“Quick question,” Cin asks, gaze fixated on some of the men making an appearance to investigate our cars coming up the path before running off to share the news that Hunter, Damian, and Kaige are finally back. “Why haven’t the Slaughters taken over one of your roads through your territory before now? If they’re as brutal as you claim, what’s up with even needing Sabrina to form an alliance when they can just kill you guys and take over?”
We hit a massive pothole that has me wincing at how expensive the damage from that metallic clang sounds. A few cabins come into view, but they’re massive things more on par with barracks, or something I’d expect at a summer camp to house dozens of people. Between them and the half-dead trees, more and more people are attempting to steal glimpses at us. Bright side, the tinted windows make it nearly impossible for anyone to study any of us too closely unless they’re peering through the windshield, but it also makes the entire thing feel like some weird VIP entourage.
“In a nutshell, each of our packs has access to a road that leads to the base of the mountain,” Damian explains, launching into the history lesson. “The Slaughters’ is a rough, winding one that partially crosses through Ash’s territory in a few spots, and occasionally rock slides make it impassable. Several generations back, when the deaths were starting to significantly weaken everyone’s pack with as low as the birth rate was, the alphas at the time created a treaty. It didn’t bring peace so much as a temporary ceasefire that hinged on no one stepping foot into another’s territory without it being to approach the pack's current alpha.”
Tightening his grip on my hand, he furrows his brow and continues, “A part of that negotiation entailed that the Slaughters not only got a decent chunk of monetary incentive to cool their jets, but retained control of the small lake at the top of the mountain that feeds the rivers the rest of us rely on. So if at any point someone crosses them, they can dam it off and leave us royally fucked. On the flipside, they got the shittiest road."
Hunter adds, "After the initial loyalty test to hold as blackmail over our heads, Ash leaves us to our own devices unless he has a use for us, or decides he needs to make a point. So long as no one disrupts the current system, things are able to carry on without it turning into a massacre.”
His voice turns gravelly. “But step a foot out of line, and any of them will take great pleasure swooping in to get their pound of flesh they think they’re owed ten times over. They’ll leave us alone day to day, sure, but they manipulate our lives so that we’re left with two impossible choices. Either a slow death of depression and only enough food to stay alive, or make a move against them so they have an excuse to tear us apart instead of just down.”
We already have a tense meeting ahead of us, so before they get any more upset, I steer things into easier conversation. “What kind of work do you guys usually do, then?”
A wry smile appears on Damian’s face. “Like you, we embrace the jack-of-all-trades mentality. It helps us be able to adjust on the fly for whatever the neighboring cities need so we always have people able to find work. Carpentry, mechanics, general labor, cooking, security. Nothing glamorous, but at least breaks up the monotony.”
Pulling to a stop outside of a massive metal storage shed with several older pickup trucks parked out front in the dirt patch acting like a driveway, Hunter shuts off the engine. A handful of people were in the process of loading some massive burlap sacks off of the back of a truck, but at the sight of us, they drop what they’re doing, sharing wary looks between themselves. The others pull up beside us a minute later, and Kaige is the first one out, striding over to meet them with a broad grin. Clasping hands and pulling him into several of those guy-hug shoulder-smack things, he rattles off some conversation that we can’t hear, but it doesn’t take a genius to figure it out when Kaige yanks down the collar of his shirt to show off the claiming marks slashing across his chest above his heart.
“Oh, shit.” Instantly, Damian and Reid turn to me while Cin and Hunter search for outside threats, but I can’t even appreciate the unspoken cohesiveness of the action. “It’s going to be an Emmy-level upset, isn’t it? All of those men assumed whatever mate she picked, she’d naturally be bonded to their respective alpha and beta as well.” Swallowing, I meet Hunter’s gaze as he slings an arm around the back of the passenger seat to look at me. “We never discussed that; what this is going to mean for each of your inner circles, and the packs as a whole. Am I going to be getting some Bo-sized dudes randomly showing up thinking I’m their mate by default?”
His emerald eyes darken. “They do, you tase them in the balls and tell one of us so we can drive the point home that you’re off limits.”
“That’s not a no,” I point out, squirming in my seat.
Damian snaps, “Shut the fuck up, Hunter, you’re freaking her out.” Tightening his grip on my hand, he pulls my attention his way as he assures, “By default... yes, that would be the assumption. Those are Kaige’s men, who he’s setting straight right now about the situation. We came this way because his territory is between ours, so he can get word spread between all of our packs faster. We’ve got this handled, love, don’t worry. Hunter’s kidding; no one is expecting you to have to tase anyone.”
“No I’m not.” Reaching into the glove box, Hunter grabs something and passes it my way.
Staring down at my open palm, an incredulous laugh slips out. It’s a slender, black rectangle with a wrist strap, curved on both sides in the center for a comfortable grip. Discreet, but there’s no arguing what it is.
“You seriously got me a taser?” I look up at him, but he’s not smiling.
“I can trust that our packs know how to behave, but the same can’t be said for Leo, Merrick, and Sebastian’s men. They’re the sort of pack that attempts to overthrow their alphas’ seat of power when they’re on one of their trips searching for signs of your mother, and we’re walking right into the heart of them. That’s not even touching on the threat of Wilder’s pack that’s large enough it covers the other half of the mountain.”
Curling my fingers around it, he doesn’t immediately release my hand. “So yeah. In case you’re too burned out to incinerate someone, or don’t have time to shift, I thought it’d be a good idea to get you something that can do enough damage to buy you an opening to escape.”
My stomach flips, and a sad smile lifts the corner of my lips. “What would I do without you?”
He flexes his grip before releasing me and reaches for his door handle, grumbling, “Not be walking to the gallows, for starters.”
Save for Reid, the others pile out of the car. None of them say a single word when we don’t follow, simply closing their doors and giving me a minute to breathe. While Hunter and Damian drift over to catch up with the men Kaige is animatedly speaking with, Cin moves to help Slade and Bo sift through the things in the truck as they figure out what we should take with us on the rest of our hike, and what we can come back for later... if we’re able to.
“It’s going to go well,” Reid declares with complete confidence.
Nodding, I release a heavy breath, but this confrontation has been so hyped up over the past few weeks, my nerves keep me from really believing him. “If nothing else, they’ll likely save face in the beginning; try to butter me up until I give them Mom’s location.”
Pivoting in his seat, he raises an eyebrow above a completely crystalline eye for the first time in days. “So why don’t you? After everything she’s done and said to you, why do you keep trying to protect her?”
“No one should be trapped in a forced marriage, no matter how awful of a person they may be.”
Running his knuckles down my cheek, he sees right through me, just like he always has. “Agreed. Now, what’s the real reason?”
With a heavy exhale, I confirm what a selfish person I really am. “What if they bring her back here? Because of Ash, and the size of Damian, Hunter, and Kaige’s packs, we can’t just leave. We’re stuck here for the indefinite future with no solution in sight, and to be trapped here with Annika?”
Shaking my head, I blink back tears, frustrated that they’re making an appearance because I’m not sad, I’mangry.“I can’t do it again, Reid. I left, and even after all of these years, her voice was still in my head. Either the confrontation with her yesterday was more cathartic than I thought, or you guys fucked my brains out, but I actually feelgoodfor the first time in... ever. If they bring her back here though, how can I ever really escape her? This place is already depressing enough as it is.”
His gaze softens as he palms the back of my neck, pulling me closer to rest his forehead against mine. “Or maybe it’s more a matter of you’re scared that she’ll turn the men that might be your fathers against you, and it’ll hurt as bad to lose them as it did with Noah?”
Eyes burning, I refuse to let a single tear fall. Reid doesn’t push beyond that, giving me time to regulate my breathing and swallow a few times, to get control of myself. And I do. Piece by piece, I pull myself back together, and with every inch of ground I manage to regain, I feel a little more like my old self. This time, though, I decide to make a couple of improvements on my typically pessimistic outlook.
