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When I try to tug my hand from his, he only holds tighter. I don’t fight him. It’s kind of nice to have him holding onto me after I thought I was losing him.
“Go ahead.” Dominic jerks his chin up at me. He looks gruff, but I know he’s offering for me to speak as a matter of respect. Dominic is a reputable Alpha. There aren’t many people he would let take the lead from him, even when it comes to the Luna Sovereign. But I’ve earned his respect these past few hours by working alongside him.
“All of this started when Alpha Waverly discovered she wouldn’t be the next Luna Sovereign.” I sweep my gaze over the outdated buildings of the Sovereign Pack territory. “It was clear to me during my time here that she wasn’t satisfied being the Alpha here. She wanted total control, and when she didn’t get it, she decided to find herself some other options.”
“How do you know?” Paxton interrupts, scowling.
“The first part I saw for myself. The second part we put together because Brandon, who that rogue told us about, had this in his briefcase.” I gesture for Luca to bring over the papers. He’s been standing on the sidelines, offering input only if he thinks there’s something we’ve missed.
Paxton skims the papers, his frown deepening. “So all that stuff that Peter heard about someone wanting to buy up the land around here is true?” He holds up part of the unsigned contract. “Is it just me, or is this offer insanely low?”
“It is.” Dominic told me as much. “We think the person behind all of this is someone named Jeff Langston. We haven’t figured out exactly who he is, but he owns the car that Brandon was traveling in, and his name is the other one on the contract. We’re pretty sure he must have had something on Waverly because the offer on the land shouldn’t have been able to get her to clear the pack out. Nothing so far has told us what that might be, though.”
“So Langston sent his guys in to scare the Sovereign Pack off so they could start their own base here,” Paxton supplies for himself. A storm is brewing in his eyes, making his already dark eyes look pitch black. “Close enough for his guys to be sniffing around you and Tess.”
One of my hands is still clasped in Paxton’s, so I put the other on his chest. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Jeff Langston seems to be interested in my family. Think about it. We’re connected to two of the three properties that Peter said some rich guy is rumored to want. And I don’t know what my brother has been up to, but I think that when we find him, we’ll also find a connection between him and the Hunter’s Stone Pack. Three Jarreaus. Three sets of property.
“Jeff Langston knew he could get to Alpha Waverly. Now he just needs to figure out how to get to each of us.”
Paxton runs his hand over his face. “None of this explains why all of Langston’s guys wound up dead. Or why there were rogues waiting in the wings to attack.”
“We haven’t gotten that far,” I admit. I was having a hard time facing the wolf that attacked my mate, even though Dominic assured me they took care of the guy. He warned me I probably don’t want to see the shape they left the body in, but it isn’t the mess I’m afraid of. It’s the unfamiliar sense of anger boiling up inside of me every time I picture it. There’s no honor in attacking a shifter from behind while they’re vulnerable. Paxton didn’t even get a chance to defend himself, and I have a feeling that was intentional.
We’re all being targeted, every step of the way.
“Can you check on Tess again?” I ask Dominic. He’s been calling twice an hour already, but I still hate that she isn’t here. She wanted to come but didn’t want to leave the pack with the Glass family there. There haven’t been any red flags with any of them, but we can’t afford to take unnecessary risks.
That’s what Paxton did, and look where it got him. He swallows hard as he shifts his weight, trying to find a more comfortable position to stand in.
“You really need to rest.” It makes me nervous to watch him as he starts to sway slightly.
Dominic clears his throat, and I glance over at him as he looks up from his phone. “Actually, Luca is going to take both of you back to the house to be with Tess. We’ll finish everything up here.”
Luca’s eyes widen slightly then return to normal as he gives a nod of confirmation. That split second of surprise tells me this wasn’t planned. I narrow my eyes suspiciously at Dominic. We’ve been working just fine together for hours. There are still a lot of unanswered questions here.
“What’s going on, Alpha Dominic?” I pin him with a hard stare. He’ll answer me as his mate’s sister or as the Luna Sovereign. His choice.
“Alpha Callum should be here soon.” He clears his throat. “I… I asked him to come have a look at the rogues.”
“Why would—“ I slam my mouth closed, an uncomfortable suspicion creeping in. I don’t know why Dominic would involve Callum in this rogue situation unless he was already involved in some way. It doesn’t bode well for how hard I’ve been trying not to face the remnants of my grief.
Dominic’s eyes are soft with sympathy. Paxton’s hand squeezes mine tighter, drawing my attention to him.
“What’s going on? I thought you and your former Alpha were on good terms.” Paxton looks suspicious and angry, as if he thinks I’m suddenly upset because I don’t want to see Callum. I look helplessly at Dominic because I can’t say it. I can’t tell Paxton what I suspect Dominic is primed to reveal.
Dominic steps closer and lowers his voice, as if that will somehow ease the sting of his words confirming my worst nightmare. “I suspect the rogue that attacked you might have been involved in the attack on Alpha Callum’s East Terrace Green Pack.”
I can feel Paxton’s eyes on me, but I stare into the distance at the tree line. Even on a good day, this is too hard to talk about. Factor in what happened to Paxton… Possibly by the same rogue? It feels like my ribs have cracked open to expose my heart to every hurt I’ve ever felt.
Paxton manages to catch me just as my legs give out. I try to shove him away—he’s hurt—but he holds me tighter.
I have you, sweetheart. I have you.
I can hear the strain in his voice even across mind link, but the more I struggle, the tighter he holds. It doesn’t matter that he’s hurt. He has me, and he’s not letting me go.
23
Paxton
