Page 132 of The SnowFang Secret


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He grinned.

The EarthSpine were stayingat the Meeting site, but agreed to make the trip down to the motel to visit with us. The motel sat on the edge of a two-lane highway in a wide spread of nothing, so we walked out to the empty lot next to the motel at the corner of the four-way stop. The summer sun beat down on us, even at ten in the morning, washing everything in a bright, white sunlight. Bugs nibbled at our ankles and wrists and buzzed around our faces.

The EarthSpine Alpha arrived with two other EarthSpine, his mate, and Anise. He was like I remembered him: a somber, unsmiling, shadowy Alpha of middling height and stocky build, with brown eyes tinged green. His mate was a little warmer than he was, about the same height, and cautious in the way ferals were wary of crossing paths with other wolves.

“We’re here,” the Alpha told me. “What was this you wanted to discuss?”

“The fact Sterling and I are lone wolves.” There wasn’t a lot of time, so time to cut right to it.

He showed no reaction to this. “And you want a place in EarthSpine?”

In my soul, I was still SnowFang, but reality was reality. “We can bring prestige and all manner of strings tied to thorns stuck in Elders’ paws.”

“But you two would have no intention of living at EarthSpine. That is an obstacle. The offer of association is very interesting, but we aren’t a pack that lives far-flung from each other.”

I was about to remind him the EarthSpine owed us when Sterling’s fingers clenched over my wrist and the EarthSpine looked behind me. Three human-forms jogged towards us at a good clip: Demetrius, Marcella, Henri.

“It would seem you have gotten off your chain,” the EarthSpine Alpha said with interest.

“This doesn’t concern you, AmberHowl,” Sterling growled at Demetrius once he’d gotten within range.

“You are a damnedhazard,” Demetrius snapped at me.

Sterling shoved Demetrius back with both hands. “Andwearen’t waiting around foryouto figure out how to fuck us.”

Demetrius smashed his palms into Sterling’s chest, but lower, right over Sterling’s battered ribs.

Marcella jumped between them and pushed them apart, with her saying, “Settle down. Both of you. Emotions are high. Everyone settle.”

Sterling tried to step around Marcella, but she kept herself between him and her mate. Sterling told Demetrius, “You’ve had twenty-four hours’ lead time. I’m done waiting, wolf.”

“These things taketime.”

“You had six months. You start talking, or I am going to finish this conversation I am having with EarthSpine and then we are leaving. You may howl at my uncaring and receding tail. Whatever game you thought you were playing, you have lost, and I am not waiting while you figure out how to re-write the rules to your advantage.”

Demetrius pointed back at the motel. “The SnowFang are here.”

“Yes, I know.”

“You need to go reclaim the pack from Jun. I brought them here so you could challenge and reclaim it.”

“Why in Gaia’s name would we do that?” I asked. The SnowFang were safe and had ceased to be involved in this very deadly game of Shitty Chess. ThehellI was getting them involved again.

“Because you two need to be in a pack. Specificallythat one. Not an established pack.”

“Fuck you and your half answers, Elder.”

Demetrius didn’t bother to hide his frustration. That, or his frustration had hit maximum containment. “We are on the same side. We both want the same thing—”

“Oh, are we,” Sterling started to say.

“Sterling. That’s not your corpse to drag around,” I warned him. Hebetternot mention Searle. “That isnotyour political talking point. Don’t youdare.”

Sterling settled and shut up.

Demetrius reined in his temper. Somewhat. “Everything thatyouthink we have been accumulating to hold as leverage overyouis what we have accumulated to hold as leverage over theCouncil. This species is dying, and it’s dysfunctional. We have to survive and evolve, but the Elder Council refuses to make the bold moves necessary. Now we have a damnedholy relic. Gaia is howling for us to save ourselves and SnowFang is how we do it.”

Sterling rocked back on his heels. “And how,precisely, does SnowFang have anything to do with this? We uninvolved them for reasonsyouare fully aware of.”

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