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He got that. The same need stalked his blood, too. His wolf wanted that same fight.
But not all fights were equal. And he didn’t want wild and free. He wanted, needed, strategy, meaning. He needed to win.
With vampires showing up so close to the clubhouse, the fight was probably coming much sooner than anyone expected. He had to make sure they were ready.
Ash sat on the floor, cross-legged on the threadbare carpet beside an old oil stain, a result of all the mechanical work going on in the garage. Her damp hair fell down her shoulders as she crouched over her laptop, typing furiously. Kodiak inhaled sharply, hoping she had found something that would give them a much-needed advantage.
Shota stopped giving Fern a shoulder massage on the long couch as they adjusted themselves to look at Kodiak. Skoll finished his last push-up, jumped lithely to his feet, and settled down on the shorter couch.
Kodiak liked the way his presence in the room made them all focus on him. A tacit move that acknowledged him as a leader: their leader. Something, no doubt, Olcan hadn’t missed.
The man was aging. Times always changed. But the digging in was natural, too. Kodiak knew that, just like he knew he’d be the one to make that challenge.
It was Olcan’s timing that, in his need to stay and push Kodiak, was off.
But right then, there wasn’t a fucking thing he could do about it. He stood in the centre on the group, fists on his hips, stance wide, in the best position to address them.
“What happened to you?” Onai slouched on the worn three-seat couch against the far wall. He slid his phone into the pocket of his track pants as he sat up, swinging his feet to the floor.
Kodiak shifted his attention to him. The problem with Olcan undermining Kodiak’s authority to solidify his own, was this: the rumblings of dissent.
“Do you have a problem, Onai?”
The other wolf’s eyes narrowed. The hunger for more power burned bright.
Power didn’t just come with physical strength. It came with also understanding burden and responsibility.
Onai might have the first, but he was too brash to embrace and shoulder the other things. He would have to try harder if he wanted to climb the pack ladder. Kodiak would make sure of that.
Part of holding a position like his own, like Olcan’s, was to train the next leaders.
And make sure you weren’t so weak and shortsighted that the wrong person took over.
“Asking a question.” Onai met his gaze. “Boss.”
The others slid their attention to them.
Curse Olcan sending them on what, he guessed now, was nothing more than a menial or fool’s errand.
“We’ll come to me.” Kodiak held that gaze until Onai glanced away first. “I asked you a question and I expect an answer.”
“No problem. Just….” He sighed and looked past Kodiak.
Looking no doubt for Olcan. “He’s not here right now. Speak freely.”
“I don’t like doing pointless things while you’re with—”
“Careful,” Kodiak said quietly, “on how you finish that sentence.”
“The human.” The other man sighed. “She’s integral in this, somehow, I see that, but our alpha isn’t happy and he’s taking it out on us.”
The meaning shone clear. If Kodiak pissed off Olcan, then the pack leader would be pissed at all of them. Take it out on the rest.
“I’ll handle him. That’s my job.” Then he raised his voice. “What did you find?”
As he waited, he could feel that deep, sluggish bite from the vampire’s attack. Though his skin had healed, his muscled knitted back together, a supernatural’s attack always had more power than a human’s, than one of his own.
But it was something he understood, and something he could use as a reminder that this situation was poised to be dark and dangerous. Life and death. War.
