“I don’t care,” he says simply. “But Alpha Doyle does.”
What? We’re halfway across the country. How isDoyleinvolved in this?And does this mean he already has Blake?
I swallow, trying to keep my face blank. “And why is the triumvirate helping Doyle?”
“They’re not really.” He smirks. “But there are enough praetorians like me and my friend here who have benefited from Alpha Doyle’s generosity to make sure his version of events is the only one.”
“In other words, while Doyle hasn’t managed to bribe the entire triumvirate, he’s bought the loyalty of people like you and your friend here,” I say in a flat voice. “So why the hell would I listen to anything you have to say?”
He smirks and slides his hand into his pocket. Eyeing the movement, I take another step backward. It wouldn’t surprise me if he had a taser or another dart gun, but what he actually pulls from his pocket is a simple cell phone. He unlocks the phone, swipes his finger across the screen, then holds it up so I can see the image of a cage sitting up against a wall with a golden furred wolf inside, a shiny metal collar around his neck.Blake.
A sharp heat stabs at the back of my neck, and I curl my fingers, digging my blunt nails into my palms and using the bite of pain to prevent myself from visibly reacting. I’m still not sure exactly what’s going on, but I’m not liking the picture that’s beginning to form.
Somehow, Doyle tracked us. I missed something or made a mistake somewhere, and now he has Blake.
But that still doesn’t explain what he wants withme.
At my continued silence, the shifter smirks again, then slides the phone back into his pocket. “For some reason, Doyle doesn’t want you dead,” he says.Good to know. “So, as long as you cooperate, toe the company line or whatever when you speak with the Rockcastle Alpha, you and lover boy can be reunited.”
Yeah, reunited in the hell that is the bowels of Doyle’s casino or possibly somewhere even worse.No, thank you.
I narrow my eyes. “What is the ‘company line’ exactly?”
“Glad you can see it our way,” he says. “Basically, the ‘company line’ is that a feral shifter kidnapped one of Doyle’s pack members—you—and he was able to track them here. He’s managed to take custody of the feral, but as you were found trespassing on Rockcastle territory, the Rockcastle Alpha has to officially release you back into Doyle’s custody.”
“Why all this posturing? Isn’t Doyle all buddy-buddy with the Rockcastle Alpha or at least his mate?” I watch the shifter’s face carefully before adding, “That’s who sold Blake to him after all.”
If the shifter is shocked by that information, he doesn’t show it. “The Alpha you’re thinking of was… deposed a few months back along with his mate. For now, control of the Rockcastle pack rests with the triumvirate and the interim Alpha they assigned.”
Interesting…
“I don’t know, if I were this interim Alpha, I’d be a bit suspicious of Doyle’s story,” I say. “Isn’t it an awfully strange coincidence that one of the shifters soldfrom this packmade his way back with Doyle in pursuit?”
He pauses, his eyes darting to the side for a split second, that tiny movement telling me I just found the hole in Doyle’s story: The Rockcastle Alpha and, presumably, the non-bribed praetorians don’t know the “feral” Doyle has in his custody is Blake. I’m not sure how I can use that information to my advantage, but there’s definitely a way. I just need to figure out what it is.
“Fine. Whatever,” I say when the praetorian doesn’t say anything. “I spin the right story, go along with Doyle’s lies, and me and Blake don’t get dead. That’s basically what you’re saying, right?”
He nods, a self-satisfied smile curling at his lips. “That’s right.Good boy.”
I mentally curse him out, but don’t let it show on my face since pissing him off isn’t likely to get me anywhere.
He stares at me for a good thirty second as if waiting for a reaction, then nods again and turns to make his way back toward his buddy at the door.
“I don’t think you’ll be meeting with the Alpha until a little later, but they might send someone up with a meal here soon. If they do, keep your damn mouth shut.” He pauses with the door open and casts a glance back at me over his shoulder. “Don’t fuck this up.”
“Believe me, I won’t,” I mutter under my breath as the door closes and I’m alone again. I might not have all the information I need to get myself out of this situation yet, but I have enough to start making a plan.
And it starts with whoever brings up the promised meal since it sounded an awful lot like they wouldn’t be someone on Doyle’s payroll.
I return to the bed, sitting down, and then allowing myself to fall backwards so I’m staring up at the ceiling. I’m not sure how much time passes before the door opens again, but I mentally cross my fingers, plaster a friendly smile on my face, and sit up as a young male shifter slips inside the room, a plate balanced on his hand.
He ducks his head a little, glancing at me from under his hair as he walks across the room and sets the plate on the small nightstand. He’s not wearing a triumvirate uniform…
A Rockcastle pack member, perhaps?
I let my smile widen. “Thank you,” I say with exaggerated friendliness. “I swear my stomach was about to eat itself.”
He laughs softly and shoots me a tiny smile. “No problem.”
