree’s shoulders. “You’re such a fucking nut.”
