When the sound of his footsteps faded, I looked at Lachlan and opened my mouth. He shook his head, lifting a finger to his lips.
“Not here. Let’s go back to the cabin.”
We moved through the trees at a quicker pace this time since we weren’t trying to muffle the noise we made. When we reached the cabin, I followed Lachlan inside.
He grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and asked, “Want one?”
When I nodded, he tossed me the one in his hand and withdrew another. After he took a deep drink, he spoke. “Carter is no beta wolf,” he stated.
“I know.”
“He’s fighting his instincts to protect his people,” he continued.
I sipped my water and shrugged. “Isn’t that what a good alpha does?”
Lachlan sighed. “Yes.”
“Do you believe him about Darrell?”
He eyed me. “Do you?”
I nodded.
“So do I,” Lachlan admitted.
“Why didn’t you want to talk in front of him then?” I queried.
“Because he’s in a dangerous position. If his father finds out what he’s doing, he’ll do whatever it takes to find out what our plans are. It’s better if he doesn’t know until later.”
I saw the logic in that and agreed. “So we should call Gram and tell her we need help, then.”
Lachlan shook his head. “I’ll call Calder. The pack is closer.”
“No, Lach. I’m not dragging the MacIntire pack into this. They’re still recovering from our battle with the Faction and the devastation of discovering so many traitors in their midst. And Calder and Ricki have pups now. They can’t afford to go to war. There’s too much at stake.”
“And there isn’t for your grandmother’s pack?” he asked, arching a brow.
“It’s different, Lachlan. She’s a thousand miles away from here. If we don’t succeed, Darrell can hardly declare war from Oklahoma. Calder is too close to this.”
“We won’t fail,” Lachlan stated darkly.
“I don’t want to pull Calder into this,” I reiterated.
“He’s already in it, Chloe,” Lachlan declared. “I’m here. Darrell knows why you’re here, how much of a stretch do you think it is before he realizes that I’m not here because we’re mates?”
My heart skipped a beat when he said the word mate. But he was right. Darrell might be a sociopath, but he wasn’t stupid. He probably already suspected that we were lying.
“Fine, but I don’t want Calder or Ricki here unless it’s absolutely necessary,” I growled. “Their pups need them whole and healthy.”
“Agreed.”
Surprised at his capitulation, I sank into the chair at the small kitchen table. “All we can do right now is wait,” I sighed. “Fuck.”
Lachlan nodded. “We wait and we plan.” He sat down across from me and we drank our water in silence for a few minutes.
“I feel like this is my fault, Lach,” I admitted.
“Don’t. You had no way of knowing what was happening here.”
