“Yes?” says a voice from beyond the door.
“We’ve brought you a trespasser.”
“Come in.”
Jake pushes the door open and strides inside. Greg pulls me in after him and Paulie takes up the rear. Jake stops before a large shifter, head bowed and hands clasped together behind his back. The shifter–obviously theAlpha–is a broad-shouldered man in his late forties with salt and pepper hair and severe features. His gaze moves from Jake to Greg and then finally lands on me. He scowls.
“That’s not the Matisse brat.”
Jake shuffles his feet. “No…”
The Alpha’s hard gaze narrows in on Jake. “You had very specific instructions.”
“I know. We—”
“Quiet,” snaps the Alpha. He stands up to his full height and storms over toward us, stopping in front of me.
I don’t have to fake submissiveness. His power rolls over me, and I bare my throat as a small whimper escapes my lips. I knew my old pack was a small fish in a big pond, but I hadn’t realized until this moment exactly how small. This Alpha is so far above Randall, power wise, he could probably bring me to my knees with half a thought.
Greg digs his fingers into my arm and gives me a shake. “He’s not a Matisse, but he’s friends with them and he’s been living here in the city for a few months. He might be a spy.”
Oh fuck, Greg.Shut up!Being thought of as a trespasser is one thing, but if the Alpha thinks I’m a spy…
Acid flood into my stomach and my knees shake as the Alpha pushes more and more power onto me. I whimper again and cringe away from him as much as I’m able with Greg holding on to my bicep.
“I see.” The Alpha cocks his head to the side and studies my face. “Is that what you are? A spy sent by Julien to find the weaknesses in my territory?”
I shake my head frantically, my mouth almost too dry for words. “I don’t know anyone named Julien.”
The Alpha shrugs, then turns to speak to Jake. “Take him to the basement. Tell Faris we’re still going forward, but with this one instead of the other. Get him to shift into his wolf and have Faris take the mongrel’s claws and send them to Julien with the same message as before. It probably won’t be as effective, but it will have to do.”
My fingers involuntarily curl into my palms.
“And once that’s done?” asks Jake.
The Alpha grips my chin and squeezes, pushing my lips together, then turns my head from side to side. “It’d be a shame to waste such a pretty face. He might be good for a favor or two. Send him along with the group sold to the Vegas Alpha.”
He’s not…
He can’t…
I’m frozen in place, too stunned to move as my brain struggles to process what’s happening. The Chicago Alpha issellingother shifters.
As the Alpha turns his back to me and walks away, Greg lets out a malicious chuckle. “It’ll serve you right to lose those claws after you stabbed me with them.”
The Alpha spins around and his nostrils flare as his attention turns to Jake. “Your report mentioned nothing about a shifted fight. Where did this happen? Are you sure you weren’t seen?”
“Sir, there was no shifter fight. It—”
Greg interrupts, waving his hands in front of his chest. “No, no, no. The kid’s the only one who changed and just his hand.”
The Alpha goes absolutely still.
Oh fuck.
“Just his hand?”
“Yeah,” says Greg, nodding violently.
