“Which is?”
“We go after the dealership again.”
“Why?”Hawthorne asked.“All you did was slash their tires.It messed up their business, but so what?No one died.”
“True, buteveryoneshowed up.Including the leader.”
Hawthorne stared at Brent for a moment, and then he said, “Oh.You mean it’s a good way to set a trap and take out some wolves.”
“Yes.And the gryphons are part of the security team now, so they’ll show up for sure.”
“We can capture some for bait and take out the rest,” Hawthorne said.“We don’t have much time to prepare; we can strike tonight.”
“Rest up,” Brent said to the men.“Be ready at sunset.”
He and Hawthorne headed back upstairs, where Brent showed him to a room he could use.“You’re not going to bail on me again, are you?”Brent asked.“I brought you in because I need your resources.”
“I’m not going anywhere until I get my trophy,” he said.“More than one if I can.Gryphons are so rare that the price for one that is alive is unbelievable.Even when I capture one, I will still help you take out the wolves.”
Brent nodded and walked out.He returned to the dining room and settled back in the seat to watch the video footage of the wolves’ territory from earlier that night.Foot patrols and security cameras.The wolves relied on their animal natures to help them in a fight, but Brent was planning something much bigger.
One way or another, he’d see the wolves wiped from the face of the earth and the town of Thorn Hollow returned to the humans.And while he didn’t care if Hawthorne got his trophies or not, he was glad to have the extra men on his side for the fight that was brewing.
Tossing aside the tablet and the disgusting images of the two going at it like beasts in the woods, he focused on making plans that would see an end to the wolves in Northern Ohio.
They didn’t know it, but their days were numbered.
ChapterTen
Kaeli had woken up in bed with Solan curled around her, the late morning sunlight streaming in the windows of the master bedroom.She’d loved waking up with him, but the joy at being with her mate was quickly overshadowed by what he’d told her about the anti-shifter group—Humans Against Shifters.She’d known there were humans who didn’t care for shifters, but she’d never heard of an entire group of people dedicated to driving shifters away from humans; often resorting to harming or even killing them in the name of keeping towns and cities purely human.
They’d apparently gone after the tiger pride in a nearby town and had now turned their attention to the wolf pack in Thorn Hollow.Solan had reiterated his promise to keep her safe, and she believed him.He might have gotten distracted in the woods with her, but he’d been all about her safety ever since.
They’d had breakfast together, and then he’d suggested they clean up and check in with the alphas.
Not only had she never been around many shifters in her mostly-witch former town, but she’d never met alphas.Solan promised they were good people, but she could imagine that alphas didn’t stay in power because they were friendly and passed out candy to everyone.
Maybe the alpha male’s mate was.But she suspected that Alpha Adam was a badass and powerful.Because she could tell that Solan was a powerful male, and that meant someone in authority overhimwould be even more powerful.
“They’ll like you,” Solan said, giving her hand a squeeze.
“Well, I hope so, because you said Adam is your friend, and I want your friends to like me.But I was just thinking how much of a badass he has to be to be alpha of a bunch of wolf shifters.”
“He was second in command under our old alpha, Lit.When Lit left the pack with his family, Adam stepped into the role.But our pack is ranked by fighting prowess, so the most powerful males are ranked highest, down to the least powerful ones or the ones who don’t want to fight.”
“Were you and Lit close?”
“Very much so.Actually, his mate Nila and her family took me in when I was brought here after my parents were killed.After she and Lit mated, he raised me as part of their family and taught me everything I needed to know about taking care of the pack—protecting and fighting.”
“That’s amazing.They both sound like wonderful people.”
“They are.I don’t get to see them much since they left the pack, but they’re great people.”
“Alpha Lit didn’t plan for you to take over the pack?”
“I wasn’t made to be alpha.It takes a certain kind of male, the right mindset.I’m content being high-ranked and working in security.Some males crave power; I just want the people I care about to be safe.And at the top of the list is you, Kaeli.”
She smiled.“How do you do that?”
