The jaguars looked at each other before one spoke up. “Most of us didn’t want to come here anyway,” he admitted. “Our Alpha was jealous; your Pard is in better shape than our Clan, and he thought it was because of the land you have.”
Sasha slipped into view and moved to stand next to Declan with Echo following close behind. “He’s right. Lucas Cormier was very jealous of what the Black Water Pard has. He didn’t seem to get the idea that in order to have something you have to actually work for it.With a little guidance, and a better Alpha, I think the Red Moon Clan can thrive if they put in the effort to take care of what’s theirs.”
“You offering to give them that guidance?” Declan asked.
Sasha shrugged. “To an extent. We’ve done it before, so why not now?”
Remy, who’d taken out two of the more dominant members of the Clan, came forward. “We could form an alliance with da remaining jaguars, offer help if dey agree to our terms.”
Caine cocked a brow at the jaguar who’d spoken. Of all the shifters in front of him, that one felt the most dominant. “Can you pull your Clan together and give dem da leadership dey need?”
The jaguar in question rose to his feet. “That’s the plan, now that that fucker is gone. Several of us were planning a coup of our own, to get rid of him and his cronies. This beat us to it. He wasn’t leaving here alive tonight, even if one of us had to die to take him out.”
Caine offered his hand to the other shifter. “Keep one ting in mind: if you try to betray us, you’ll be da first to die.”
“Duly noted. Ryan Vallier,” he said and shook Caine’s hand.
“Caine Bordeaux. You’ll deal wit’ me, or one of my lieutenants, either Remy Delacroix or Beau LaFluer,” he said, motioning to the leopard as he shifted back to human form. Beau had chosen to stay in the background during the planning phase because he knew Remy was better at that than him. “Or you’ll deal wit’ Declan Monroe,” Caine added and nodded to the wolf. “Now, let’s get your people taken care of.” Caine motioned to the medic to tend to the injured.
Declan
While Caine hammered out the details of the truce between the Black Water Pard and the Red Moon Clan, Declan oversaw the removal of those who’d died. Thankfully none of the leopards lost their lives, but besides the former Alpha, four other jaguars were killed in the fight. The ones who’d been incapacitated by Nikolai’s traps were brought in, and their injuries were tended to as well.
“Another job well done, Boss,” Steele said once the cleanup was finished.
“Was there any doubt?” Declan countered, a teasing grin on his face.
“Fuck no. Can’t wait to get back to town though. I need a drink. And a good fuck. But since the second isn’t available, I’ll settle for getting drunk.”
Declan chuckled and shook his head. “Always thinking with the wrong head, there, Steele.”
“Naw, I’m thinking with the right one, but that doesn’t mean the other doesn’t get lonely,” he said with a laugh of his own. They helped with the escort to get the jaguars back into their own territory and then finally, hours later, they were able to go their separate ways and find whatever entertainment they were looking for to finish off the night.
For Declan, all that meant was going back to his hotel and crashing. He sent Lily a text, letting her know everything was settled and there would be no further trouble from the jaguars, then he went to bed. The next step for him was finding a place to live so he could get out of that damn hotel. It was going to cost him a fortune if he kept staying there. Of course, the better option would be to move in with Lily but he wasn’t going to push her for that.
