“You have got to be kidding me,” Jeremy blurted. His scent shifted from sarcastic disbelief to downright awe.
Rhett’s teeth bared in satisfaction. “Nope.”
“A room? Big enough for my family?”
“Big enough for the whole pack.”
Jeremy shook his head, but his scent gave away the respect he felt toward Rhett right now. That scent dominated the group’s mood. “All right, so Lucy and I get our pups to your safe room if things go bad. Got it. If these rogues come at the pack from the outside road, from town, then yeah, we can head farther into wolf territory, toward you.” He swiveled his head toward Malachi. “But what if they come from the other side? If it goes really wrong, if they’ve cut us off from the rest of the Lane, then I’ve got to run, Mal. I’ve got to take my pups out of here altogether, toward town.”
“Agreed,” Malachi said. “It’s worst case scenario, as you’ll be without the strength of the pack, but if it comes to that, then of course you preserve the pups at all cost.”
Jeremy nodded. “Always.”
“Any other questions?” Malachi said. “I know you’ll each pass this on to the others in your homes as needed. I’ll inform Nathan, Trevor, and Kelsey.”
“No questions,” Ezra said. “When we get the word, I’ll get Willow to Rhett’s and then I’ll come find the fight.”
Malachi unleashed a growl as everything in him withdrew from that idea. The physical fight against these rogues felt like something for him alone.
“I’m a wolf,” Ezra said. His eyes gleamed, and his fists drew back. No surprise here: Ezra’s protective streak was a deep, hard line of steel running through his otherwise quiet personality.
“You’re not to risk yourself, Ezra.”
“I’ll try not to, but if the fight’s not over by then, if you haven’t trounced them all yet, I’m there.”
Every other wolf present nodded as Ezra spoke. Every wolf but Aaron, who continued to gaze steadily at Rhett, caution in his scent. After a moment the others noticed his scrutiny.
“A safe room,” he said slowly.
Rhett nodded.
Aaron’s gaze shifted to Malachi. “You knew about this?”
“Not until today,” Malachi said.
“So, Rhett, we still wouldn’t know about it if these rogues hadn’t hurt Mal’s mate.”
Malachi hadn’t called April his mate. But in this moment, that wasn’t the most vital topic. Rhett nodded.
And Aaron…relaxed. Shrugged. “I’m never going to get why you think you’ve got to keep secrets from us all the time, but that’s not the point, I guess. You took this crazy over-the-top precaution to keep the pack safe, and now we might need it. And for me right now, needing to protect Ember more than ever…” He swallowed hard against deep emotion that surged into his scent. “You did this for all of us, including my unborn pup. So thanks.”
Shortly after, the group dispersed with the requisite number of walkie-talkies for their households. As they did, Ann, Rebecca, and Arlo each paused to thank Rhett for his foresight, practicality, and care of the pack. By the time only Malachi and Rhett stood in the yard, Rhett was at his very quietest.
At last he said, as though they’d already been talking about Aaron, “That wolf was already mellow. Fatherhood’s going to make him a marshmallow.”
“Possibly,” Malachi said.
He tapped out a text to Nathan, Trevor, and Kelsey. In minutes, his phone began to buzz with text messages, the first from Nathan.
Nathan:whoa k will do thanks malachi
This was followed in a few minutes by a reply from Kelsey: a string of impressed, mind-blown, and thumbs-up emojis. Then the third message came from Trevor, who rarely had trouble using his words.
Trevor:Of COURSE Rhett has a fortified safe room. He probably also has a tank stashed somewhere.
Trevor:But seriously—if those rogues show up, Kels and I will head straight there. And I’ll stop by your place for the walkies. Thanks, Mal.
Seconds later, Rhett’s phone pinged with a text that made him roll his eyes. Without comment he showed his phone to Malachi.
