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“Mate?” Monte asks, his tone dark as a growl slips between his lips.
“Oh, so you still haven’t sensed the connection between us?” the stranger says smugly, baiting Monte into a fight. A flicker of rage sparks in his gaze, clearly remembering his earlier anger at Monte as his head had emerged from beneath the table.
“That’s enough, Zeke,” Everett’s voice rumbles out, chastising his friend and cutting off Monte’s response.Zeke. The name echoes in my mind as I attempt to place where I’ve heard it before.
“Zeke?” I ask, stumbling a step back as apprehension sparks in my mind. “Zeke Andino.” Monte jerks back in surprise, clearly recognizing the name too. The name is a statement, not a question anymore because I know the man standing in front of me. Any person with underground connections would know that name. But hell, I hadn’t even known he was a wolf, let alone that he was allied with the Whitlock pack. His name has always been spoken in whispers, infamous across the country as a skilled assassin.
And he’s my mate.The weight of that thought settles on my shoulders, numbing me to the growled threats sounding around me. Monte’s arms wrap around me from behind, pulling me back into his hard chest as if that will do anything. My gaze locks with Zeke’s stormy grey ones, a shadow of pain crossing his face, but he hurriedly contains it. My stomach twists with guilt before I remember myself. This man is a cold-blooded killer for hire. A shiver of fear runs up my spine, but I don’t dare take another step back.
I square my shoulders. I may be weakening toward Everett, but Zeke, no, there’s no way I can have a bond with this sort of man, no way my pack would accept that for their alpha. The bias is hypocritical, of course. We’ve dealt in arms and drugs, as do the Whitlock pack, but an assassin …
I don’t let my mind attempt to reason the decision away, needing to put this distance between us, to have some reassurance that this connection is not permanent. I can’t have him look at me like that anymore. That broken, pained look, however brief it had been, had nearly torn my heart in two.
“I r—”
“Don’t say it.” He surges forward, moving in a blur, and places a finger to my lips before either Monte or I know what’s going on.
“Let me show you I’m more than my name,” he pleads, vulnerability splitting across his features. This close, I can see the five o’clock shadow across his rugged jawline, and my lips itch to trail up it, to feel the subtle prick of roughness and taste his tan skin. I lean forward into him, mere inches separating us, his spiced scent drawing me in like a fish on a reel, closer and closer to the predator, to the sweet kiss of death.
My willpower dwindles at the look in his eyes, and despite my brain pushing me to complete the sentence, to slam the door down between us, my lips refuse to form the words. It took everything I had to start uttering the rejection, but now with my heart overtaking my brain in the ongoing war between them, I can’t do it. And against my better judgment, I want to give him that chance.He’s fighting for me, I realize, rather than backing down or letting my almost spurning declaration bruise his pride. Although I could see that Everett’s rejection was more of a reaction to mine, he let his ego get in the way of doing the same.There’s still time, I reassure myself, and leave the matter to rest for tonight.
“Like hell, she will,” Monte growls in my ear, pulling me back to him and breaking me out of the haze that has settled over me. It’s something that has been happening more and more often lately, ever since I met the two men standing before me. I hadn’t even realized how far I had glided from Monte, my feet sending me forward with barely any thought.
“Enough,” Everett says, pulling Zeke’s shoulder back. He looks as though he might fight, but Everett’s fingers tighten, holding him back. My gaze moves between the two of them, struck by the pained look Zeke doesn’t bother to hide. Everett’s face creases with concern, but he at least attempts to hide it, not wanting to look vulnerable in front of Monte and me. “Leave it alone for now.” His voice is hard yet pleading, and I can’t help but wonder what exactly has happened to both of them in their past. The need to know every facet of them bubbles up in me. But I push it down. Right now isn’t the time, and my lips purse at the way they’re chipping away the ice surrounding my heart.
Monte pulls in a breath, and I can tell from the crease between his brows he’s about to argue with him, so I cut him off. My hand clasps his bicep in a reassuring gesture, yet I convey the silent command with a terse shake of my head. He backs down at that, but I can tell he doesn’t want to, only listening because it’s a direct order from his Alpha. His instinct to defend me is clearly warring with his instinct to comply.
“Fine, I suggest we move this along then and finally get to the reason for this evening,” I snap, beyond ready to get the hell out of this room, this compound. The emotions still swirl inside of me, pulling me in so many directions right now, and I can barely keep them straight in my head. Tension still hangs in the air, so palpable it could be cut with a knife.
“The reason for this gathering was to celebrate your engagement, was it not?” Everett bites back sarcastically, a taunting smile on his lips. The words draw a snarl from Zeke, the sound echoing around the room, and I give Everett a pointed look, unsure why he thought bringing that back up would be a good idea.
Everett draws in a deep breath, his icy eyes closing momentarily, suppressing his own anger. We all seem to be nearing our breaking points, especially Monte, who I can feel vibrating with outrage at my side.
“Fine,” Everett grinds out, echoing my irritated tone. “Zeke, what happened tonight?”
My brows furrow at the question. I’m assuming Zeke is either his second or third, given his own alpha status, and Everett had insinuated he was off gallivanting about the town earlier. I grimace at my own naivety then, realizing belatedly that he’d only said that to keep his pack from worrying while keeping me and my people in the dark.
“The Langleys attacked a small contingent of our pack tonight that were traveling back from the city on a run,” Zeke says, shaking his shoulder free from Everett’s grip, having finally composed himself. He crosses his arms over his chest, switching into professional mode and shutting off his emotions. I can’t help but follow his lead, slipping out from Monte’s arm clasped around my waist and propping my hands on my hips. I can’t have a serious conversation with my supposed fiancé looking as though he’s supporting me. I’m the one in charge, the Alpha and representative of the Draven pack now, not him.
“Were there any casualties?” I ask, needing all the information to gauge how to proceed.
“No, thankfully, they didn’t land any lethal shots. Unfortunately, they injured two of ours before taking off with the shipment of guns and ammo they’d been transporting,” Zeke says, his mouth pulling down and eyes softening as he speaks of the injured members of his pack.
“This has to end,” Everett growls darkly, his brows lowering into a glower. “We’ve been lucky so far that they haven’t killed anyone yet, but it just keeps getting worse. If they remain unchecked, it’s only a matter of time.”
I nod in agreement, giving him a solemn look. Any injury is a cause for concern, money is completely secondary.
“How are they getting this information? They must have someone on the inside,” I hedge, voicing my thoughts out loud.
“Yes, unfortunately it’s gotten to the point where that seems to be the only way. We’ve tried taking different routes, sending out more of our people for backup, and they seem to always know,” Everett admits. He paces back and forth, his hand clasping his chin in thought as he works the pieces together. “Any time we’ve tried to plan an ambush, they don’t show up.”
“We both need to examine our packs, whoever is in a position to find out the routes and plans needs to be looked at under a microscope, along with any partners,” I throw out, needing to start somewhere.
“Agreed, we both have leaks in our packs.” Everett nods, pausing his pacing.
“We need to schedule a meeting with the Langley sleuth, too,” Zeke offers. “We held off because our packs had not officially been allied, but now …” He trails off, looking between both Everett and me with a hopeful look.
“And now we are,” I offer at Everett’s questioning look, accepting his earlier terms. “So, I agree, let’s set up a meeting with the Langley sleuth and see if we can sort this out now that we’re both on the same page.”
