Allure of the Wolf (Seraphine Thomas Book 2) (32 page)

“You are a one of a kind, Alpha,” he groaned. “If it sucks, you’re so helping us fix it.”

“Deal.” Fuck, it was the least I could do.

18

I ended up getting a few hours of sleep between five and eight. It was the fitful kind that really left someone more tired than when they had gone to bed. There was just too much to do and not enough time to do it in.

Hagan and Reagan had gotten the answers I needed from the council laws that were luckily still on the books. That was a plus.

Vlad was on board and promised us
whatever
we needed. He didn’t say it out loud, but I could see it in his eyes that he felt partially responsible for this mess. But he swore to me he didn’t know anything about women being turned against their will or these induction ceremonies.

“I believe you,” I’d told him. “But when this is over, and I get the pack situated, my team trained, and all of this squared away and order restored, you and I are going to sit down and have a very,
very
long talk about this treaty you have with the wolves and whatever you’ve got going on behind
your
council’s back the wolves were on the line for.”

“A treaty with the pack carries over to any new Alpha, Seraphine,” he informed me carefully.

“Bullshit,” I growled, the hair on my arms standing up. “I’m not being held to something I didn’t sign or agree to, and we’re taking Engle over because he did things that were not in the best interest of the pack. In my mind, that negates
everything.
If you’re with me, you’re agreeing to that.”

He studied me closely before nodding. “As long as I’m not the only local leader you’re singling out then yes. I would understand that given the reasons Engle is being challenged.”

“Vlad, I promise this isn’t only about you. Everyone’s starting fresh.
However
, I know there’s more shit on your docket than the others and we will be discussing that.”

“Tell me when you’re ready, and I will enlighten you to vampire politics,” he agreed tightly, crossing his arms over his chest.

Worked for me. I didn’t think it was something I’d have time for in the near future, but at least we weren’t going to be held or brought into some battle with vampires and their council I hadn’t signed the wolves up for.

Simone was much easier, even going so far as to roll her eyes when I mentioned a treaty. “Cats aren’t like that, Sera. All we ask is that if something happens with a cat you bring us in on it or to us first so we are directly involved. You have already shown you will do that. We are
friends
, allies. You need us, we will be there as I am here. If we need you, I would think the wolves would help.”

“Assuming it’s not with anything illegal, yeah, we’ve got your back, Simone.”

“Good, that’s our treaty as long as we have dinner sometimes. Our pack supports you as the new Alpha,” she chuckled, extending her hand.

So we shook on that. Wonderful. Hopefully the other panther and cat packs were as easy to deal with.

Coordinating with the regular FBI to get the equipment we needed was a tougher deal but luckily Monroe handled that. Havers wasn’t exactly
keen
at giving up his lockup buses, but well, shit happened.

The Greek wolves showed up and I almost did cartwheels. They were big, badass wolves like
me
who looked as if they ate bolts in their cereal and learned to ride dragons instead of bicycles. I honestly thought Davis might swoon. Maybe if I weren’t so focused on not
dying
or failing, I would have been thinking with that part of my body.

Hey, I could
not
be a slut always after all.

“You okay?” Davis asked me as I paced the driveway about an hour before we were set to leave.

“Yes—no,” I admitted, fanning my face because now I was hot again whereas I’d been cold twenty seconds ago.

“You know the plan, Sera.”

“I know.”

She tugged on the straps of her shoulder harness, darting a look at me before quickly looking away again. “Tell me, what’s your biggest concern then?”

“It feels like cheating,” I muttered, as I flattened my hands on my head and cupped my ponytail. “I’m cheating to take the pack. I know the ends justify the means but nothing gained by cheating is ever truly had.”

“Fuck that,” she snapped, catching my shoulder and spinning me to face her. “You aren’t
cheating.
This asshole is breaking the law all over the place. You’re confined by extra rules that aren’t of your making. You’re navigating
two
sets of laws here and still doing it legally.” I shook my head, about to argue. “It’s
not
cheating, Sera.”

“It feels like it.”

“It’s not,” she sighed. Then she smiled. “It’s a bust. You’re setting them up. You’ve done that dozens of times. Think of it as laying out the scene, controlling the players and the parameters so you can make the bust.”

I bounced the logic around in my head for a few minutes before nodding. “That works. Okay. I can do this.”

“Thank
fuck
,” she sighed, the tension leaving her shoulders. At least I wasn’t the only one wound tightly over all of this.

We rolled out at six-thirty, the inductee and inner circle of enforcers, Betas, and Alpha meeting at seven before the full moon gathering of the first day of the lunar cycle and run started at eight since it was a Sunday. We parked the buses and other vehicles on the border of pack lands because it could have been seen as an attack and this was more a hostile change of leadership and a bust in one.

I booked it over the line with the wolves backing me—the six Greek wolves, Cooney twins, and Riley—at full speed. The moment I was within distance of being heard, I started the plan. “I challenge all twelve enforcers and six Betas.”

Which meant they couldn’t jump me and try to tear me apart as a rogue or threat or some other kind of
bullshit
by pack and council laws. I’d issued the challenges. That was one of the most sacred laws.

Engle spun around, his eyes wide in almost a comical way.
“What?”

“You heard me,” I answered, slowing to a jog. “I challenge your whole inner circle.” I focused on my wolf
and
siren, already having practiced most of the day how to align with both of them. I gasped as the three of us bonded in some form. I hadn’t understood it really until one of the Greek wolves had drawn me a diagram of the Celtic trinity knot with the flowing curves joining and the one big circle holding them all together in a symbolic ring.

Then I’d finally comprehended, and it had been as easy as breathing. Funny how some things worked that way.

“This will have to wait,” Engle snapped. “We have a meeting—”

“Yeah, I know about your fucking
meeting,
” I snarled, glancing around until I saw Ashley Powell. “Honey, come here and name me your Alpha so I can place you under my protection with witnesses.”

As much as I hated to have used her as bait, preferring to have kept her out of all of this and home safe, the inner circle and Engle wouldn’t have
gathered
if she weren’t there… And that had to happen for this plan to work. Besides, if I didn’t do this today, they could simply have her induction any other time, and we’d lose control and the element of surprise. So everything had to go down as if nothing was different.

Just as if it was as bust, as Davis had said.

The girl didn’t even hesitate, darting over to me and pulling an impressive dodge I knew football players would be jealous of when someone tried to grab her. “I recognize Alpha Seraphine Thomas as my one and only
true
Alpha.” I caught her as she launched into my arms and kissed her neck. She sagged against me and started sobbing. “Thank you.”

“It’s okay now. Go to the edge of the pack lands and there are people there waiting to guard you until this is over,” I muttered. She nodded and raced off.

“You fucking bitch!” Engle roared, his hands fisting as he took a threatening step towards me.

“People say that as if it’s an insult,” I drawled, rolling my eyes. I glanced over to Hagan. “Do I look insulted?”

“No, Alpha,” he chuckled, clapping his hands loudly and rubbing them together, ready for the fun ahead. It might have been
fun
for him. For me it was going to be anything but.

Engle opened his mouth but did a double take when he realized Hagan and Reagan where with me. “You chose
her
over the offer I made you? I told you the pack was growing, that there was a place for you here among my elite. You could have been Betas with a
strong
Alpha!”

I don’t think I was the only one on my side who saw Engle’s people unhappy at that news. His enforcers were supposed to be next for the job and Engle had gone outside the family to promote. Naughty, naughty!

“We were going to come in and take over the pack after your shit offer,” Reagan countered with a big grin. “But then we met Alpha Thomas and found a
strong
Alpha to lead our birth pack. A
moral
one who doesn’t rape girls and turn women against their will to keep the pack from becoming a sausage-fest. You’re done, Engle. Accept that with some grace.”

“This is
not
over. She won’t win
eighteen
fights and then one with me,” he snarled, his eyes shifting.

“Who said anything about
fighting
?” I purred as I let go of the power I’d been holding back. I stepped forward, ready to begin and get this over with.

Engle spun around to Freddie. “
You!
You did this. You told her about the induction.”

“Damn right I did, you bastard,” he sneered, adjusting his neck from what I’m sure was tons of tension buildup. “You think I was going to let you do that to my
daughter
?”

I saw what was going to happen before Freddie did and raced over there, tackling him to the ground before Engle could strike. We rolled in the grass so we were out of range and I jumped back to my feet, keeping Engle in front of me. I clucked my tongue. “Bad, Engle. Can’t hurt him while he’s got a challenge coming. Is there any council law you adhere to?”

“Fuck you, Sera.” He spat in my direction and it landed on my face. I wiped it away and ground my teeth.

“Well now that you spit at me, I’m just going to go home and cry,” I taunted. I pulled Freddie up on his feet and nodded to the group. “Tell me who’s first.”

“Yes, Alpha.” He led me to the first pissed off man. “Trey Titus.”

“Trey Titus,” I repeated, using the weird, powerful voice of my siren. “Yield to me and my challenge.”

“You’re
cheating
!” Engle hollered. I heard a commotion, and this was where having backup came in handy. I knew without looking that the Greek wolves were giving me time to do my thing.

He struggled against me for a few moments but couldn’t hold out. “I yield, Alpha Thomas,” Trey agreed, dropping to one knee and baring his neck to me. I leaned over and kissed his skin.

“Good. Go to the edge of the pack lands and confess all your crimes to the people waiting there,” I ordered. “Go now and hurry.”

“Yes, Alpha.” He jumped to his feet and ran off.

I checked on the situation to see the Greek wolves, Riley, and the Cooney twins were basically holding a line between me and Engle. Asshole. He was trying to interrupt a challenge.

Freddie showed me where to go next. We went through five more wolves that way like nothing.

It was the seventh enforcer that the problems started. Engle had wised up, and instead of trying to get to me, he was keeping the man
from
me. Fuck. I would have to really turn up the juice to influence Engle and I didn’t want to waste my power reserves like that.

“Alpha, you cannot interrupt a challenge,” one of the Betas argued, pulling Engle off the enforcer. I met the man’s gaze and saw
relief
. Maybe there was more than Freddie that was happy I was there.

Sure enough after I was done with number seven, eight and nine took a knee without me even having to influence them. Awesome!

Ten was Diego Lewis, Margo Lewis’s mate, the woman in protective custody. I turned to find him and was tackled from the side. Talk about
cheating
. I flipped us when we landed and used the heel of my hand to crush his nose up into his brain. He recovered though and head butted me in the face. I went flying back and landed on my ass. He jumped on me but luckily I saw it coming and kicked up with my feet, sending him over my head.

I flipped over and walked over to him just as he got back up. “Diego Lewis,
yield to me
and my challenge!”

“No,” he snarled, shaking his head even as he dropped down to his knees. I didn’t repeat myself as I wiped the blood pouring out of my nose.