Chapter One
DAVE
Christian answered before Dave could even open his mouth.
“You want us to hang out in bars on the pack’s dime? That’s a hell yeah.”
Dave couldn’t blame him for his enthusiasm. The way things had been lately, a break sounded good. Still, it might have been nice for Christian to have checked with him before answering for both of them.
Matt had asked to speak to them after supper, which had been unusual enough to alarm Dave. With all the changes in the pack, he’d wondered if it was about their jobs. The ranch wasn’t exactly a money-making machine. A couple dozen head of cattle, some horse-breeding—just enough to bring in a little money and keep the two of them busy. But it was steady, and he’d hate to lose working side by side with Christian every day, answering to someone they actually liked.
Before he came to Elk Ridge, he’d made his way by taking whatever casual labor he could pick up, and it had left him with a range of skills that some might call eclectic, unless they needed pecans shelled fast and clean, or a heat-shrink wire job done. But none of it had grounded him. None had that feeling of permanence he’d been craving his whole life. Not until here, with the pack, and with Christian, his mate. The one person who made him feel like he wasn’t passing unnoticed through the world.
Thankfully, the ranch hadn’t been why Matt wanted to see them. He’d poured them each a whiskey in his den, a small, dark room that seemed to breathe his essence—quiet, a little somber, yet with an underlying warmth and the feeling thatnothingcould shake its foundations.
Then he laid out what he was asking, and he made it clear that it was a request, not a command from their alpha.
He asked them to head to New Mexico and try to find anyone who knew about Jesse’s old pack, the one that had been killed all those years ago. The one that must have included at least two other Argents for Jesse to exist. It was a recessive gene—the only way the silver coat existed was if both parents were from the Argent line.
“I know it’s a long shot, but we have to try,” Matt had said. “We need to know who was behind the murders to protect ourselves. Whoever did this clearly has no reservations about murdering entire packs, and we’re in their firing line. It’s not only about getting justice for Jesse’s pack.” His voice harshened, doubtless at the thought of an entire pack murdered and Matt’s mate left alone, lost, bewildered, and seven years old.
Although he’d never had to face what Jesse had, Dave knew a little more about being abandoned young than he’d like. He still remembered the hollow ache of waiting on a porch that no one came back to. Jesse’s story made his own feel small, but the hurt had lasted.
It went without saying that they’d go, but he’d looked over to his own mate, hoping for a shared glance to make sure they were on the same page. Christian just said yes, typical of that impetuousness Dave so loved in him, even when it made life harder.
Christian hadn’t dealt too well with all the changes here, and Dave wondered if that was why they were being asked to go, to give him space and time to adjust. Or perhaps it was to get him out of the way before the politicians descended, wanting to see Jesse for themselves. Because Christian never did well with persuasive voices and practiced smiles, and they were prerequisites for a politician. Dave didn’t know why he was that way, but he suspected there’d been too many broken promises in his life.
“So where’re we going?” Christian asked, leaning forward eagerly.
“Town called Silver Rock. There are sandstone cliffs about twenty miles out, and Jesse was found a few miles from them.” Matt looked into his whiskey, brow slightly furrowed. “Jesse remembers a whole cave complex, but from the little I could find out, it’s more like a few wind-carved tunnels in the edge of a cliff. But then, to a small pup, those might feel like a big adventure playground.” He looked up at them, eyes frank. “It may be nothing, I may be sending you to the wrong place, but do your best. At least we’ll have tried.”
Dave glanced over at Christian, who looked ready to grab a backpack and go right now. Typical Christian—edgy, always ready to move, almost as if he didn’t trust good things to last. And God, that hit close to home. But when Christian met his gaze, something softened in him, a glimpse of the man only Dave ever got to see. The one who always chose him, even when he didn’t have the words.
“Silver Rock’s an interesting choice of name,” Dave said. “You think it’s coincidence?”
You ever seen an elk in Elk Ridge?” Christian asked, voice dry.
“Maybe before they paved the streets,” Dave said.
Christian snorted, but the sound held more weariness than humor. He’d been on a short fuse for the last few weeks. Shorter than usual, that was, which meant it was almost nonexistent. Dave knew that it had everything to do with their newest pack member. What he didn’t understand was what, exactly, Christian had against Colby.
“Unlikely the name has anything to do with Jesse’s pack, but then, I’d have said an Argent still existing was impossible. Shows how much I know,” Matt said, and for the first time in days, his eyes held the hint of a smile.
“I haven’t told the pack out there you’re coming, so when you run into them, be respectful.” His gaze lingered on Christian as he said it. “I’ll send you both a map with their territory marked to make sure you avoid it. It doesn’t start until a few miles outside the town.”
“Is there a reason you haven’t told them?” Dave asked. It was usual courtesy to inform another pack of a visit close to their territory.
“There’s no way two packs could have lived twenty miles apart and not known the other was there, yetnoone in shifter circles knows Jesse’s old pack even existed,” Matt said. “Not officially. So my guess is the local Silver Rock pack knows something they’re not saying. If they think you’re simply passing through rather than Silver Rock being your destination, you might get more out of them.”
Christian knocked back the last of his whiskey. “Just call me Columbo.”
“I’m guessing that makes me Miss Marple,” Dave said.
“You said it.” Christian grinned at him, eyes warm and excited about the prospect of something new, before returning his attention to Matt. “When d’you want us to head out?”
“Sooner the better. Once the Council visits us, we’re going to have to show we’re acting in good faith and tell them about Jesse’s past. They’ll make the same deductions I have about location and send their own people down there. When that happens, everything’s going to get locked down. I figure we’ve got a week, max.”
Dave nodded, and Matt’s eyes flicked between them, serious. “Be careful. It was a long time ago, but someone’s still covering their tracks. I want this information, but more than that, I want the two of you back safely. No lone-wolf hero shit.”
