Chapter Eight
A few minutes before 9 p.m., the three brothers, along with their sister, Melissa, drove to “Joe’s” diner. As soon as Ray strode through the door, it was clear to him that fear had consumed his pack. The ambiance of the diner equaled the quiet of a church. There were no voices in the air whatsoever. Most members were stealing glances at each other, lightly tapping their fingers on the tables, staring out the window or in the middle of the hall, in eager anticipation of Martin and Jimmy. The tension was so thick that Ray could cut it with a knife. Nevertheless, his brother did not seem at all bothered. As usual, Raul was oozing with confidence, patting each and every shifter on the back, speaking words of encouragement. He might have been popular among his kind for disposing of Warrick, the tyrant that once plagued Paxton, but, with this simple gesture, he was proving to them that he had precisely what it took to be their leader: the heart of a true Alpha.
Several minutes later, the two scouts that Raul had sent emerged from the woods. For some reason that Ray could not fathom, they were both in festive spirits, chuckling, as they made their way towards the entrance. Something was very wrong. They didn’t look like they had just encountered an enemy pack. More often than not, scouts returned with urgency, running back from such missions, but that could not be said about Martin and Jimmy. If anything, they appeared to be content; happy, even. Raul positioned himself a few paces behind the front door, and folded his arms across his chest, as his face tightened with an expression of skepticism.
“Evening, boss,” Martin spoke in his nasal voice, barging in. “Evening, fellas.” He went on, glancing around him.
“How did it go?” Raul asked him, his voice stiff.
“Awesome!” Martin exclaimed, his eyes sparkling with excitement. “Their Alpha’s a great guy! His name’s Dominic Granger. We, um…” he paused. “We introduced ourselves to him. Then, we tried to ask them about their intentions, but…”
“He wouldn’t let us talk,” Jimmy interjected, stepping beside Martin. “He gave us two of his pack’s females.”
“Each,” Martin added, with a wicked nod and a wicked grin which spread across his face.
“Oh, shit…” Ray muttered, tearing his gaze away from them.
“You fucked them?” Raul spoke, leaning forward, as he unfurled his arms.
“We sure did,” Martin chuckled, nodding at the same time. “They were…”
The Alpha didn’t allow him to finish his sentence. Raul’s snarl echoed back at the walls of the hall, as he thrust his arm up. He grabbed Martin by the throat, his fangs lengthening, as he turned his body to the left. The scout’s brows popped up, the skin on his face tingling with fear, as Raul pinned him up against the wall.
“How stupid can you be, you fucking, mutts!” He yelled, his eyes glazing over with rage, his knuckles white as he gripped Martin’s neck. “I sent you there to get information, not to get laid!”
“But, they were hot,” Martin choked out, his face slowly turning blue, as he struggled for air. “Sorry, boss.”
“Fuck!” Raul shouted, his chest heaving, as he tossed the scout to the left. Martin let out a cry of agony, as his body tumbled to the floor.
“Where are they?” Dean asked Jimmy.
“About half-a-mile east, give or take. Dominic said he’d only talk to the Alpha.” He replied, his gaze locked on his fallen comrade, as Raul spun around, curling his fingers into fists. Throwing an arm forward, he rotated it in midair. A tremendous strike to Jimmy’s jaw sent him reeling back. Hundreds of tiny shards of glass were thrown across the diner floor and the parking lot, as his body shattered the glass façade.
“Dean, Ray, come with me,” Raul commanded, striding towards the entrance. “The rest of you stay here.”
“Assholes…” Dean growled, following right behind him, as his brother stormed down the stairs.
“I couldn’t have said it better myself,” Ray agreed, starting after them. Raul stepped off the landing, turning his gaze down at Jimmy. His scout was still lying on the ground, moaning in pain.
“I should rip your throats out right here, right now, you retards.” He growled with his wolf, as Dean and Ray joined him. “Damn fucks. You couldn’t keep your dicks in your pants.”
“They learned their lesson,” Dean spoke his mind, gently slapping him on the shoulder. “Let’s go find that pack.”
“Can someone tell me why an Alpha would just offer up four females of his pack to a couple of strangers?” Ray inquired, as the brothers headed off to the east.
“That’s easy,” Raul grumbled, walking alongside them. “He tempted them to leave our pack and join his. ‘You come with us, you get pussy.’ And those idiots fell right into his trap. I’m actually surprised they didn’t stay there.”
“One doesn’t stay loyal to a pack just for the females, Raul.” Dean asserted, as they left the parking lot behind them. “No one would choose getting laid over a sadistic tyrant.”
“You wouldn’t,” Raul emphasized, his gaze settled on the first tree in front of him. “I don’t know about them.”
“Can we focus on the problem at hand?” Ray requested, his feet crushing a dry twig, as they crossed the forest line. “How are we going to handle this?”
“First of all, we don’t shift.” Raul instructed, his voice bass-deep, as he lifted his foot over a sizeable bush. “They might take that as an act of hostility. We’ll ask about their intentions, although I think it will be a stupid conversation. No pack ventures so close to another pack’s territory, unless they want to take over.”
“It could be something else,” Dean stated his opinion, brushing past a massive, oak tree.
“Don’t be ridiculous, brother,” Raul scoffed, a few beams of moonlight shining down through trees, as he turned his attention to him. “Make no mistake; they’re here for our land.”
“Maybe they need our help. Maybe they’re up against a witch, and they want to know how we beat Marianne,” Dean elaborated, moving around a bush that blocked his path.
“Stop:” Raul said, thrusting his arm sideways, across his brother’s chest, his feet frozen to the ground. Ray squeezed his eyes shut, as Dean obeyed. Tipping his chin up, he sniffed the air around him. Other than the fragrances of oak and elm, there were two, unfamiliar, wolf smells. Both of them were thick with testosterone, and rather strong, indicating that the strangers were too close for comfort.
“There’s a welcoming committee,” Raul added, forcing his brother’s eyes to snap open. Two, feral snarls tore the silence, as their owners sprung out of a bush, a few yards across from him and slightly to the right. The wolves padded toward the brothers, hackles raised, tails straight out behind them, their gazes locked on Raul. Neither of them would stop snarling, but they wouldn’t raise their lips, either. They were not threatening them, at least not yet. “Get the fuck out of my face, before I really lose my patience,” Raul commanded, narrowing his eyes down at them.
“You really have terrible manners,” A deep, hoarse voice rose above the noise, drawing their attention. Ray’s gaze shot up, only to discover that a towering man was pacing towards them. He was still a little too far for him to make out his exact height, but he had to be at least 6’4”, just as tall as his Alpha. The man in question was not alone. He was accompanied by a blonde female, not much shorter than him. “Get back, you two. I’ll handle this.” He ordered, glancing down at the two wolves. Their sad yips filled the brothers’ ears, as they turned around.
“That son of a bitch is big,” Dean commented, watching as the strangers closed in on them.
“Size is overrated, my friend,” the man continued, as his mouth curved into a smile of irony. “Let me introduce myself to you. My name is Dominic Granger. This is my cousin, Victoria. I’m the Alpha of this pack. You must be the Bradford brothers.”
“How do you know who we are?” Raul asked, as his face distorted in a grimace of surprise.
“Your scouts were quite talkative,” Dominic smirked, settling his gaze on Raul, as his feet halted on the left of the bush. “But, I knew your names, long before I even considered getting here. Your fallen Alpha used to be my friend once. Warrick talked to me about you, a few months ago. I told him to get rid of you, but he didn’t listen. I had a feeling you’d destroy him. You should also know that your feat against Marianne McIntyre caused ripples throughout the packs all over the country. The way you disposed of her was just sensational.”
“I was attacked by one of your goons last night,” Ray interjected, his eyes glinting with anger. “Why?”
“You must be referring to Shane Marks,” Dominic spoke, his voice lowering, as his gaze focused on Ray. “He was one of us, but I had to kick him out. He was disrespecting my rules, particularly the one about fooling around with my cousin here.”
“What are you doing here? What do you want?” Raul posed the two questions, his own voice firm, as he put his hands on his waist.
“Let me tell you why we became nomads first,” Dominic murmured as a hint of discomfort entered his tone. “We were living peacefully in ‘Madame Sherri Forest’ in New Hampshire, until one day, a large chunk of it was sold to a construction company. We were forced to abandon our homes. We’re searching for living space; that’s why we came here. I offered those four females to your scouts as a token of my intentions. We simply wish to coexist with you. We mean you no harm.”
“What a load of shit!” Raul shouted, his face twisting in a mocking leer. “You just wanted them to think you’re better than me. And two packs, living in the same space? That’s got to be the dumbest joke I’ve ever heard.”
“That is my offer. Take it or leave it.” Dominic continued, his voice steady, completely unaffected by Raul’s nasty comments. “You are a very much respected adversary, Raul. You might be strong, but you are vastly outnumbered. Do not force my hand. You have one week to decide.”
“You mean ‘yield’,” Raul growled, casting a fierce glare at him.
“This conversation is over,” Dominic assumed an authoritative tone. “Think about my offer. You have a good night.”
The brothers began to glance at one another, speechless, as their rival and his cousin walked off into the night. Naturally, Ray was stunned by Dominic’s proposal. Packs could not share living space. Squabbles among them would be rather frequent, and fights would certainly lead to war between them. Still, neither he, nor his brothers could understand why Dominic had bothered suggesting coexistence, instead of declaring war upon them. He did have the numerical advantage. What was stopping him? In any case, they were now faced with the grim task of informing the rest of the pack, and Ray could only hope that they would not panic.