“You saidusually. That mean somehavebeen Argents?”
The flush on the kid’s face gave away that he thought Jesse was criticizing his less-than-precise wording. He couldn’t know that Jesse was wondering if any of his old pack had survived.“Well, occasionally, it’s a prank,” he said stiffly. “That’s why I said ‘usually’ a misidentification.”
And if the kid didn’t pull that stick out of his ass, he’d get on just fine in Washington, Bryce thought.
Jesse led the way outside, huffing in barely disguised annoyance as he shucked off his shirt, his t-shirt, his long-sleeved t-shirt, and hell, was that another t-shirt? He’d already let Matt—and anyone within hearing distance, which meant all of the pack and most of Elk Ridge—know his opinion about having to shift on command for some blowhard in a suit. Bryce wouldn’t be surprised if that was why he was wearing so many layers, as some sort of passive protest.
Certainly, Caddel was getting pretty ticked off at having to wait as Jesse struggled out of enough clothes to dress a moderately sized army.
“How many layers are you wearing,Jesse?” Tristan asked, sounding mystified. “It would take me half the day to get dressed if I wore that much.”
“Don’t know how you think like it ain’t freezing,” Jesse muttered, shivering dramatically as he stood there, finally naked.
Bryce leaned a hip against the porch railing. He appeared to be looking in Jesse’s direction, but in reality he was focused on Taylor Caddel. The snotty little bastard hadn’t bothered to conceal his impatience.
And then Jesse shifted.
Caddel clutched convulsively at the porch rail in front of him, staring at Jesse’s coat as it glowed in the moonlight. Jesse looked like liquid silver when he loped across the yard to greet Karl, both impossible and real at the same time.
It scared the hell out of Bryce, what people would see when they looked at Jesse. What they’d want from him.
“He—he—” Caddel stuttered into silence and simply stared. For the first time, he had nothing slick to say.
“Satisfied?” Matt asked, turning to look at Caddel. If there was a hint of smugness in Matt’s voice, Bryce couldn’t blame him.
“I—yes,”Caddel said. He shook his head as he reached for his phone. “I need photos for Councilor Bennett.”
“Just one,” Matt said, reminding him who was in charge here.
Once Caddel had taken his photo, Matt opened the back door, unmistakably signaling this part of his visit was over. Caddel reluctantly tore his gaze from Jesse, who was currently play-stalking Karl, probably to take his mind off the scrutiny he was under, and they went inside.
Tristan hesitated by the coffee machine, but Bryce shook his head. He’d already had enough of their visitor’s intrusion and he was damn sure Matt and Jesse had. He wanted Taylor Caddel gone and their home back to what it should be, not somewhere people came to stare at a member of the pack like he was an exotic creature in a zoo.
The way Caddel saw Jesse was made even clearer when Jesse came in a few moments later. Everything Caddel said and did was focused on Jesse. He angled his chair toward him, asked him questions directly, even when Matt was the one who answered. If Jesse glanced Matt’s way before speaking, Caddel didn’t seem to notice—he was too busy nodding, smiling, agreeing with anything Jesse said.
To be on the Council payroll, Caddel had to be educated and politically aware, yet Bryce was pretty sure if Jesse told him the moon was made of cheese, he’d believe him. Or at least, he wouldn’t argue. Which meant that Jesse was a very dangerous commodity indeed.
It didn’t take more than a few minutes of this for Matt to rise to his feet.
“You’ve seen all you need to,” he said, his tone final. “If any members of the National Council feel it necessary to get in touch following your report, they can call me.”
“Yes, of course, Alpha Urban.” Caddel might not be the brightest crayon in the box, but he knew enough to realize he’d incurred an alpha’s displeasure. Funny how it was Sheriff Urban when he thought Matt was deluded, and Alpha Urban now that he’d seen Jesse glow in the moonlight.
“Thank you so much for your hospitality, and I’m sure Councilor Bennett will be in touch. And I didn’t mean any disrespect with what I said earlier, about mistakes and pranks,” he rushed on, his gaze turning back to Jesse, his eyes still filled with wonder. “I just—”
“You thought we were either ignorant or lying,” Matt said flatly, and Caddel paled.
“I’ll show you out,” Bryce said, before Washington’s next great hope started sobbing in their kitchen over having offended the alpha of the only pack in the world to boast its very own Argent.
He waited at the front door till Caddel’s car was out of sight and then closed it with a sigh. It had begun. Things would never be the same again for the pack.
It had all started with a few quiet phone calls, Matt reaching out to the National Council. Letting them know—carefully, cautiously—that he had an Argent in his pack.
Days later, Cale’s pack turned up dead. They’d been the ones the Washington buyer had secretly contracted to snatch Jesse. Cale and his wolves had been bottom-feeders, and Bryce would have gladly taken them apart himself for what they’d done to Tristan. And to Colby, who still flinched at a raised voice. Butthis hadn’t been justice. It had been cleanup, ruthless beyond anything Bryce had known.
The moment word of Jesse reached the Council—even if they didn’t fully believe it—the buyer must’ve panicked. Cale knew the buyer’s identity, and that made his entire pack a liability.
Half of them were still in bed when it happened. Bryce remembered the aftermath. The silence. The stink of blood and fear. He’d never forget what he saw that day, no matter how hard he tried.
