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“What?”
“Keep your voice down!” he ordered, watching the scene. “They’re about to fight. We need to be ready.”
“Ready?” I shook my head, hoping it would free the goddamn cobwebs from all he’d said. “What do you mean?”
“I was ready to marry Belinda,” he continued to explain, his eyes still focused on what happened in the distance. “But I learned Gideon discovered the truth about the heritage of his grandchild. That’s why he had her killed.”
“His own daughter?”
“Yes. Rather than put shame on the family name. Donovan had his suspicions. Thought I might have even done it. And I was happy for him to believe it. He arranged to leave, and I thought it would be over and he could continue on his way.”
“But Gideon wouldn’t let him go?”
“Gideon issued the challenge, not expecting Donovan to win, and certainly not expecting him to become alpha of the pack. Gideon caused problems for Donovan after that, using human law to help him with his land rights. I left with Gideon to keep an eye on him because of the threats he’d made on Donovan’s life. It was easier to watch the back of the enemy than stay with a friend who hated me.”
“Why not tell him? Tell Donovan? After all this time?”
“He would never have believed me.” Victor’s eyes found mine. “We’d fought, said things neither of us meant. It was too late. Our bond had broken, and Donovan believed so badly of me easily enough. So I kept Gideon off the scent and helped him when needed, keeping myself in his circle. Then you came along.”
“Why not help me?” I asked. “Why not tell me all this before I left Idaho? We could have kept my uncle safe.”
“At the moment, your uncle is still safe. The men may follow Gideon, but they’re mercenaries. If they believe getting their payday will get them killed, they will be out of here in a flash. Especially now Max is here. That fucker is a wolf not to be messed with and they know it. Gideon knows it too. He only pretends he has their loyalty. They’re hired guns. And I thought I had more time. I kept an eye on your uncle. But then someone called with the location of Moonlight Creek, and I had no choice but to follow.”
“Why is Gideon desperate to get the pack back after so long? For something that is no longer even his?”
“Because he has nothing without it. He may have money and people at his beck and call, but he doesn’t have a pack. And you don’t understand …” He looked pained. “For a wolf to be without a pack, it’s a soulless feeling. An empty one.”
I understood then. I understood the hurt between the two wolves. Donovan and Victor were once like brothers. Victor had sacrificed all that for the fate of his friend.
“Donovan was your pack.”
“Yes. He was. But both of us foolishly wanted grand allies. If we’d settled with each other, gathered others, and joined a different pack, none of this might have happened. But it did. And I’ll do everything in my power to see him safe.”
“So what now? What do we do now?”
“You keep your weapon handy,” he ordered. “I don’t trust Gideon, but he might behave himself when the odds aren’t in his favor. He didn’t plan for Max to be here, so that’s to Donovan’s advantage. Only you never know how Gideon is going to react when his back is against the wall. Should this go awry, I need to keep up my pretense of being in Gideon’s employ. But let’s hope Donovan slits Gideon’s throat and does us all a favor.”
“I can’t stand this,” I whispered, wrapping my jacket more tightly around me to ward off the cold.
Victor glared at me. “Yes, you can. That son of a bitch kidnapped your uncle, threatened your life, and now he wants to hurt your mate. Are you going to sit on the sidelines and whimper like a coward or stand up against the wolf who wants you all dead?”
His harsh words pierced the fog encasing my brain, and I shook myself free from impending down. “I’ll stand.”
“Good. Then get the gun and get ready. This needs to end tonight.”
