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“She was making calls to those in the pack who have girls who need the serum,” he said. “School’s out for the day, and so it was working out. Several girls have already been in for the first shot.”
“Go on,” she said and headed into his study. He closed the door behind them.
“So Michel was half-listening in, I guess. And on one call, she was telling someone where she was, and what she was doing. Talking to her mother,” Duncan said. “Which makes sense — she’s 16, right? Her mother was probably worried.”
Jessie nodded, curbing her impatience. “Surprised she wasn’t worried before,” she commented.
Duncan nodded. “So the phone rings, and she answers it. And she’s repeating what she’d just said to her mother. Michel got Dennis’s attention. When she was done, they cornered her, asking who she’d been talking to. Apparently her mother had called her grandfather, and he’d called her.”
“OK,” Jessie said cautiously. “What did he want to know?” Maybe this wasn’t a complete disaster.
“Time line. Under the guise of the funeral pyre,” Duncan said. “She denied everything at first, then crumbled under their dominance. Angus wanted to know if Ryder had gone with the men heading north or not. I’m betting he had spies who saw men riding out. And he wanted to know who went north, and who stayed.”
“That worries you?” she asked. It worried her — everything worried her. Of course Angus Campbell had spies! Why hadn’t she thought of that before?
“It does,” Duncan said. “I think they’re riding into a trap. And Angus now knows we’re vulnerable here too.”
Quite frankly, she thought Ryder and Benny, at least,knewthey were riding into a trap —they were just confident they could beat it. She glanced at the phone. She could call Titus. He was driving one of the SUVs.
She sighed. “I’ll call Titus and warn him,” she promised. “But I think they know. What about us?”
“I think he’s planning an attack,” Duncan said. “He’s going to come at us.”
“Goal? If Ryder’s not here, he can’t challenge.”
Duncan considered that, then nodded. “Might work in our favor,” he conceded. “But killing you, and replacing you as pack Second, would be his next goal. And he’s got to know you’re new mates. Killing you weakens Ryder, too, you know.”
She hadn’t known, but it made sense. Not that it mattered. She had no intention of letting some bozo kill her; not now, when she was finding happiness for the first time.
She stopped at that thought, amazed at how true it was. Being with Ryder these last few days made them the happiest of her life. And until the last six months, she’d thought she’d had a pretty happy life. But having a mate was indescribable. She wasn’t alone. And they were partners in all of this.
She had plans, too. Learn to ride a motorcycle. Learn to fight. Live a long life with Ryder. Have children. She suddenly saw a couple of children who looked like Ryder, all stubborn and defiant and proud. She smiled.
But mostly, she was finding she liked running a pack. Wasn’t that wild? It was finally sinking in why Benny always introduced her with her lineage — her grandfather, her great-grandfather. She had inherited their dominance and strength. She’d absorbed all those discussions over the years. This was her heritage.
They never thought about that. They wanted boys to carry on the family name, or the family traditions, or assume the reins of power. But she had inherited the same genes, the same traditions. And by God, she was going to assume the reins of power too.
“Well, he’s not going to kill me,” she said firmly. “What else? Kill the women? Take them back? Take out the recruits, reclaim them? What do you think? You know him.”
“I know him,” he agreed. He considered it. “The Campbells are farmers, and they run the winery,” he said slowly. “Angus doesn’t like change, and he doesn’t like the growth in Penticton. He’d be happy if it was still a sleepy little village, and the feed store had sawdust on the floors.”
She smiled appreciatively. She still hadn’t been by to see the store. “Is one family in charge of the store?”
“The Stewarts,” he said. “And Laird Stewart was the pack Second. So Bjorn Hansen challenged him and won — and took on the job as store manager. John set all of it up, of course. Set up the challenge and backed Hansen. Hansen came out here four-five months ago. He had a lot of meetings with John, I’m told. Miles, if you’re wondering my source. He didn’t like it. He’d moved into the dorm because he thought the recruits needed him.”
Jessie nodded. “He’s drawn to the men outside when they’re in trouble too,” she said quietly. “Benny noticed it. He wondered if he was walking in his sleep.” She cracked up at that. “I told Benny and Ryder. They think that now that John is dead, he should be told, by the way.”
“Probably,” Duncan agreed, smiling at Benny’s comment. “If you find the right time, go ahead.”
She nodded. Added it to her list. “So Bjorn is out here, talking to the Alpha, running the recruits?” she prompted.
“So Miles said. He didn’t know about the houses of women. He thought they had regular jobs. He did know there were more recruits out at the lodge, but I don’t think he knew about the other houses here in town.”
Duncan chewed on his cheek as he thought about it. He shrugged. “Might be worth talking to him,” he said. “He probably knows more than he thinks.”
She nodded. She’d watched Benny now for weeks. People were often surprised by what they told him. “I will,” she promised.
Duncan continued with his story. “So Hansen had been here about a month, when he challenged Laird. We were all shocked. Shocked by the challenge, shocked that he’d won. I’m still baffled by that.”
