“SHIFT!” I ordered, using my alpha tone to make them obey me.
They were forced into their human forms. Unfortunately, even my guards and poor Oliver had to follow my command. I glared at the wolf I held.
“Why are you here?” I snarled.
“Alpha Huxley’s orders,” the youngest of the group finally admitted. “You have something that belongs to him, and we’re here to get it back.”
“That’s ridiculous!” I scoffed. “We don’t have anything of his.”
“Lies,” the one I had pinned spat. “The Mallory girl… Alpha Butch’s daughter. Our alpha has placed his claim on her. Butch thought he could hide her by sending her here, but Alpha Huxley knows better. Hand her over now, and we’ll spare your pack. Don’t, and you’ll all die.”
“I don’t like being threatened,” I snarled, releasing him and shoving him toward his packmates. “She is my guest and undermy protection. You tell your alpha if he comes anywhere near her or my pack, I’ll rip out his throat myself.”
“You’re making a mistake Alpha Caelan,” he wheezed, rubbing his neck. “Our alpha won’t stop until he makes her his mate. And once he does, even a pack as large as yours won’t be able to stop us.”
I watched them run off, an uneasy feeling in my stomach as they shifted and slipped over the border into their own territory.
What do they know that we don’t? I’ve read over Sunny’s file several times. She doesn’t have that kind of power.
***
I doubled the border patrols as soon as I reached the pack house. We couldn’t risk that Dark Moon wouldn’t try something like this again.
I pulled on a pair of shorts and a shirt as I went to find Shade. She was Sunny’s personal guard. Surely, if Sunny had some hidden ability, Shade would know about it. Besides, she would definitely want to know about the threat to her charge.
I knocked on the door of her room.
She immediately answered. “Alpha Caelan, what brings you here?”
I pushed my way inside without waiting for an invitation. I glanced around, noticing a set of blueprints spread out across her coffee table. I cocked my eyebrow in question as I turned back toward her.
“I asked Beta Dillon for copies of the pack house’s blueprints,” she replied without apology. “I need to assess all the entrances and exits in case I have to get Sunny away from here in a hurry.”
“Dark Moon will never infiltrate the pack house,” I assured her. “It’s too deep in our territory. We would be able to stop them before they even got close.”
“They made it into Thunder Moon’s pack house,” she countered, walking over toward the floorplan. “Into the alpha’s office.”
I stared at her in shock.How did they make it past Alpha Butch’s defenses? Someone should have spotted them well before they reached the pack house. Maybe Thunder Moon isn’t as well run as we were led to believe.
“Did they hurt anyone or take anything?” I asked.
“Luckily, no one was harmed,” she said, staring down at the papers. “But I’m told they took some of the alpha’s personal files.”
“What files?”
She shrugged. “The alpha didn’t say, but I would assume it was something related to Sunny. She’s the one they’re after.” She let out a frustrated sigh. “Though, I can’t for the life of me understand why they’d do this. Alpha Huxley already knows everything about her.”
I crossed the room to stand beside her. “Is there anything special about Sunny that they might want?” I pressed. “The scouts we encountered seemed to think she has some power Alpha Huxley can use. Is that maybe why he’s put a claim on her? Why he wants her for his mate?”
She shook her head. “No. Other than being the alpha’s daughter, Sunny is just a normal wolf. She doesn’t have a gift or any particular power that would make Huxley want her so badly. And he’s been after her for years. Why risk Harvest Moon’s wrath coming after her here?”
None of this adds up. If there isn’t anything remarkable about Sunny, then why were those scouts after her? Shade’s right. They could have just waited until she was sent home. She’d be a much easier target back in Thunder Moon.
Suddenly, my mind flashed back to the conversation I’d had with my mother after that disastrous dinner. Something she’d said stuck with me. Something about Alpha Butch’s deceased daughter.
“Are you sure it was Sunny’s file they stole?” I asked, a cold feeling settling in the pit of my stomach. “Could it have been someone else’s?”
“Like who?” Shade asked. “There aren’t any wolves at Thunder Moon that would be that desirable to Alpha Huxley. Sunny is the alpha’s daughter. She’s his best chance at taking over the pack.”
