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“Or each group will try to form a pack,” Dante pointed out.
“They might,” she agreed, pressing a hand to her temple. “Most won’t live long enough to see that happen. Very few of his pack are originals. They have memories, would challenge his truths. No, best to keep the bloodlines fresh and the memories shorter. A good plan if the sickness hadn’t set in. But it did.” She glanced at Tess then, huddled in the corner of the couch. The girl still wouldn’t look Ellen in the eye—not that it mattered.
Dante moved, ever so slightly, putting himself between her and Tess. She sighed. Poor Dante. He could do better. But, if his wolf had already chosen there wasn’t much he could do about it.
“Even if they do, there’s no guarantee they’ll want to follow Cyrus’s master plan to wipe us out.” Anders shook his head. “Tonight, we came off looking like one hell of a threat.”
“It doesn’t mean they won’t,” Mal added.
“If I can help, I will.” Tess spoke softly, still nervous and uncertain in her new pack.
“She might know of dens I don’t.” Ellen said, her gaze returning to the map.
“You’re to watch and report back, Gentry. Nothing more,” Finn cautioned the grinning man.
“What if they get riled up and hungry for a fight?” Gentry asked, still grinning.
Finn sighed.
“There has to be a way to convince them the whole wolf-turf war thing was all Cyrus’s idea,” Olivia spoke up. “Then we wouldn’t have anything to worry about.”
“That went so well last time” Mal hugged his mate close and pressed a kiss to her temple. “Still so willing to believe the good in everyone.”
“Which is why you love me,” she said, pinching him on the arm.
Ellen felt a twinge of envy at their closeness. Her gaze bounced to Hollis, but he was poring over some paperwork on Finn’s desk.
“I’m with Olivia on this one.” Dante shook his head. “They live like we do, thinking we’re coming for them.”
Tess cleared her throat. “I don’t want to put any of you—us at risk, but Dante has a point. Living in fear is living half a life. We—they don’t know how to live, as a wolf, without being ruled by him. They will panic.”
“A short life, growing sick and dying,” Ellen added. “Cyrus gave me turning dates so I could track them. Even he realized there was something wrong. Life expectancy was no more than seven years. Usually five.” She paused, looking at Tess. “You were with them how long?”
“Seven years,” Tess said.
“Now it’s five. Some others three.” Ellen frowned. “The pack will die, in time, without Cyrus.”
“Is there a way to help them?” Finn asked, looking between Hollis and Ellen.
“I don’t know.” Hollis shrugged, sparing her a fleeting gaze. “I haven’t had many Others to run tests on.”
“And I’m thinking the likelihood of them lining up for us to experiment on seems pretty slight.” Anders shook his head.
“It might be best to start small.” She rolled her head sl
owly. “I know there are some who would gladly forget the bad blood between our packs. Now that Cyrus is gone, it’s possible.”
Tess nodded. “It’s true.”
“If it’s possible, then we’ll try.” Finn said.
Mal growled. “Meaning we’ll research the shit out of each group, go in armed to the teeth, and be prepared to kill every last one of them.”
“After Gentry has the place scoped out and knows exactly what we’re walking into.” Finn nodded. “Then, yes.”
She nodded, a sudden bolt of pain shooting up her neck and into her skull. She winced, hissing against the unexpected stabbing sensation.
“Is your head bothering you?” Hollis asked her, bringing all conversation to a stop.
