"What happened?" I set down my fork, my appetite vanishing, my eyes moving between them, my voice sharper than I intended, my hands gripping the edge of the table. "Where's Sawyer?"
"Out checking the fences." Reid's voice was flat, controlled in a way that told me he was holding something back, his dark eyes meeting mine with a heaviness that made my stomach drop, his fingers tight around his coffee mug even though he hadn't takena single sip. "Someone cut them last night. The entire south pasture. Cattle got loose."
The words hit me like a physical blow. Cut. Not broken. Not fallen. Cut.
"Easton." The name tasted like poison on my tongue, my hands curling into fists on the table, anger rising hot and sharp in my chest, my scent shifting to something bitter and acrid.
"We don't know that for certain." Nolan's voice was careful, measured, but I could see the worry in his hazel eyes, the way his fingers tightened around his coffee mug until his knuckles went white, his sandy hair falling across his forehead as he leaned forward. "Could be coincidence."
"It's not coincidence." Kol's voice was harder than I'd ever heard it, his golden eyes dark with something that looked like anger, his jaw tight as he stared at his plate, his sunshine scent dimmed to something stormy and sharp that made the air feel heavy. "First the water pump breaks. Then the feed shipment goes missing. Now fences cut? That's a pattern."
"The water pump?" I looked between them, confusion mixing with my growing dread, my heart starting to pound against my ribs. "When did that happen?"
Reid and Nolan exchanged a glance — the kind of silent communication that told me they'd been keeping things from me. My anger flared brighter, heat rising in my chest like a flame catching kindling.
"Three days ago." Reid admitted, his shoulders tensing like he was bracing for my reaction, his scent shifting with guilt, his dark eyes dropping to the table before forcing themselves back to mine. "We didn't want to worry you."
"You didn't want to—" I cut myself off, taking a breath, trying to push down the frustration clawing at my throat, my nails digging crescents into my palms. "I'm part of this pack. You can't protect me from everything by keeping me in the dark."
"She's right." Sawyer's voice came from the doorway, low and rough like gravel scraping against stone, and I turned to see him standing there — dirt on his boots, exhaustion carved into every line of his face, sweat dampening his auburn hair, his earth and leather scent carrying sharp notes of anger that made my Omega bristle with unease. "Found tire tracks by the cut fence. Fresh. Someone was there last night, and they weren't trying to hide it."
He crossed to the table with heavy steps and dropped into the chair beside me, his hand finding my knee under the table and squeezing once — grounding himself as much as reassuring me, his pale eyes meeting mine for just a moment before scanning the others with that sharp, assessing gaze.
"We need to have a pack meeting." Reid's voice shifted into something more authoritative, the Head Alpha emerging, his spine straightening, his dark eyes sweeping over each of us with commanding intensity, his cedar scent sharpening into something that demanded attention. "All of us. Now."
We gathered in the living room — me on the couch between Kol and Sawyer, Nolan in the armchair, Reid standing by the fireplace like a general surveying his troops. The air was thick with tension, with the sharp scent of Alpha protectiveness layered so heavily it was almost suffocating, making my Omega want to curl up and hide.
I refused to give in to that instinct.
"Here's what we know." Reid's voice was steady, controlled, but I could see the rage simmering beneath the surface, the way his hands flexed at his sides like he wanted to hit something, the muscle in his jaw jumping with barely contained fury. "Three incidents in the past week. All targeting ranch operations. All happening at night when we're less likely to catch someone in the act."
"Easton has the resources." Nolan leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, his expression thoughtful despite the worrythreaded through his scent, his voice taking on that clinical tone he used when working through a problem. "And the motive. He's been trying to buy this land for years."
"He's also been asking about you." Sawyer's voice was low, rough, his hand tightening on my knee until I could feel each individual finger pressing into my flesh through my jeans, his pale eyes meeting mine with something fierce and protective burning in their depths. "In town. Asking questions about the new worker at Longhorn. The Omega."
My blood went cold, ice spreading through my veins, my breath catching in my throat.
"What kind of questions?" My voice came out steadier than I felt, my heart pounding against my ribs hard enough that I was sure they could all hear it.
"Where you came from. How long you've been here. Whether you're..." He paused, his jaw working, his scent going sharp with barely contained fury, his free hand curling into a fist on his thigh hard enough to make the tendons stand out. "Whether you're bonded."
The implication hung in the air like smoke, thick and suffocating.
"He's not just after the ranch." Kol's voice was quiet, horrified, his hand finding mine and gripping tight enough to hurt, his sunshine scent dimming to something dark and thunderous, his golden eyes wide with realization. "He's after her."
"We don't know that for certain." Reid's voice was strained, like he was trying to convince himself as much as us, his dark eyes landing on me with something that looked like fear — raw and barely hidden beneath his controlled exterior, his hands trembling slightly before he clenched them into fists. "But we're not taking chances. From now on, no one goes anywhere alone. Especially you."
I bristled at the words, even as part of me understood the necessity, my spine stiffening against the couch cushions, my chin lifting defiantly. "I'm not going to hide in the house like some?—"
"No one's asking you to hide." Reid crossed the room in three long strides, crouching in front of me, his hands finding my knees, his dark eyes intense as they met mine, his cedar scent wrapping around me like armor. "But I am asking you to be careful. To let us protect you. Not because you're weak — you're the strongest person I know. But because he's dangerous, and losing you would destroy us."
The raw honesty in his voice cracked something in my chest. I could feel the others' eyes on us, could smell the fear underneath their anger, the desperate need to keep me safe radiating from all four of them like heat from a fire.
"Okay." The word came out soft, a concession I wasn't entirely happy with but understood, my shoulders dropping slightly, some of the fight bleeding out of me. "Okay. I'll be careful."
Relief flickered across Reid's face, there and gone in an instant, before he straightened and turned back to address the group, his posture shifting back to Head Alpha mode, shoulders squared and spine straight.
"Nolan, I need you to reach out to the other ranchers." His voice was all business now, clipped and commanding, his dark eyes sharp with purpose. "See if anyone else has had... issues with Easton lately."
