Roland took my hand and looked me in the eye. His shoulders slumped, suggesting he was giving up and we had to flee. It was the worst option, and I wanted to leap over the table and throttle Creven for not offering us a permanent place in the pack.
My mate squeezed my hand, and I took a deep breath. “We can leave. Tonight if you want.” My bear was telling me we had to think our decision through and we should take a couple of days to plan our route.
“You’ve been kind to protect us these last weeks, but we can’t put you and the pack in danger.” Roland pushed his food away.
“This pack has been in constant danger since its inception, though this is the first time people from the outside literally wanted a piece of one of us.” Creven must have been hungry because he eyed the remains of Roland’s dinner.
The word “us” caught my attention and lifted my mood a little.
“You leaving will put you in their crosshairs,” Creven said. “They know you’re here or they wouldn’t be sniffing about. We need to handle this as a pack.”
“But we aren’t part of the pack.” My voice was sharper than it should have been considering I was speaking to the Alpha who held our future in his hands.
Roland sent me a look, and I muttered, “Sorry, Alpha.”
“I understand you’re under immense pressure, and the only way forward is to make you pack.”
I reached out to my mate, and we hugged, though the news didn’t end the danger we were facing. And it was not just Roland, because as his mate, I could end up as collateral damage. If I thwarted them as they attempted to get to my mate, they’d have no qualms about ending my life.
Creven explained that poachers had a contract that bought them the rights to kill, in this case, a unicorn. I was about to protest, saying they wouldn’t care who they killed, but Alpha put up his hand.
“They go after people who have no protection because if they interfere with a pack, they incur the Alpha’s wrath, and they don’t want to be fighting a battle instead of claiming their prize.”
He told us the ceremony would be tomorrow as long as we agreed.
“We do,” we both yelled.
“It’s the best protection I can offer in a shitty situation.” He got up. “Finish your dinner and get an early night.”
Roland got his appetite back, and he scarfed the rest of his curry. But I was staring at the closed gate and the security guards patrolling the perimeter. Would we live in fear for the rest of our lives?
“Why so worried?” My mate patted my arm. “This is a good thing.”
“Mmmm, but it’s a band-aid on a gaping wound.”
Roland made a face. “It’s a first step and gives us breathing space to come up with a better plan.”
He collected our dirty dishes and took them inside. The light was fading, and I shivered, wondering if the poachers were outside the fence now making plans to ambush us in the wee small hours.
“What do you think the ceremony involves? Should we wear a suit?”
We had one change of clothes when we arrived, but there was a donation area where pack members could leave clean clothes they didn’t want, and we’d since picked up more shirts and pants.
“Are you serious?” There would be blood, and we’d either be naked or in our underwear. Each pack had different traditions for initiation ceremonies.
“Nope. But I knew I’d get a response out of you,” Roland said beside me. “We’re going to belong here, Bryden, right?”
“Absolutely.” I tried to get excited and gave him a half-assed smile. Stoney River already felt like home, and I adored my job and the community. But thinking back to the children in thelibrary, I worried we were putting them and everyone else in danger.
“Come on, slowpoke. Race you to the cabin.” Roland took off, and his skin sparkled under the setting sun.
I gathered what little enthusiasm I had and ran after him.
17
ROLAND
The second the door latched behind us, I had my arms around my mate, standing on my tiptoes, my cheek pressed against his, needing to feel his warmth and his touch to recenter myself. I’d almost been able to convince myself I was overreacting about the horse I scented. After that conversation, I knew things were worse than I thought. And what did I do? Instead of letting the alphas know what had happened, I kept it to myself. At first it was because I didn’t want to interrupt, and then the conversation got away from me with the whole, becoming-pack thing.
