Her Wanted Wolf (46 page)

“I don’t owe him shit!” The terse denial came out swiftly, but Drew
caught a glimmer of conflict on Royal’s face before he deliberately wiped it
off. Royal was a man who paid his debts.

“It’s a temporary solution. Let’s stop farting around. What’s it going to
cost me to get you on board? We’re running against the clock. There is lot at
stake here.”

Trying to look offended and failing, Royal rocked back in his chair. “You
wound me. Am I so shallow?”

Drew had him. All he had to do is provide the right incentive so it
wouldn’t seem like Royal caved too easily. “Spit it out.”

“Rick has been at me to buy a slice of that sweet bird he’s testing out.
I need you to put up the money to secure me part ownership of the Lear. In my
line of work, it will come in handy. I’ll pay you back, of course.”

“Is that all?” Drew asked, his voice heavy with sarcasm.

“You got the funds. Don’t be a tightwad, spread it around a little.” The
taunt came with a sly smirk and wiggle of Royal’s full brows.

“Done. But I’m charging you interest, compounded.” Drew watched with
satisfaction as Royal’s grin slipped.

Royal frowned. “What the hell are you, a loan shark?”

“It’s a new line of business I’ve seem to have fallen into. And I must
say it’s kinda satisfying, even to hear you whine like a girl. Are we done, or
is there anything else I can do for you?”

“Not sure I can afford to accept any more help from you.” The grumble
didn’t have any heat in it. “What’s the plan? The sooner we wrap this up, the
faster I can get back to work. I got bills to pay, even more so now than
before.”

“Are the men I asked Rick to transport in position?”

With cool self-assurance and a cocky tilt of his head, Royal imparted, “Yeah,
they joined my men to lock down the city. No Redmaven gets in or out as you
requested. Are you going to tell me why I’m babysitting our mutual enemy? If
you ask me, he needs killing. Why don’t we just flush him out and take care of
it. It wouldn’t take much effort.” Royal’s confidence in their abilities was about
to get a big dent put into it.

Feeling weighed down by what he was about to lay on his friend, he drew
in a breath. “Yes he does, but we don’t want the wrong person doing the deed.
It’s gotten a little complicated.”

“Isn’t it always?”

“We have new set of problems.” Drew revealed the Redmavens’ cloning of
the Silverwolves’ abilities and their experimentation with a way to inhibit a
were’s ability to heal instantaneously.

Drew watched Royal’s eyes grow stone cold as he absorbed the new threats.

“When you bring a problem to the table, you bring a doozy, don’t you?”
Royal huffed out a long harried breath and took a long swig from his beer.

“Never let it be said I do things in a small way. Sabine and her pack
sisters can’t locate those wolves who are using this artificial masking agent,
but they get a feeling that things are hinky. I’m hoping it’s enough to lead us
to the chemist.” He wasn’t about to send the Sinclairs or his pack mates into a
blind fight.

Drew still had a hard time wrapping his head around Micah’s
transformation. His size, brutal inexorable force, and the speed with which
Micah moved when in wolf form was astonishing. It would take more than one were
to put him down.

“We have to round those fuckers up.” Royal slammed the bottle on the
table and pushed his half-eaten plate of food to the side. He started to rise
to his feet.

Drew held up his hand to stay his departure. “There are two more things
you need to be aware of before we go in.”

“There can’t be more?”

“Yeah, there’s more. Speaking of a doozy, Micah told me that sick
bastard, Maxim, fed a select few, larger doses of steroids. He was one, a were
named Rifkin is another. And from what I understand, he’s positioning himself
to take over the leadership of the Redmaven pack. That’s not happening.”

“Crap. It’s not going to be pretty is it?”

“No, and if we don’t move fast, it’s going to get uglier. I don’t want
Bardo taken out by Rifkin before we get to him. That’s why you have him penned.
Rifkin doesn’t have the manpower to take on two packs. His MO is to use
stealth. I’m still worried he might get desperate and make a preemptive strike.
That’s why I want to move on this tonight.”

A feral vengeful glint flashed through Royal’s eyes. “Sign me up and
forget the exchange of favors. It’s not right for them to mess with what we
are.”

“How do you feel about being a kingmaker?”

Confusion brought a frown to Royal’s brow. “What are you up to?”

“We’re going to take the fight to Bardo and let Micah have a few words
with him to explain the new order of things.”

“Shouldn’t you be having a little chat with him first?”

Drew shrugged. “Yeah, I should, but I’ll secure Aimee’s future if Micah
goes up to bat first. Bardo will have to accept the challenge from a beta in
his pack. We’ll have to go before the council to petition for reinstatement for
the Redmavens. Will you stand with us as one of the four supplicants? Justice
is laying the foundation for that.”

Realization dawned in Royal’s eyes. “You’ve become quite the politician,
haven’t you?” He shook his head. “You’re not going all sensitive on me now, are
you?”

“No, but I’ve come to a realization.” Drew leaned back in his chair and
crossed his arms over his chest.

Looking skeptical, Royal encouraged, “Oh, do tell me about this
epiphany.”

“I’ve seen how an alpha’s inflexibility can destroy a pack. Sabine’s
father removed his clan from society because of his beliefs, and almost brought
them to the point of extinction. Look at what Maxim Redmaven’s doctrine has
done to his pack. If I let go of my right and need for reprisal, I’ll help
Micah become the Redmavens’ alpha. Then those poor saps will have a leader
who’ll look out for them. I’ll make my sister happy, even though that S.O.B. is
not someone I’d have chosen for her. And if my pal will help me facilitate
this, hell, I’ll buy him a damned plane.”

“The upkeep would murder my budget. The loan will be fine, and I will pay
you back, but no freaking interest. Now what do you need from me.”

“How fast can you arrange to move two hundred weres to your mini
plantation?”

“If you’re footing the bill I can arrange anything. Where do you want the
transpo sent?”

“To the wharf here.”

“Don’t tell me you have them stashed in one of the motels on the
waterfront?”

“No, my newly acquired, unwanted brother-in-law hid his family on a
trawler. They’ll come ashore when you give the word.”

Royal’s jaw dropped, and for a moment, he looked like a guppy. “A boat!
They’re on a freaking boat. No wonder Bardo is chasing his tail all over
Savannah. He can’t locate them. I can get a couple of buses here within an
hour. I’ll have Nara arrange it. But if they still have a were in the area,
they can follow the refugees’ scent trail right back to the safe house I’m
providing. Where do you want me positioned in this clusterfuck you’re
planning?”

Drew leaned in and laid out his plan. “I need this mop operation to go as
smoothly as possible. At the end of the night, I want Bardo de-fanged, and
those mutts who are masking themselves taken care of at the same time. Sabine
and her sisters will locate the latter bunch with your pack and watch their
backs.”

“Afraid if I get her alone, she might come to her senses and run off to
Tahiti with me?”

“You’re too cheap to pay for a vacation to Tahiti.”

“I consider myself frugal, not cheap. Besides, I now have access to a private
plane. Thanks to you.”

“My men will go with the Silverwolves, since they trained with them, and
they will have instructions to keep Sabine on a tight leash. Though I wouldn’t
mention that little fact to her. She has a tendency to take off on her own.”

“Not under my watch, she won’t,” Royal said with the confidence of an
ignorant man.

“Watch her closely. The Lunedares will help Micah and his men deal with the
Redmaven alpha. It’s our right. There is sure to be a fight, and it will
appease the blood lust that’s been riding us and salve pack pride. Are you
still coming along for the ride after all I’ve told you?”

With the eager anticipation that preceded a good scrap, Royal nodded.
“Hell yes, I want to see what these badass weres are made of. If there are more
out there, we need to learn their weakness to counter any attack. It would be
better to lure Bardo out of the city.”

Drew shook his head. “He won’t come out in the open, since he’s not sure
who to trust. I think he’s staying put, hoping we won’t start much of a ruckus
in the midst of a city full of humans.”

Royal snorted. “He doesn’t know you much, does he?”

Drew responded with a sneer. “We’re taking the fight to him. I figure I
could ask Rick to hack into the power company and shut down the electricity
grid in that area for a couple of hours.”

“I do my best work in the dark.”

Drew felt it necessary to warn Royal, “It’s likely you’ll get your ass
kicked. I got pretty banged up.”

A wild gleam that Drew recognized flashed in Royal’s eyes. “Hasn’t
happened in a long time. I’d say I’m overdue. Besides, I fight dirty.”

In full agreement, Drew drawled, “Is there any other way?”

A waitress skipped over to their table, snatched up Royal’s discarded
plate and added it to an overloaded tray, balanced precariously on the palm of her
other hand.

“Done with that, hon? May I offer you dessert? We got pie, peach, apple,
and pecan. Our specialty of the day is our nine layer better-than-sex chocolate
cake.” She winked at them and stuck out her impressive chest. Her nametag, with
Shelly etched into it, perched like an off-center cherry on the twin mounds,
offering them a sweet treat that wasn’t on the menu.

The interested gleam in Royal’s eyes heated Shelly’s cheeks.

Drew kicked Royal under the table and put an end to the eye-sex he was
having with the enthralled girl.

Sabine had been annoyed he left her behind on the boat. What better way
to get back in her good graces than to bring her baked goods. “Ahh, Shelly, box
me one of each and bring me the bill please.” He reached for his wallet and
slapped his card down on the table.

The server’s pencil-thin brows shot up to disappear under her shaggy
bangs. “A slice of each?”

“No, one pie each, and an entire cake and we’re in a hurry. If you set us
up we’d be grateful.”

With a last regretful glance at Royal Shelly headed for the kitchen.

“Did you forget we have work to do?”

Royal gave him a what-the-hell shrug. “What? We have an hour or two to
kill. If I’m going into battle I need to be loose and limber, and nothing
relaxes me like sex.”

More than a little annoyed, Drew reproved, “Jesus, man, keep your eye on
the ball. We have more pressing matters to attend to.”

Unrepentant, Royal watched the sway of Shelly’s peach-shaped butt. “This
can’t be the same man who rolled out of bed after satisfying three she-wolves
the night before last encounter we had with the Redmavens. Shit, if this is
what taking a mate does to you, I’m never putting my mark on a she-wolf.”

A self-satisfied smirk spread across Drew’s face. Poor sap had no clue
what he was missing. “Then you will never know what is like to make love to
your mate as both were and man. To have all your senses filled until there is
no space for anything or anyone else. Until you are so sated, you have no need
for more. Before I put my mark on Sabine there was always room for more, we
were always hunting for the next experience.” Having said it out loud, it hit
him that he’d found completeness with Sabine. “That is what I wish for you, my
friend.”

“Don’t go all Mr. Miyagi on me with that cryptic crap. Like Jell-O, there
is always room for more. Heard it, don’t believe it. My sex life is just dandy,
thanks.”

Chapter Thirty-four

The air over Savannah was redolent with were spoor. It acted as a
harbinger of a reckoning. It changed the rhythm of the night and alerted any
being that lived by their instincts of the approaching danger. Mammals which
had adapted to the urban setting sought refuge, scuttling into crevices and
sewers. Birds took to the skies or crouched protectively over their eggs or
hatchlings in their nests under the eaves. Insects ceased their nocturnal
chitter. Domesticated dogs, sensing a threat to their humans, barked and
howled, but fell silent to whimper and cower in fear, overwhelmed by the
intrusion of the primal presence invading their havens.

The homeless inhabiting the wharves, having developed a presentiment of
danger, knew something bad was coming. They abandoned their makeshift homes,
leaving behind their meager but precious belongings. Moments after they fled, a
twenty-block square surrounding the docks went inexplicably dark. And, with the
light-swallowing darkness, came a fraught silence which hung over the sleeping
city.

Heavy, oppressive, and deadly.

In a slowly diminishing circle, the wolves charged with monitoring Bardo
Redmaven’s movements, converged on the industrial block where he’d set up his
temporary den. The Lunedares and Sinclairs secreted themselves in the
alleyways, stoops, and boarded-up buildings to wait and watch for the signal to
attack.

Sabine traveled through the deserted streets by Drew’s side in the back
of Royal’s burly SUV. A prickling of her perceptions brought on a frightful
uneasiness. She threaded her fingers through Drew’s and shifted closer to him.
The scent of her agitation filled the vehicle.

Drew wrapped his arm around her quivering shoulders. “What is it?” he
demanded, his eyes glowing preternaturally in the dark.

“They’re here, the wolves hiding in what we are.” Her skin crawled and
the need to shift bore down on her.