And that didn’t sit well with him, that the only reason Gillian might not leave him was due to their mate bond. Some wolves might feel relieved about having that “safety net” in place.
Not Peyton.
Their father had instilled in him and Trent, from a young age, to never abuse the trust of their mates, but especially hammered that home to Peyton.
Because their father had seen much in his life before arriving in America—as had Badger and Duncan—and the three men never wanted wolves in their pack to abuse that bond. And they definitely never wanted Primes to abuse their power.
Fucking Endquist.
Now he wished Duncan or their father had killed the man all those years ago as soon as he’d expressed an interest in their mother.
It was a horrific reminder that kindness must be tempered with common sense and have limits to preserve the balance between equity and abuse.
Any wolf—much less a Prime—who came sniffing around Adair or Lyssa or any of Trent’s daughters without reciprocal feelings on the girls’ parts, Peyton would ruthlessly settle the matter, either by immediate banishment or a more…permanent solution.
Not just Bleacke kids, obviously. And not only females, although with Dewi being the only known female Prime Alpha, it was unlikely the threat would come from anyone other than a male Prime.
While it had been made clear in their pack from the start that forcing a mating without a mate bond was considered rape and punishable by death, it was time for them to update the terminology and reiterate to all their newest and youngest members how seriously Peyton and the Targhee Pack at large took this matter.
Thankfully, in Dewi’s case, Ken had been willing and was happy with the result, even if it had been rushed and chaotic.
It’s also time to mandate martial arts training for all our pups, especially nonshifters, as well as any other kids or adults who want it.
Dewi’s Enforcer training had been appropriately brutal for her abilities. When Dewi was still in her early teens, countless times Badger and Beck had reported to Peyton and Trent that they honestly weren’t sure if they could continue training her because she easily beat the crap out of them on a routine basis while sparring, and it was impossible to find a human teacher who could match her skills and strength.
While they carefully kept track of all Primes in their pack, Peyton would sit down with Trevor and Dewi on the other side of this business to figure out a system to keep track of all Prime Alpha wolves, even in other packs, along with shifters from other races with similar abilities to their Primes. He knew some of the big cat shifter races had a few, and unconfirmed rumors said some of the ursine shifters did as well. But, until recently, he hadn’t worked closely enough with those folks to investigate further without risking ruffling fur and egos.
Now, with all of them at risk, it was far more likely he and Trevor could convince the other packs and groups of shifters that banding together—in this way, at least—was mutually beneficial to protect all of them.
Peyton deeply breathed in the cool, unfamiliar air as he drove. He scented pines and other trees, but it smelled different than his familiar Idaho wilderness. With the frigid ocean waters so close and the mountains with their cold streams and waterfalls, it provided Peyton with a scent profile that would help him better track his quarry once he was on foot.
He located the parking area without any issues and was relieved to see that his was the only car there. After exiting, he locked the rental, leaving his burner cell and hotel room key card in the glove box. Then he stood there for a moment with his eyes closed, deeply breathing, listening, acclimating, settling himself.
Around him, he heard nothing but the sounds of nature—a light breeze rippling through the treetops, birds, insects, a trickle of water nearby. No vehicles, no people, not even the sounds of dogs or livestock.
But while he scented old human trails he also didn’t scent any shifters, much less Faegan Lewis.
Opening his eyes, he walked the perimeter of the parking area to check it out. Reportedly, Fredrik had not approached from this location but had said it was closer to the place of the sighting than the trail he’d used when he hiked in.
Satisfied no one had passed through the area recently, Peyton walked several yards into the woods and stepped off the trail to tuck the rental’s keys into the crook of a tree branch where a human wouldn’t spot them. He didn’t know if he’d have to shift, but he didn’t want to worry about leaving the keys where Faegan Lewis might double back and find them and steal his car, or that he might lose Faegan Lewis because he couldn’t get into the car to give chase, if needed.
Dewi would never let me live it down if that happened. And neither would Gillian.
Which, considering how much shit he was in with Gillian right now, would be worse.
Infinitely worse.
While overcast at least the day wasn’t too wet, which would have made tracking difficult if not impossible. Peyton crossed paths with several faint human scent trails as he hiked, but none of them appeared fresh.
No shifter scents, unfortunately. And no tracks, either.
He hiked for the better part of an hour, starting to wonder if he’d perhaps gone the wrong way—or worse, was on yet another fruitless quest—when he scented a whiff of smoke, like from a campfire.
From the direction of the scent, Peyton had to leave the main trail and head downhill again. Over the next several minutes the scent grew stronger, but he’d yet to come across any shifter or human trails.
The landscape grew rockier, more treacherous, and began resembling the type of terrain Wilford reported had been described by Fredrik.
Pausing, Peyton scanned the landscape, even holding his breath as he listened.
