Which involved reaching out to Colton for a cease-fire of sorts.“He may very well want to retaliate, but if we contact him first and point out that he can stop the losses to his herd by walking away, perhaps we can get him to see the light,” Crew said.
“Do you think he’ll walk away?”Grey asked, looking at Avi.
Avi shrugged.“I was telling Ford earlier that I don’t really know him anymore.I was a kid when Mom and I left.Zara would know more than I would.”
Zara grimaced.“He’s very stubborn, and now that he’s lost his brother, I would imagine he’d see taking over our herd as a point of honor.He may keep coming after the herd to show himself as the rightful alpha.Going back on his plan to take over the farm…he might think it would get him killed by one of his people so they can take over.They were already a small herd, and now they’ve lost two of their people, including the second-in-command.”
“Good point,” Crew said.He tapped his fingers on the table and blew out a breath.“I still think it’s worth reaching out to Colton and making it clear he needs to move on for the benefit of the few remaining people in his herd.It will be a chance to renew our threats to him, that he is forfeiting their lives if he tries to come after us again.Does anyone disagree?”
No one raised their hand.
“Then we’ll move forward with that tonight.I’m going to reach out to the park alphas.”He pushed back in his chair and then paused.“I think we need a cookout for dinner.Can we put that together?”
“Definitely,” Tris said, with Zara and Nancy agreeing.
“Mom and I will help,” Fallon said.
“I need someone to come with me to get Tatum from the library,” Grey said.“Then we’ll help.”
“I’ll come,” Dexter said.
“Great,” Grey said.“On to our jobs and a cookout tonight.Whatever happens, the herd’s safety is the most important thing.Watch each other’s backs.”
The group dispersed.
Fallon turned to Avi and said, “Are you on patrol tonight?”
“Yep.Why?”
“I was wondering if you’d mind if I stayed with Mom in her room.I want a chance to spend time with her.”
“Yeah, of course, no problem.”
She hugged him and whispered in his ear, “We can still spend time together in our room before that, though.”
He squeezed her hips and let out a soft growl.“I’d love that.”
Kissing her neck, he leaned back and smiled.
“Shall we see what’s in the pantry to get dessert going?”Sera asked, rising to her feet.
“Sounds good to me,” Fallon said.
With a kiss goodbye, they parted ways once more, Avi heading to Crew’s office to hop on the call with the alphas.After dinner, they’d call Colton and tell him to stand down and walk away.
Avi wasn’t sure it would happen, but at least they could try.
* * *
After dinner, the herd males sat in the kitchen while the females hung out on the back patio, enjoying fresh strawberry pie that Fallon and Sera had made.
Thankfully, they’d made more than one, because the males had inhaled the sweet treat with strawberries picked fresh from the greenhouse.
“All right,” Crew said.“First of all, two males from the park will be here by dawn tomorrow to start their shift.The alphas suggested two twelve-hour shifts with two males per shift to limit the number of trips.They’ll be careful coming here to make sure they’re not tracked.”
“That’s good news,” Dexter said.“Hopefully, this call to Colton will fix one of the problems we have for good.And then we only need to worry about this Otto fellow who wants to find Fallon.”
Avi grimaced.“I can’t believe that getting rid of Colton is only half the problem.”
