Jessie
“Right, okay.”I clapped, because I felt great. Better than great. I felt like I had things under control.
Austin had come up with some sort of plan with the alphas that would apparently change his entire schedule and the way he went about meeting the rest of the important alphas. What was the plan? No idea. Niamh said I didn’t need to “bother me arse” about it. Fine.
I’d had to heal Tristan, who’d apparently been in pain the entire time I took a three-hour nap, because he didn’t want Indigo sharing space in his bedroom. The guy had suffered in silence, and no one had woken me to help him. I felt super guilty about it, mostly because I’d caused the wound, and when I was about to go apologize, Niamh told me I shouldn’t “bother me arse.”
Fine.
Now, a day later and arriving via plane, train, and automobile—not quite but whatever—we were about to enter a dense forest. It was the domain of a powerful, emotionally scarredand dangerous shifter rogue, one that neither shifters nor Dicks would allow in their towns or cities. Apparently, his very presence screamedunhinged, approach with caution!
In the interest of time, we would stalk this dangerous character as the afternoon waned and threatened to turn into night. Long shadows pooled in dense pockets between the trees, creating many places to hide. Once we found him, we’d likely be attacked, and then we’d attempt a meeting to issue an invitation to O’Briens.
Did we have any sort of plan? No, we did not. When asked if maybe we should? Niamh assured me that we wouldn’t “bother our arses”.
That didn’t even make sense in the situation! This was tomfoolery to attempt without a plan.
But fine. If I was going to live in ignorance, I’d do so with a wonderful disposition, like all the people of Drex’s town.
This disposition annoyed Niamh to no end.
“Shall I go first, then?” I smiled big and threw everyone a thumbs up as they climbed from the various passenger vans Mr. Tom was able to procure at the magical air strip posing as an airport. We hadn’t had anything to comfortably put the basajaunak in, and so they were making their way to us on foot. They’d been happy about it, actually. They loved the feel of the woods and mountains of the Cascades.
The rogue was said to be about halfway up one of the mountains. What mountain? I had no idea. I’d stopped asking questions when Niamh was in hearing range at that point.
“Hang on, babe.” Austin shut his door and looked around at everyone assembled before taking in the trees around them. “Tristan.”
Tristan stepped up. He wore a purple muumuu and a hard expression on his face. He was ready for battle.
“The trees are dense. You guys won’t be much good to us, and I don’t want him to hear your wings and think there is some sort of manhunt on the way. Stay here at the cars. If we need you in a hurry, Jess will send a magical pulse.”
Tristan nodded and fell back.
“Brochan.” Austin waited for his beta to fill Tristan’s spot. “Take all the wolves and other pack hunters. Spread out. You will be seeking and reporting. Don’t make contact or get too close. Stick to the trees and stay out of sight if possible. Once you have something, send a pulse through Jess’s connection.”
Brochan nodded and moved away.
“Sebastian, Nessa, Edgar.” The three stepped up, Nessa and Sebastian in black pants and shirts, and Edgar in a muumuu. “Sebastian, you’ll be with Jess and me. I’ll be making contact with him or getting in the way of him attacking someone else. You will help Jess try to tear us apart as peacefully as possible. Detain him if possible. Another of the alphas at Drex’s said he’d heard this guy has some serious power. Possibly on par with my own. He might challenge, but we are not treating it as a challenge. Tear us apart as quickly as possible. Do you understand?”
This was ruining my upbeat disposition. Niamh would probably be glad.
“Yes,” I said as tension built.
“I really hope I don’t resort to my old ways and use you as a shield,” Sebastian told me. I laughed even though he was probably serious.
“Nessa and Edgar.” Austin waited, his intense alpha gaze beating into the vampire until Edgar stopped smiling. “You guys are good at being in the right place at the right time. Stay together. Have a look around. If you think you might’ve spotted him,do not engage.Keep your distance. Edgar, you’ll need to letus know since Nessa doesn’t have a connection. Also, make sure no harm comes to her.”
“Eyes, captain,” Edgar responded, his hands clasped behind his back. He must’ve heard Tristan say “aye, aye, Captain” and misinterpreted.
Austin didn’t acknowledge. He’d learned to let Edgar go his own way and hope the Ivy House crew handled it.
He stepped back to address the group. “The point here is to offer help to a guy who’s been shunned by his own community because of his power. The goal is to offer him a home that will accept him and peace if he wants it. A job if he needs it. Or to leave him alone if he’d prefer it. We’re trying to meet him on his terms, so let’s keep that in mind if things get a little hairy. We’re the intruders here.”
“Shouldn’t we wait for the basajaunak?” I asked Austin quietly. “They’ll be able to easily figure out exactly where he is.”
“They are also prone to aggression, and I’d like to try and keep this situation calm. I’d like to avoid a fight if we can.”
I nodded because that made perfect sense.
