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“So, you think your Alpha framed you in order to have me intervene?”
Bill nodded. “I didn’t kill anyone from your pack. Just the outsiders who threatened Loren.”
“It’s true,” Eric said softly. “Jamal was killed, but I have reason to believe he was ambushed by someone else. While the bodies of the men he claimed to have fought weren’t found initially, my contacts in Elkton alerted me of several mutilated bodies found in the next town over.”
“Which brings us back to Lukka,” Bill said, empowered by the revelations. “He needs to be stopped.”
Loreck grunted. “You really believe your Alpha would listen to me?” His voice boomed throughout the room, sending a shiver down Bill’s spine that he couldn’t deny. “If so, you’ve been gone far too long.”
“I don’t trust Lukka to play fair,” Bill countered. “But if he knows that at least part of his ruse has been uncovered, it might drive him into a corner.”
“And what do you intend to do when he does retreat to said corner?” Loreck stood from behind a massive desk and began to pace. At least four men in addition to Eric were in attendance, watching silently. Their lack of reaction didn’t put Bill at ease.
Not at all.
As Loreck neared his position, the older man fixed him with a cold stare that penetrated down to his core. “Will you fall back like you did before and fail to uphold the duty placed before you?”
Bill winced. Maybe he deserved that. “What about you?” he tossed back. “Did you really not know? About her? Your own blood?”
Any anger he still harbored toward the man sputtered and died in the face of his answering frown. As if snuffed out, the fire left the man’s gaze, rendering him hollow.
“I won’t pretend that I understand why your Alpha would do such a thing.”
“But…” Eric stepped forward, his head lowered in respect. “I’m beginning to have an idea as tohowhe did it.”
“How?” Bill exhaled, caught off guard by the sheer panic that welled in his chest. Even now, some small, childish part of him might have held hope that he’d gotten everything wrong. Lukas wasn’t behind this—someone else had been the true culprit all along.
As Eric met his gaze, however, he surrendered to the inevitable. “Tell me,” he rasped.
The man looked to his Alpha, who nodded in approval. They must have discussed this information before deciding to share it with him.
“The hermit you met with is a lycan by the name of Eilene Branshaw, sister to Eveline,” Eric explained. “They, along with a brother, formed a band of rogue Scolera who ventured east, eager to seek refuge with one of the established packs in the area.”
“I think I can guess where this is heading,” Bill said gruffly. Loren, it seemed, wouldn’t be entirely spared of violent family members. “The brother was the dangerous rogue who wrought havoc.”
“Yes,” Loreck said, taking over the tale. “He cut off contact with his sisters and began to feed on humans. Casualties mounted, and we had no choice but to form an alliance with anyone able to track him down. While few in number, and disorganized, Scolera wolves can be formidable and stealthy opponents.”
“So, you had to form an alliance with Lukas Grehmaine,” Bill supplied. “I know that part. What happened between you and Eveline?”
Loreck had a mastery of his expressions that Bill had encountered in few men. Regardless, even he couldn’t disguise his reaction to that name—he winced, and his eyes took on a faraway gleam.
“Yes. I knew her,” he said tersely. “She wanted admission into a pack. I thought she had decided to join mine… Then she vanished, and I always thought she’d returned west.” His jaw tightened, his eyes narrowed. “I never thought…”
“There is something else,” Eric said, steering the reins of the conversation. “Something that was never made public knowledge about the demise of the lone rogue.” He looked to Loreck, again seeking permission to continue.
The Alpha, however, said nothing. Eric sighed and soldiered on anyway.
“With the help of the two sisters, we were able to devise traps, and learn the ways of Scolera hunting methods. But it wasn’t enough. If we went that route, it would have taken weeks, if not months, to corner the rogue.”
“All of that for one wolf?” Bill questioned, his skepticism apparent.
Eric scoffed. “More than once, I’ve been able to catch you off guard by utilizing only a fraction of what I learned from the Scolera. Imagine that skill, but mastered by someone much faster, and afflicted with an insatiable taste for human blood.”
“I see your point,” Bill admitted, wincing. He hated to acknowledge just how easily Eric had been able to infiltrate his own territory. Such a wolf would be a danger not just to humans, but to any nearby lycans foolish enough to stop him. “So, how did you track the wolf?”
Loreck inclined his head, his eyes ablaze as he and Eric shared a look.
“Don’t be shy now,” Bill snapped. “Let me guess—by using your deer urine trick?”
