“Does Jackson need me?” asked Dylon, keeping his voice low.
Shaking his head, Steel replied, “No, he’s on his way back.”
“Josiah?” asked Dylon.
“Dead…Smokey killed him,” Steel muttered. “Jackson will fill you in later, but for now…”
“C’mon everyone…inside now,” called Willow. “Dinner’s ready.”
“I’m hungry,” whined Eamon.
“Me, too,” echoed Galen.
“Then let’s go eat,” Carson said, scooping up Eamon and handing him to Remy before picking up Galen.
Growls suddenly broke the air, and Dylon turned toward them only to find Danny’s wolf on the porch facing them. “What the hell is he growling about?” he muttered, quickly checking the area but finding nothing out of order.
“Danny wants us to go into the house right now,” Theo said, smiling at the tiny wolf.
Seeing the puzzled look on Dylon’s face, Norm explained, “Danny has become an uber-Alpha and right now, he’s ordering his pack to get inside.”
“Uber-Alpha?” asked Dylon. “What the hell is that?”
Shrugging, Steel smiled. “Apparently it’s what Danny is.”
Dylon’s jaw dropped as Jake and Jessica’s wolves jumped down from Cody’s arms and headed over to Danny, sitting down behind him. Then hearing Galen shout, he turned his head just in time to see Galen and Eamon follow suit. “Holy shit!” he muttered. “Does Jackson know about Danny’s new-found uber Alpha behavior?”
“Not yet,” Steel said, grinning, “but I can’t wait to see his face when I tell him.”
Taking Theo’s hand, Norm said, “C’mon honey bunch, let’s go.”
Dylon watched as the two Ghost Bears climbed the steps and waited for Danny to lead the way to the dining room. “I don’t fucking believe it,” he muttered under his breath.
Walking up to Dylon, Cody asked, “Believe what?”
Pointing to the group on the porch, Dylon muttered, “That…it seems as if Danny has suddenly decided to become the Alpha.”
Studying the group on the porch, Cody finally realized what Dylon meant. “Oh shit! Poor Jackson,” he chuckled. “I’d love to be a fly on the wall when he has a discussion about that with Danny.”
“You and me both,” Dylon muttered, taking Cody’s hand. “Let’s go in…suddenly I think it’s gonna be a very entertaining evening.”
Overhearing their comments, Steel gave them the finger. Though he conceded Dylon had a point, he wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of agreeing with him. He was very proud of his son; it wasn’t every day a young Alpha pup assumed leadership when danger threatened.
~/~/~/~/~
Gabriel Hamilton! Not Gabriel anymore, but now he’s Smokey according to Jackson.Reeve shook his head. The chances of ever running into him again were nil to none after Smokey resigned from the agency, yet somehow Fate was determined to bring them together again.Maybe Gabriel…Smokey is finally ready to face the truth about who he is.He certainly wasn’t amenable to it when Reeve met him for the first time. There had to be a story behind Gabriel’s refusal to acknowledge his power, but it now appeared Smokey had come to grips with it.
Shot three times, according to Willow Thatcher, and yet Reeve saw no evidence of it on Smokey’s body. And Reeve knew the only way that could’ve happened was if Smokey had used his Manetu powers.So that had to be a good thing, right?He sure hoped so because he’d waited long enough for the sacred grizzly to own up to who he was.
Not really paying attention while his men bagged Josiah’s remains, Reeve’s remembered the first time he’d met Smokey…fuck, who the hell gave him that name?Walking into the agency’s training room, Reeve’s animal bellowed at finally finding Lord Manetu, but their joy was short-lived when Reeve discovered Smokey had rejected that part of him. Frustrated, he’d made it his personal mission to force Smokey to face who he was, but no matter how much he pushed him, it never happened.
Years had passed since then, and Smokey never sought him out, leading Reeve to conclude that his hopes for a reunion and a different outcome were futile. So, he moved on, focusing on his career and enjoying his different missions—that is, until his boss gave him his one. The only positive thing about it was the discovery of his Fated mate, but even that presented its own set of problems. Now, though, with Josiah dead—thank you Smokey—he could claim his mate as soon as his report was submitted to the High Council.
Thinking about Jackson’s refusal to let Reeve speak with Smokey right away had pissed him off—and his animal, too—who’d roared in anger, and not without good cause. It was a classic case of three steps forward and two steps back which was frustrating as hell, but he’d have to play by Jackson’s rules if there was any hope of speaking to Smokey in private.
Reeve wasn’t sure how much Jackson knew about Smokey, but if Smokey’s past interaction with Reeve was any indication, he’d bet the Alpha knew nothing about the Manetu’s importance in the world. And Reeve wasn’t about to tell Jackson about Smokey’s immense power that was now at his disposal—at least not until he knew what secret Jackson was hiding—and he definitely was hiding something.
The small display of Jackson’s Alpha Power had affected him, even though his animal, not being a wolf, was supposed to have immunity from it. It took every bit of self-control Reeve had to keep from bowing to Jackson’s authority. It was like nothing he’d felt before…or even knew was possible. Analyzing Jackson’s actions once more, Reeve realized that only he had been affected by it; none of the enforcers—his or Jackson’s—had given any indication that they, too, felt it.Selective Alpha Powercould be very dangerous in the wrong hands.
