AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Please don’t apologize.”
“Can I stand up?”
Grant rose from his chair, though Natalie remained seated. “You bet.”
Ryan stood up then looked down at the room below. “There I am. How is this happening and why does it feel so real? Am I two people right now?”
“Yes,” Grant said. “I know. It’s bizarre, but it’s an amazing contraption. We can even take it for a spin if we needed to.”
Ryan huffed a sigh. “But we can’t be seen here?”
Grant looked at Natalie.
She shrugged then rose from the sofa as well. “I’m not absolutely certain, but I don’t think so.”
Ryan nodded. “Okay, then.” He pivoted to face Grant directly. “So, what the hell do we do about our resident psychopath?”
There were many ways Grant knew he was an alpha wolf: his size, the level of his abilities, an inner knowing. But this was also one of them, that Ryan turned to him for answers as all the beta wolves did. Yet, instead of feeling burdened and pressured, he rose to the challenge of it. This was what an alpha male did: He provided solutions.
“Earlier, Natalie spoke to me about how we need to view the problem of Kryder in a much different way than we have been. I think we’re all agreed he’s a psychopath.”
“He’s at least that but I swear there has to be a better word to describe his brutality.”
“Monster works,” Natalie said.
“Yes, definitely a monster.”
“And now he has wealth to back any play,” Ryan added.
“I have no doubt The Sapphire Club brings in hundreds of thousands every month. His security team is massive.”
Ryan shook his head. “We can’t fight him.”
Grant shook his head. “No. We need to capture him and break his bond with the pack.”
Ryan looked surprised. “Can that even be done?”
“I have a plan and it begins with a challenge to a dominance fight.”
Ryan’s shoulders dropped. “You can’t beat him, Grant. I wish you could, but you can’t.”
Grant glanced at Natalie. “I know. But I have no intention of doing battle alone. I refuse to let one more wolf die at his hands by sticking to the rules.”
For the first time in a long time, Ryan looked hopeful. He even smiled. “It’s about damn time.”
~ ~ ~
Natalie listened intently as the plan evolved. Ryan and Grant had an excellent working relationship. The idea that appealed to both was the use of a specialized netting generally employed to control crowds. It had an electrical charge. She liked the concept a lot.
Grant worked out every single detail with Ryan, the when, where and how, and did it quickly. As he was wrapping things up, he turned to Natalie. “Can you check the future for us? See if this happens?”
“You bet.” Natalie closed her eyes and endured the painful cramping and nausea that occurred just before she accessed the future. At least this time, she wasn’t grappling with an invisibility spell, so it was a little easier.
She focused on Kryder and saw him at his club. He was in what appeared to be a large, well-appointed office. He stood by a side table glittering with a host of decanters. He had a crystal tumbler in his hand that held an amber liquid. He took a swig then turned in what felt like her direction.
She knew he couldn’t see her, yet she felt certain he sensed her presence. “You’re going to die, Natalie.”
She withdrew from the moment but didn’t leave the future altogether. If he’d thought to intimidate her, he was wrong. Besides, given what Kryder had done to her husband and unborn child, as well as the depredations he’d inflicted on the wolves supposedly in his care, she was willing to sacrifice her life to see him removed from his position in the pack. She would prefer to survive, of course. But seeing Five Bridges rid of Kryder had become more important than anything else in the world, including her own life.
