Terence was the alpha we’d met when I had visited my family for Christmas. He’d found us in his cafe and met us at his offices. He hadn’t been able to join our convocation, but he hadn’t dismissed us, either. He’d connected us to his sister and brother, both generational alphas, whom we hoped to meet in the coming months, and he was doing everything in his power to open lines of communication with other packs of interest. He was helping the best he could, and we were very lucky for the happenstance meeting.
“Terence in L.A. made the connection possible,” Kingsley said. “Theconnectionpossible. Austin arranged the meeting,and even though we now have many reputable alphas who agree that the rumors surrounding Austin and Jessie’s convocation are true, a great many people still do not believe it. This alpha might not know the power that’s on his doorstep, but even if he does, hearing about it is very different than what walks through the door. You will be a threat, Austin, and this alpha does not take kindly to threats.”
Tristan opened his mouth, and Broken Sue turned a bit to speak, but Austin held up his hand. The room fell silent, and even Mr. Tom stilled.
“I will be seen as a threat, yes,” Austin said. “So will the mages. Kingsley is right to be concerned. This is an incredibly dangerous situation with an alpha that barely plays by the rules. He talked to me directly on the phone, which is not usual in these situations, even for him. From what I’ve heard, at any rate. He will have no problem burying us in the woods if we step out of line. He made that abundantly clear.”
Austin rubbed his chin with his thumb, troubled.
“But the facts are,” he finally said, “we need him.Himspecifically. Terence is not thoroughly admitted into the original alpha network because his family pack is generational. His territory is new, but his roots are not. He had seed money, and he has help. He’s considered ‘privileged’ in those circles and his opinions discounted. And while Kingsley has been invaluable and the alphas we’ve recently met are firmly behind this endeavor, they are not enough to sway the more entrenched generational alphas. Those alphas simply do not want to budge. Not yet. I will need to provide more assurances. In the meantime, I need power. There is no one stronger than Drex of the Stonefang pack. No one. He holds great sway with the up-and-coming alphas, and if he is half as ruthless as everyone says, he’ll help bolster our team. He is a cornerstone. We must try.”
“Like I said, what choice do we have?” Niamh finished her cup of tea. “He’s a good sort. I have a hunch. We just have to keep from making bags of the situation and ending up in an unmarked grave.”
“Sage advice, as always,” Mr. Tom muttered.
“Will you take Jessie?” Kingsley asked.
Everyone glanced at the phone before their gazes turned to me. I didn’t comment, because Austin knew exactly where I stood on this topic. There was no way in hell he could leave me behind to “protect” me. I was co-leader and part of this team, but also, if he died, there wouldbeno protection for me. To defeat Momar, it would take both of us and all our team besides. This only worked if we did it together.Allof it, including walking into a highly dangerous situation, outnumbered, to meet a volatile alpha shifter.
“Yes,” he said grudgingly. “It turns out, she’s a lot more stubborn than anyone gives her credit for.”
2
Jessie
Two days later,I stood with Dave and the basajaunak just outside the motel. A few of our vans and SUVs had doors or trunks open, waiting for the last of our luggage to be loaded in.
“We should be going with you,” Dave told me, and the rest of the basajaunak nodded or grunted their agreement. “Something doesn’t feel right about the trees in this wood. The mountain is unsettled, and it doesn’t seem to be regarding that pack. Something is wrong here, Jessie. You shouldn’t go without us.”
“The alphas specifically said you guys had to stay behind.”
Butterflies filled my stomach as I looked out at the trees. I knew what he felt, a strange sort ofwrongnessabout the area, though I couldn’t put my finger on why. Maybe it was simply nerves about what was to come, or maybe it was something else.
“They won’t be able to see us if we go on foot,” he pushed.
“Any decent shifter would feel your presence, or smell you, and Austin suspects there are a few of them in this pack. We agreed to their terms, and so we need to fulfill our end of the bargain.”
“But…” He shook his head and looked at the ground. “If you get into trouble, and we stay here, we’ll be too far away to help.”
“I think that’s the point.”
The butterflies turned ravenous. It wasn’t just Austin that might cause this alpha to balk. Or Broken Sue, who would go, or even Tristan. Nessa and Sebastian, our resident mages, would be going as well. Our numbers were greatly reduced, but he was giving entry to some of our biggest power players, people who could do damage from a distance.
Why would the alpha allow the mages but not Dave? Austin couldn’t figure it out. Hollace was allowed, but not Cyra. Niamh and Mr. Tom, but not Edgar.
Although, if the alpha had heard how weird Edgar was, that made sense.
Indigo had to stay behind, which also made sense. If he planned to take us down, he wouldn’t want our healer with us, but Fred got an invite. She was a Jane and couldn’t get a reading on this pack via technology, reaching the conclusion that they were off grid. Magical people were fine living disconnected? A die-hard tech nerd, Fred was flabbergasted, so I told her to stay behind. She wasn’t needed and this was dangerous.
Apparently, Fred disagreed because a few minutes earlier, I’d noticed her sneaking into the back of a van, and she wasn’t overly stealthy about it, either. I considered yanking her back out and decided why bother? Waste of time. Niamh would sneak her back in and do a much better job concealing it. Better to know where Fred was, I decided, and look out for her than not know and have her do something surprising and stupid at the worst possible time.
Jasper and Ulric had gotten a pass to go, but no other gargoyles. Six shifters would be allowed, chosen by Austin. Everyone else was told to remain at the motel in case the alpha had someone watching them to make sure they stayed put.
We hadn’t seen a soul all morning, not even the cleaning staff. The front desk was unmanned, and the sidewalk outside was deserted. Not all that uncommon, but there were no cars on the highway.
“You have to admit, the situation is odd,” Hollace said, walking over. He wore his cream suit from the alpha meeting with a red square tucked in the front pocket. We would mostly follow shifter protocol until things got dangerous.
“More than odd,” I murmured, scanning the trees. “Where the hell is everyone? The town is tiny and there hasn’t been much activity the last couple days, but there has beensome. It seems suspicious that the day we leave you guys behind is the day everyone disappears.” Sweat beaded on my forehead. “What if it isn’t us who is in danger at all, but you guys?”
