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Chapter 3
Day 157 of the re-emerged Hat Island pack, Monday, Nov. 11, Penticton
It was early and cold. Benny was loitering outside the West Winds Motel waiting for Ryder and Jessie. He’d sent the rest of them on, but he wanted to make sure she was OK, and he needed to talk to Ryder about what he’d found out. But he wished they’d hurry up. He could use some breakfast.
He trusted that Ryder wouldn’t force himself on Jessie, that wasn’t even a question. But two people with PTSD sharing a room and a bed? When one of them was triggered by men in general and beds in particular? He should have warned Ryder that she might have nightmares, he castigated himself. Or warned her that Ryder had nightmares.
The two of them came out, dressed much like they had yesterday. Neither of them looked upset. Benny didn’t pick up any vibes to the contrary. And now he was curious — just what had happened last night after he left the bar?
He’d thrown a few more punches in the parking lot, and then walked away, swearing at them all good-naturedly. By that time his target had the help of a couple of friends —all of whom were too drunk to matter. They shouted a couple of insults back —and a good time was had by all. Not his first bar fight.
He’d roamed the entire town it seemed on foot and given that it was a city of 30,000 people, that was saying a lot. He’d ducked into another bar just before closing, and had a drink, making it seem like he’d been there longer than he had. And then he’d gone searching again.
He’d found several houses where shifters lived. Not the pack house —it was out of town along the lake. Interesting that he knew that, although he couldn’t remember having been there before. But he’d been there, he was sure of that. He was pretty sure he’d even met the pack Alpha when he’d been an intelligencer for the Council. But he didn’t remember anything about him if he had. He didn’t even have a memory of what he looked like. Damn his lost memories. He didn’t know whether he had never met him, or just had lost the memories of meeting him.
His wolf mourned. Not your fault, Benny reassured him, although it kind of was. But no, Benny had gotten them into that mess. His wolf had done spectacularly well to get them out. Alpha, the wolf said. Friend-mate. Pack.
Benny agreed. Pack. Alpha. Friend-mate.
Not a shifter term, although Abby said it could become one, it seemed useful. She wasn’t wrong, but it pointed out yet again that the bonds and links among shifters were more complex than they actually acknowledged.
Why was that? Benny didn’t know, and he wanted to.
Contrary to his reputation he’d come back to the motel alone. He could have swung back by the Last Chance, lingered by the back door until the waitress came out. She was a good sort, and he’d liked her. But he didn’t. Didn’t know why, because he really didn’t like sleeping alone lately. And he didn’t know why he’d been feeling so needy either.
Physician, heal thyself, applied to psychologists too, it appeared.
Benny greeted them both and got grunts in response. Not morning people, he interpreted. He quickly ran down what he’d learned last night, which could be summed up with “nothing.”
“I did find where Hansen is living,” Benny said, careful not to look at Jessie. “He’s got quite the house in a subdivision on the lake, on the way out to the Alpha’s pack house. He was the only one living there — and he was home alone last night.”
It had been all he could do not to go in and demand answers from the young man who had abandoned this woman to her fate. But he hadn’t. They needed to find Titus Black first. Then they could make a plan and take this pack down. Burn it to the ground if need be. The Penticton pack had been a problem for way too long. After all, if they demolished the pack completely, no one need worry about who was going to become Alpha.
“I found a boarding house for young men —more young shifters,” Benny said. “It’s down by the feed store —which isn’t a feed store like we had in Omak. It’s practically the size of a square block, and it has all kinds of services. And it has a day-labor office.”
“So that’s how he’s keeping the young men busy, and not letting them become obvious around town,” Ryder observed.
“I’d say he’s got about a dozen men here now, living in that dorm,” Benny said, considering what he’d felt last night. “Probably always does — just turnover. He moves them on, then others drift in.”
“Just a dozen? Coordinated?” Ryder asked. Jessie was listening silently, but Benny thought she’d be able to repeat and synthesize the whole conversation.
“Has to be,” Benny said, considering it. “Because Chen had more than a dozen men. Or maybe the Alpha here sends them on when new men show up.”
Ryder nodded at that. They were at the restaurant, and Benny opened the door for them. The other men were already there, and food was on the table. No one was eating, however, waiting on Ryder. Really, they should just recognize Ryder was a pack Alpha, and give him status, Benny thought. He might bring it up to Abby when he got back. For all intents and purposes, Ryder was these men’s Alpha. Sure, Dad was technically their Alpha, but that wasn’t how these men acted.
Ryder sat down, snagged some toast off of Ken’s plate, and ate it. That broke the wait — and the men started to eat. Ryder ordered, then Jessie, and finally Benny. A good, big, greasy breakfast was just what they all needed.
Ryder had said they’d head out and go down to Osoyoos to camp. Ryder had a good spot down there. They’d camped there before, a flat spot out on the hillside — high ground. protected from the wind and from sight. They could discuss what the other men had heard there. Benny was looking forward to it actually. It had been too long since he’d camped in the Okanogan high country. There was something clean about the air, and even this time of year, the sagebrush had a slight astringent smell that made things seem fresher. Or maybe it was the wind. He expected there would be wind, and maybe even snow. He started to ask Ryder about the weather forecast, when the waitress came up, looking anxious.
“You’re Ryder, aren’t you?” she asked. Ryder nodded. She hesitated, then said softly so the other diners couldn’t hear. “There’s man out back asking for you. I started to run him off, a disreputable bum, no lie, but he kept repeating your name. And I thought I’d better check.” She glanced down the table. “Are you missing someone?”
Ryder faked a nonchalant frown, but Benny could see his tension. “No,” he said easily. “But it doesn’t do any harm to take a look, does it?”
Reassured, the waitress nodded, and Ryder got up to follow her back through the kitchen. “Go,” Benny quietly ordered the two men sitting next to him. “Get around back of this building. I don’t think it’s a setup, but let’s play it safe. If it’s who I think it is, he’s going to need help.” The two men were out the front door before he’d finished his words.
