“She’s been alone for a long time without any cover, and she’s sweet.” Erik shrugged. “I can’t explain it because I don’t really know her, but I get the feeling if she trusted you, you could absolutely destroy her. I’d hate to see that.”
“I wouldn’t do that.” He hadn’t been waxing poetic when he’d told her that she owned his soul. For his people, forhim, that happened fast. A soul just knew. “I mated her. She’s mine.” The words held power and heated his chest, going deeper than right now and right here.
Erik sighed. “That’s what I figured. You’ve never done anything by half measures.” He rolled his neck. “Well, then, we need some sort of plan to keep her safe. To keep you and me and Dad safe until he recovers.”
Seth showed his teeth. “I’mthe plan until he recovers. If we’re challenged, I’ll rip out throats. This isn’t the time for conference tables and negotiations.” They were wolves. It was that simple. Yet as he said the words, the reality of the situation hit him. He wasn’t going to be the Alpha of their pack, and they might be staring at the precipice of the time for the Enforcer to step back. Every ounce of energy in his body rebelled against the thought of not protecting his people.
That job would be Erik’s.
Seth repositioned himself on the seat and sped up. “How do you know about her case back east?”
“She told me when I was in wolf form.” Erik shrugged. “She was talking more to herself. Said she doesn’t know if it’s a copycat. If not, then somebody is after her.”
“I’ll take care of the threat after we settle things here,” Seth murmured.
Erik nodded. “Thought so. I’ll help if you need it.”
“Thanks.” Seth’s blood roared with the need to lead, and his mind tried to shut that down. He attempted to banish the feeling of the warning buzzing through him. Enemies would be coming for them soon. “Are you ready, brother?”
Erik turned to look at him, his eyes sizzling. “Well, now, there’s the rub.” Wisdom shone in his deep eyes. “We’re in a cluster of fucks. Dad is ill, you’ve mated a human, and my girlfriend, the female pregnant with my pup, was brutally murdered, showing I didn’t protect her. In addition, the world is waiting for you and me to fight to the death to lead this pack. So no, brother. I’m not fucking ready for any of that.”
Against all rational thought, Seth barked out a laugh. “You do have a way of defining a situation.” His gut churned. “I could take Mia and run. Maybe if we got far enough away, nobody would try to take us out.” The idea of leaving his pack, deserting his world, ripped through him with jagged claws. But to protect her, he’d do it. He’d do anything.
“You’re too strong,” Erik said mildly. “I could be deadly enough to keep our pack in line, but your birth pack will always be coming for you—probably from the shadows. You’re a threat to them.”
“I’m a threat to you,” Seth muttered. “From the outside looking in, for people who don’t really know us, I’m a threat to you and this pack.”
Erik wiped a hand across his eyes. “The attack on you will come from outside, not inside our pack. As I said, you’re too strong. If you took an oath to continue as Enforcer, you’d be fighting your very nature. Even I can feel it, and the wolf inside me sympathizes.”
There could only be one Alpha. Seth hid a snarl and then calmed himself. “I made my choice, brother. I mated a human instead of Emily, which took away any opportunity I had to lead another pack.” He didn’t want another pack. He loved this one, even though he’d only belonged on the fringes, no matter how kind most members had been to him. “I’d do it again.”
“I know, and I agree,” Erik said.
Something inside Seth relaxed for the first time. A hard ball of anger, frustration, and loneliness disintegrated. “You do?”
“Yeah. I learned a lesson with Ruby, and I messed up. I should’ve mated her and given her me. All of me. Now I can never do that, and I’ll always wonder what could’ve been. Life is short. People are fragile. If you have Mia, if you love her, don’t let her go.” Erik turned to watch the trees again. “Or you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”
Seth exhaled. He’d missed these times with his brother. When had they stopped spending time together? Most of his good memories throughout his entire life included Erik.
Erik’s phone buzzed and he looked down to read the screen. “Dad is out of the coma. Thank goodness.”
Seth felt something in his chest relax, and he shot off a quick text to his errant mate with the good news. She’d want to know. “We still need a plan.”
“Someday,” Erik agreed. “Dad is going to get better and will be back to form in no time, so now I’m not too worried about it.”
A scent caught Seth’s attention, and he turned his head to the trees. Then another joined it. He drove around a corner, and two trucks, mud coating their tires, blocked the road. He pulled to a stop. “You might want to get worried. Right now.”
Mia finally tookthe time to tell Pete all about Mandy’s diary and that she’d known that Erik was the father of Ruby’s baby. “She was out to prove it and had started tailing him.”
Pete turned toward her. “Seriously?”
Mia sighed. “Yeah. She had a plan and even had a rough drawing of the Volk house and points of entry. I don’t know if she executed it. Apparently Ruby worked a side job of cleaning houses in the area, and Mandy tried to follow in her footsteps just to investigate. Thought that maybe Ruby had stumbled onto something doing her job…or Erik had gotten pissed about the baby and killed her.” The poor kid. That was nuts, although decent investigative tactics. “Did you know Ruby cleaned houses?”
“No,” Pete said.
“Maybe it was only for pack members,” Mia mused. Why hadn’t anybody mentioned the side job? She was getting tired of being on the outside of all the information in this town.
Pete glanced at her. “Pack?”
