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My wolf was growling, but I calmed him and didn’t let anything I wanted to show come to the surface. Brett wasn’t stupid, though. He knew I wanted to run him off my land, but I refrained once more from taking the bait.
“On that note, I heard picky Ridge Blackwood has finally settled on a mate.”
Struggling to keep my livid responses in check, I glared at the other wolf.
“I’m curious to see her. I’ve often heard that no female was good enough for the Blackwood heir. She must be beyond gorgeous to merit some attention from you.” He leaned in close, took a few loud sniffs, and then scoffed. “Wait… that doesn’t smell like a claimed wolf. Is there trouble in paradise with your new mate? So soon? What a pity.”
I barely managed to contain my wolf’s fury at this alpha trying to sniff out our mate. With our history with Longtail, there would be no stopping him from going after Tori and playing his games. My wolf wasn’t about to have that.
I wasn’t a violent alpha most of the time, but the temptation to break Brett’s nose so I could drive the point home that he wasn’t to disrespect me in my own territory… well, it would be so easy to follow through on that urge.
The saving grace at the moment was that we were out in public with humans who were unaware of shifters. Also, as the mayor, I couldn’t go around punching visitors—or anybody, for that matter. Nonetheless, a violent reaction would’ve been tolerated well enough if we were among wolves. He’d arrived unannounced and disrespected me, the alpha of this territory.
Furious with the bastard, I kept myself together but allowed my dominant alpha to lead more than usual. “Brett, if the Ontario Pack is looking for a safe haven in Blackwood Creek, then you can tell your father and tell him where to find me. Otherwise, I’m warning you that this is the worst possible time you could’ve picked to get on my bad side.”
The air around Longtail shifted, and the wolf sobered up. “I’m the alpha of the proud Ontario Pack now. We only have eleven members. A few weeks ago, we were caught off-guard by hunters. My parents and twenty-seven shifters were killed or taken.”
The mood between us became somber, and my heart went out to him for his tragic loss. I didn’t wish that on anybody.
“As alpha, I seek a safe haven in Blackwood Creek for my pack and me. I am aware that you encouraged my father to relocate the Ontario Pack here some time ago. I’m seeking your approval to take up the offer.”
This was the worst news, and I was deeply saddened. I wished the pack had come here sooner. If they had, maybe they wouldn’t have suffered such a tragedy. Such a considerable loss of shifters had hit not only Brett’s pack but the community, and it enraged me enough to seek out the hunters. Without a plan in place, however, that was a suicide mission.
“My deepest condolences, Alpha Longtail.”
Brett bowed his head, and we remained quiet as I absorbed the news and he took a moment of silence for those he’d lost.
I wasn’t keen on having Brett Longtail in Blackwood Creek as the alpha of his pack, especially since he’d taunted me about my mate, but I could rise above it. I could never turn away a pack in need of a safe haven. It would go against everything I’d been striving to accomplish.
Accepting Brett was my first challenge.
“You’re welcome to set up here in town,” I said.
Begrudgingly, the other alpha thanked me. There was no hiding the fact that he was annoyed he had to ask permission at all. I’d have to keep an eye on him, which was another reason why I hated that he’d sought us out. He took whatever he wanted, and now that he no longer had his more established pack, my wolf and I couldn’t help but wonder if he’d eventually try to take mine.
“Ridge, where’s the little mate now?”
With the formalities taken care of, he returned to being the entitled prick he was, not bothering to disguise his interest in my mate. The fact that he was aware Tori and I hadn’t claimed each other posed a new challenge for him, one he wouldn’t be able to pass up. He’d try to take Tori from me only to prove he could, not because he had genuine affection for her.
He hadn’t even met her yet and was ready to take her from me. That was what disgusted me most about him: Brett never appreciated anything or anybody. Everything was a possession to him, and he wanted it all to belong to him.
Clenching my jaw for a second, I eased it when I remembered that my Tori would verbally annihilate this cocky alpha if he tried anything with her. She was no fool and didn’t play games. She’d never tolerate Brett panting after her, not when she shared my bed.
Disloyalty wasn’t in her. She’d never hurt me willingly.
The prospect of seeing my fierce mate bare her teeth at this clown excited me to no end. Oh, I had to introduce them to each other.
The broad smile I gave the cocky bastard seemed to make him uneasy.
“I’ll introduce the two of you shortly. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
Leaving a perplexed Brett behind, I sought out my little wolf.
Chapter55
Tori
My wolf’s unease grew as I continued hunting for Ridge. She couldn’t stay put, the scents of all the people driving her wild. It got worse when an unknown shifter was near us, and there were quite a lot of them.
