“What can I do for you, Donovan?” Camden asked, keeping his tone neutral but polite. “If you’re here to talk to me about the training sessions again, you have my answer, and it hasn’t changed.”
To everyone’s surprise, Donovan waved his hand dismissively. “I’m not here to talk about that,” Donovan growled, folding his arms. “You’ve got far bigger problems going on than me and a few guys not liking one of your policies.”
The atmosphere changed, a different type of tension from before permeating the air. Franco snapped to attention. Even Cillian, normally lax and carefree, had turned alert. They hadkept the threat of Lucas a secret from the pack. If Donovan was talking about Lucas, then how had he found out?
For the first time since Donovan strutted into the room, Camden gave him his full attention. His eyes narrowed, turning fully to face the other shifter.
“What are you talking about, exactly?” Camden asked.
Donovan scratched the stubble on his neck, considering Camden. “A guy came up to me the other day. Said his name was Lucas. He was trying to suss out how I felt about the pack. Guess someone must have told him I wasn’t happy with all the policies, because he said he had a plan to ‘make some serious changes’ to the pack. Doesn’t take a genius to figure out what he meant. He asked if I wanted to join him.”
A stillness had fallen over the other shifters in the group, all of their attention locked on Donovan.
It was Jasper who found his voice first. “What happened next?”
Snorting, Donovan turned his attention to Jasper, one eyebrow raised. “I told him to get lost, of course. Do you think I would have come here if I said yes?”
Jasper studied Donovan, looking the man up and down, searching for any sign of deception. There was every chance it was a double bluff. Only Jasper had gotten good at reading people over the last several years. As far as he could tell, Donovan was being entirely sincere.
Both Jasper and Camden glanced over at Franco, who was even better at sniffing out lies. Franco examined Donovan for a long moment. After a moment, his attention flicked to Camden, and Franco gave a short, brusque nod. Donovan was telling the truth.
Camden twisted back to look at Donovan again. Suspicion still lingered in the air, in Camden’s posture and the caution in his gaze. But the hostility that had permeated the room the second Donovan had strolled into the room had ebbed to a background hum.
“You said a couple of days ago,” Camden said. “Why only come to us now?”
“Because I didn’t know what to make of the guy at first,” Donovan said. “Thought he might just be blowing smoke, and I didn’t want to bother you with a load of bull. The more I thought about it, though, the more I decided you needed to know one way or the other. So, here I am.”
“When you say he approached you, what do you mean by that?”
“Exactly what I said.”
Camden shook his head. “No, I mean, do you have any idea how he knew to approach you? I mean, it’s no secret around the pack that the two of us have friction, but I can’t imagine an outsider having that sort of knowledge.”
Donovan shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “He hinted that I’d come highly recommended, which makes me think he’s already gotten to others in the pack.”
Silence fell over the group, alarm and unease rippling through the room for a brief moment. If Lucas already had people inside the pack, things were worse than they thought.
No wonder Lucas knew exactly where to find Nikki, Jasper thought.
“Any idea who?” Franco asked.
Donovan shook his head. “I’d tell you if I did, but the guy was smart enough not to name names—even if he wasn’t smartenough to be more subtle when trying to recruit me. He seemed desperate, if you ask me.”
All of this tracked with what they knew about Lucas. Jasper wasn’t sure he agreed with Donovan’s assessment of his intelligence. Lucas was smarter than they gave him credit for—otherwise, they would have found him by now. If Jasper had to guess, Lucas’s brazen recruitment attempts had more to do with Donovan’s final point: desperation.
Camden remained silent for a long moment, regarding Donovan. It wasn’t with hostility, but with a calm interest. Something had changed between the two men since Donovan had stepped into the room.
“Don’t take this the wrong way, Donovan,” Camden said. “But I’m honestly surprised. I know you don’t like most of my policies, and that’s not including the fact that you lost your position once my uncle died. I wouldn’t have been shocked if I’d found out you jumped ship.”
The implication was clear: Camden wasn’t ruling out the idea of a double bluff.
Donovan shrugged. “Good. You should be. But just because I don’t agree with you doesn’t mean I’m going to go against the pack. At the end of the day, this is my home, and you’re my alpha. I’m not going to betray my pack like that. Besides, you’re doing a decent enough job, all things considered. I’m not going to go with some unknown variable. For all I know, the guy’s a raging psychopath.”
“He is,” Cillian said. “Trust us.”
Snorting, Donovan bobbed his head. “I care about this pack,” he said. “I’m not gonna put it in jeopardy. That doesn’t mean I’m not gonna argue with you or speak up when I disagree.” He raised an eyebrow. “Or are you gonna tell me you’drather be surrounded by a bunch of yes-men all the time who don’t tell you when your ideas are shit?”
Camden’s lip twitched upward. “Fair enough,” he said, inclining his head. “Thanks, Donovan. I appreciate it.”
