“Come on,” he said to the chestnut, putting his phone away. “Time to explore the creek.”
And maybe stop for a drink—for the horses—and dismount a while, because Bryce had been right. It didn’t matter how often he went to the gym, nothing had prepared his thighs for time in a saddle.
BRYCE
The kitchen was bright with midday sun, and the chili Bryce had reheated was richly spiced. While pack dinner was a thing, lunch was usually far more casual, with people grabbing food as they wanted, and with Christian and Dave away, the place felt emptier than usual.
Tom sat at the end of the long table with his phone in one hand, scrolling through his notes between mouthfuls.
Bryce became aware of Matt’s presence in the kitchen doorway just before he spoke.
“What’s your first impression?” he asked Tom, settling against the wall as if he were holding it up.
Tom hesitated only a second. “You’ve got good visibility in key places, and your patrols are tight. But there’s not a lot of infrastructure.”
Matt’s mouth quirked. “You mean there’s no infrastructure.”
“I didn’t want to offend anyone,” Tom said with a small smile.
“You won’t,” Matt said. “If it’s a blind spot, I need to know it.”
Tom nodded. “Right now, you’re secure by most shifter standards—territory markers, strong patrols, high awareness. But the councilors are going to expect thermal cams and buried sensors at the very least. Especially with Jesse here.”
“He’s not a prisoner,” Bryce said quietly.
“I know,” Tom said. “But he needs to be protected.”
The words fell into silence. Bryce tried his very best not to take offense. Tom hadnoidea of the lengths they went to each and every day to keep Jesse safe, how it ate into Matt’s peace of mind.
Matt straightened up, and Bryce watched him with a hint of nervousness, wondering what his reaction would be to Tom’s statement. But Matt simply sighed.
“I know,” he said. “We’ve talked about camera points, and Karl’s been looking at the best places for motion sensors near the southern ridge.”
Matt hadn’t been ready to take that step and give Karl free rein on monitoring gear. Bryce shared his reasoning, because doing so would make the place more like a place that was under siege than theirhome. But maybe that time was past and they needed to prepare for a siege, once the world knew about Jesse.
Tom nodded. “That’s where I’d start. You don’t need anything high-end, just enough sensors to give you an early warning, feeding them all into a central hub. If something moves near the perimeter, you get a ping. No need for a grid, not unless you want one.”
Bryce leaned forward slightly. “You know how far our perimeter stretches.” There was nowaythey could afford sensors all around it. Not to mention, they’d spend their entire lives tearing off to investigate local wildlife mating or whatever they did when they weren’t being watched by wolves.
“I was thinking about placing the sensors solely on the approach to that ridge on the southern side,” Tom said. “That’s the main weakness. And maybe cameras at a few other choke points.” He hesitated for an instant, then his eyes flicked up to meet Matt’s, clear and honest. “It would also help set the Council’s mind at rest about coming out here.”
“So it’s as much about appearances as safety,” Bryce said, and somehow he wasn’t surprised. There was a reason he was contemptuous about politicians.
“Optics play a part,” Tom admitted. “But it’s also about risk.”
Matt poured himself a coffee and settled at the table. “Can you draw up a list of what you’d like to see? We’ll get you together with Karl once he’s awake. He runs security for the pack, and he’ll have his own ideas.”
They’d likely coincide rather neatly with Tom’s, from all Tom had said this morning. It was nothing he hadn’t heard Karl say, which meant Tom wasgoodat what he did.
The fundamental problem was that they were nine shifters and one non-shifter, trying to guard a territory of hundreds of acres. It didn’t matter how good Karl was, or Matt—until they found a way to clone themselves, they couldn’t cover everywhere at once.
Bryce looked at Tom, thinking about what he’d said. It wasn’t so much the suggestions that interested him as the way he offered them—like he wanted to help, not impose.
He wasn’t atallwhat Bryce had expected.
Chapter Eight
BRYCE
