Pregnant or not, she still had her own way of doing things, and she didn’t want to ever be caught flat-footed.
The last time that happened, she and Ken nearly died.
“Starting without me?” she asked, feeling a little irate that it appeared to be exactly what they’d been doing.
“Just chatting until you got here,” Peyton assured her, settling her ruffled hackles.
“Any more news?” she asked. “About Faegan Lewis?”
Peyton shook his head. “No. But our first order of business is we need to make a decision about who to move to your territory. Andnotbecause you’re pregnant,” he quickly added when he obviously could tell she was getting ready to protest. “Because we already discussed this. You need more than just Carl and Mateo there.”
She sensed something was…way off. “What’s going on? What haven’t you told any of us yet?”
He shared a glance with Trent and took a deep breath. “There’s been a few…disquieting inquiries cropping up here and there.”
“Disquietinghow, andwhere, exactly?”
“Central and South America. Maybe some residual stuff from the Segura thing, I don’t know. We’re going to start a new round of relocations for anyone who wants to move. To Florida, mostly, unless they already have family elsewhere we can move them close to. Then…” He took a deep breath. “Then I’m going to pull Ramirez and Alvarez. Recall them back to the States and permanently assign them here.”
“Whoa, wait.What?” This was news to her. Also, it pissed her off more than a little that Peyton was breaking this news to her in front of the others without consulting with herfirst.
“Dewi, I’m not going to keep Enforcers down there in harm’s way.”
“It’s theirjobto be in harm’s way. That’s what we train and pay them for—to protect the pack. What about the people who don’t want to or can’t relocate?”
Peyton slowly shook his head. “No excuse not to relocate. Pack will pay for it. Including new identities, if necessary. Seed money to start over, whatever assistance they need.”
Her eyes widened. “Peyton, there are at least twohundredwolves, that we know of, scattered between Mexico and the southern tip of Chile.”
He arched an eyebrow at her. “Tell me something I don’t know.”
She wasn’t sure if he was truly grokking the scope of this operation. “And that’s not counting human spouses, children, and close relatives, like in-laws.”
“Iknow, Dewi. It will be made clear to them that they can either take this opportunity to relocate here, including close family they’d like to bring with them, on the pack’s dime…or they’re on their own from here on out. Between the drug cartels and everything else, it’s becoming too much of a wild frontier. I won’t spread us thin like that when we need our Enforcers here in the States. I won’t leave our team out there alone, either.”
Dewi was still trying to process that. “Okay, relocations. Then what happens if they don’t want to relocate? We abandon them?”
“We’re not abandoning them. They’re being given a chance to do this. If they don’t take it, then they’re on their own. Believe me, I don’t like doing this, but I’m done screwing around. It’s too dangerous down there.”
She needed a moment to process that. “So I’m getting Ramirez and Alvarez in Tampa permanently?”
“There, unless you want them based somewhere else. I want to divide our territory between east and west of the Mississippi. Putting them with you means I can shuffle others around in the middle of the country. That’ll keep our Enforcers from getting spread too thin. Going forward, I want to hold Musters on the East Coast at least once a year. Probably in the spring, and then in Idaho in the fall. I want to build closer connections between our packmates. We’ve been scattered for too damn long. It’s ironic that, in this day and age, we don’t know each other better than we do. This isn’t the first time we’ve talked about that issue.”
No, it wasn’t. This was, however, the first time Peyton had talked about forcing the issue of relocations. Up until now, anyone who was of their pack could always ask for assistance in relocating and setting up new identities, if they needed to. It wasn’t just being nice—it was a matter of survival. Shifters lived long lives. Staying in one place too long could draw unwanted attention, meaning a necessary relocation and new identity.
Dewi studied Peyton and Trent. She felt the…darkair swirling around them, tinged by their thoughts.
Their concern that went far beyond being worried over the doings of drug lords.
Something far more sinister and threatening to their pack’s existence was in play, and they weren’t telling her everything. She didn’t take her focus off her brothers. “Can me and Peyton and Trent please have the room for a minute, everyone? Thanks.”
Peyton nodded and everyone else filed out, Badger trailing them and closing the door behind him.
She walked over and leaned in close, reaching for Peyton’s and Trent’s hands. This wasn’t a conversation she wanted overheard.
Therefore, Prime powers.
Since Trent wasn’t a Prime, it was easier for her and Peyton to have a completely silent conversation with him if they had a physical connection. Peyton reached out his other hand to Trent, who took it, closing the circle between them.
