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“We don’t have a whole lot of options,” I pointed out. “What are you going to do otherwise—leave him locked up and drugged for the rest of his life? How is he ever going to prove whose side he’s on if he never gets thechance?”
“I’d rather he was proving it in a way that didn’t potentially risk your life,” my bear shiftermuttered.
“We can protect ourselves, can’t we? We’ll have our own sentries. We can withdraw if we need to.” I stopped at the foot of the stairs and turned to face him. “Do you actually think it’s a bad plan, or are you just worrying aboutme?”
He frowned. “It’s the best plan any of us came up with. I won’t pretend it isn’t. But you can’t blame me forworrying.”
I patted his chest affectionately. “All right, I won’t. Just try to go easy on him. We want him to feel he can trustus,remember.”
Outside Orion’s door, Nate produced a key ring from his pocket. The guard on duty hung back as we steppedinside.
Orion jerked up at the movement of the door. He’d been sprawled on his back on the bench, his head lolling. The tranquilizer still glazed his eyes and dulled his reflexes. He swayed before managing to completely sit up. His gaze stayed on Nate, wary even though his narrow face stayedslack.
I could just imagine how his last conversation with his alpha had gone. But I didn’t want any grizzly behavior in heretoday.
I grabbed a stool from the hall and sat down across from the former guard. Nate loomed behind me, as if to give everything I said the extra weight of his authority. We’d decided it was probably better if I did the talking. Mainly because he wasn’t sure he could keep histemper.
“Orion,” I said, and the muskrat shifter’s eyes dropped to meet mine. “We might have a job for you. A way for you to redeem yourself with your alpha and your kin—to show where your loyalties reallylie.”
Despite the vagueness of his expression, a spark of hope lit deep in his gaze. “What is it?” he asked. “What do you want me todo?”
“You’ve talked to the rogues before,” Isaid.
He nodded. “One ofthem.”
“So if we sent you out to talk to them, there should be someone in the local group who’d know who youare?”
“Yeah.” His eyes darted between me and Nate. “But I don’t know where they are. I toldyou.”
“That’s all right,” I said with a crooked smile. “Weknow where they are. You could just... happen to stumble into them after we pointed you in the rightdirection.”
He focused back on me, his head tipping slightly to the left. A furrow had formed in his brow. “And then what would Ido?”
“Well, if you’re up for it... We’d pick a spot for you to lead them to. We’ll have a story for you to give them, something like that we’re going to be sneaking out of the estate and heading down a specific stretch of road, somewhere that looks good for an ambush. You’ll pretend you decided to side with them and you’re bringing this inside information to prove your worth. And then we’ll be the ones to ambushthem.”
Orion was quiet for a long moment, just looking at me. “You want me to trickthem.”
“They’re planning another attack on us right now,” I said. “They’ve already killed how many kin over the years? They support the people who killed the last alphas—my fathers. My sisters, who were only seven and nine years old. If any of them surrender, I promise you I’ll treat them fairly. But if they’re going to insist on fighting us, we can either fight back or lay down and die. And I wouldn’t ask anyone to do the second. Including you. That’s why I wanted you to have thischance.”
“Your dragon shifter is being incredibly generous,” Nate put in, his voice just shy of a growl. “As am I as your alpha, letting her bring you the proposition in the first place. Are you going to stay with us or fight againstus?”
I shot him a look, and he grimaced but shut his mouth. “Or stay here,” I added, turning back to the muskrat shifter. “If you don’t want to take the risk, I’d understand. Maybe there’ll be another opportunity for you to show your loyalties. This is what we’ve got rightnow.”
Orion sucked in a breath. “I—I could do it. I think it could work. I can’t promise anything, but I—” He stopped and rubbed his forehead. His jaw worked. “I can’t think straight right now. But I know that I regret not coming to you as soon as they approached me, alpha. And,Serenity...”
“Ren,” I correctedhim.
He looked up again, his eyes gone watery. “Thank you,” he said. “For thinking of me. For trying to do right by all ofus.”
“Will you try too?” I askedgently.
“Yes,” he said. “For my kin. For my alpha. And foryou.”
My throat tightened at the emotion in his voice. “Then I should be thanking you.” I stood up. “We’ll have to let the tranquilizer wear off,” I said to Nate. “He can make a final decision then, when his mind isn’t so fuzzy. I want him to go understanding exactly what he’s agreedto.”
Nate didn’t look enthusiastic about it, but it wasn’t as if we could send his former guard off to consort with the rogues in his current state anyway. When we’d shut the door, he turned to the guard onduty.
“No more shots,” he said. “Let him come out of the daze. Keep a close eye on him. If he shifts or does anything suspicious, restrain him if you need to and call for me. When he’s had time to totally recover, call for methen.”
