Chapter Seven
Caleb paced the living room in his small apartment above Devil’s Den. Moving to Glendale was supposed to make things easier for the pack, and now they were dealing with pack threats from other wolves and even Blooded. He half-expected some coyotes and bears to show up and threaten them. It’d be about their luck.
“So did the cops ever show up?” Caleb said after he finished relating everything that he’d discussed with Sarah.
Malcolm was leaning against a wall, his arms crossed. “One guy stopped by to ask about a fight. Apparently one of those college kids called 9-1-1. I was semi-honest. Told him some rough customers had shown up, and we tossed them out. He looked around for a minute, and mumbled something about appreciating our restraint.” He shrugged. “I’m guessing since he didn’t see a bunch of smashed tables and bottles, he figured I was telling the truth, or he just didn’t give a crap since there were no bodies lying around. Point is, he left not that long after he came.”
Caleb growled. “Damn True Sons. I was hoping this shit would either happen right away or not at all.”
“The dragon did warn us.”
“The fucking dragon could have probably taken care of the problem himself. Lazy ass.” Caleb grunted. “I hate reptiles.”
Malcolm shrugged without uncrossing his arms. “Like he told us in April, it’ll be a chance for our pack to prove ourselves. I think we already did. Jake at least knows we won’t show our bellies just because he comes in here to start shit.”
Caleb nodded. “Yeah, no problem with that. Just don’t want our place getting thrashed in the meantime. That’s why I wouldn’t have minded if those bastards came at us when we first got here. But of course they had to wait, and we know they’ve been around.”
Malcolm blew out a long breath. “Anyway, whatever. If we beat the True Sons down a few times, they’ll understand in their stupid little wolf brains who controls this territory. They aren’t the main problem. That woman is, and you know it.”
“I already told you that I explained the situation.” Caleb narrowed his eyes. “So what are you bitching about now?”
“You told her all that and then you just left her at her place,” his beta said, irritation etched into his face. “Which makes no damn sense to me at all, not if you’re trying to keep our secret.”
Caleb shrugged. “What did you want me to do? Knock her out with a club and drag her back here? Sounds like a way to just really piss her off.”
“You didn’t have to knock her out, but, hell yes, you should have brought her back. Just because she’s Blooded doesn’t mean she won’t go running to the news or the police the first chance she gets. Or maybe she’s looking through the internet for werewolf hunters. You said it yourself, she didn’t have a clue about any of this.” Malcolm gestured broadly with both arms. “She could screw us very easily. Maybe even tip off an actual hunter.”
“A hunter?” Caleb scoffed. “Good luck. As for the police or news, what’s she gonna tell them? That werewolves are running around Glendale and dragons rule the world? She’d end up being ignored or locked up in the looney bin. And, hell, even if she does try, it’d get buried soon enough by some shifters.”
Malcolm pushed off the wall. “And then someone like Greg is going to show up at our door and make us pay, probably after killing her.”
A growl ripped out of Caleb. “I don’t care who they are, dragon or not, they kill a wolf Blooded, they die. If that happens, we go get the True Sons, and we go at the dragons together.”
“You want to go up against the dragons?” Malcolm cocked a brow. “Do you hear yourself right now?”
“Are you saying you wouldn’t back me?”
Malcolm said. “I’m just wanting to make sure that you understand that you’re talking about stirring up serious shit.”
“If they want to go up against us, then yeah.” Caleb dropped onto his ratty old couch. The leather had long since torn, but he just loved the damn thing. It’d even shaped to his butt after years of use. Some of his fire drained out, and he waved a hand. “But I’m not going to go looking for trouble.” He grunted. “Anyway, the best way to get Sarah to realize we’re on her side is give her a little room. If I’d grabbed her and locked her up here, then she would have tried to escape and call the cops. Then we would be screwed.”
The other man grunted and shook his head. “I’m just saying if she were closer to us, then at least we could keep an eye on her. Then we’d know if she was going to be trouble or not. I’m not trying to be a bitch about this.”
Caleb shrugged. “I’m not worried. She’ll keep her mouth shut.”
“Not even a little? How can you be so sure?”
“I trust my gut. She didn’t seem scared. She seemed… interested. Hell, she is Blooded. So it’s not like we’re just going to ignore her anyway.”
Malcolm stared at Caleb, the corners of his mouth turned down slightly. “Oh. I see.”
Caleb eyed the other man. “I don’t have time for games. If you have something to say, spit it out.”
“I’ll follow you as my alpha, but please tell me this isn’t about your cock.”
Caleb burst out laughing. “What the hell are you talking about, Malcolm?”
“Come on, you want to screw her. We all do on some level. She’s Blooded, but that doesn’t guarantee crap other than a greater chance at a werewolf kid. Maybe this is about you risking the pack just so you can get a mate, or even worse, wet your dick a little in a rare woman. If this is about just getting sex, go pick up some random woman. You need to think of the pack first, and your needs seconds.”
“I always think of the pack first.” A second later, Caleb was off the couch and right in front of Malcolm, locking eyes with the other man, and growling. “If you want to challenge me to become alpha, then go ahead and challenge me.”
Malcolm didn’t flinch. “Just because I’m not alpha, doesn’t mean I won’t say what I feel if it’s about the pack. You’re an alpha, not our dictator.”
“Let’s make one thing really clear,” Caleb said, his voice low. “This isn’t about my dick or me getting a mate.”
The two men stared at each other for a long moment in tense silence until Malcolm averted his gaze and stepped away.
“Fine, fine,” he said, holding up a hand. “But she’s still not safe. If you don’t want to drag her here, then you should convince her to come here. Just tell her she’s in danger, and she’ll come along willingly.”
Caleb thought that over a second before giving a short nod. “Fine, I’ll set up a meeting here in a day or two when she’s had time to think things over. In the meantime, the pack will rotate keeping an eye on her.”
“Some aren’t going to like that. They’ll bitch about having to babysit a woman, especially since you already made it clear downstairs that if anyone gets a shot at her, it’ll be you.”
“Not just a woman. A Blooded.” Caleb grunted. “And whether not I get with her doesn’t change her importance. So tough shit if they do complain.”
“Just saying.”
“I’ll do it, too. That way they can’t bitch. Once we figure she’s not going to say anything, we can all go on with our lives, and she can figure out if she wants to hang around our pack or not.”
Malcolm’s face darkened. “There’s also another thing we should keep in mind.”
“What?”
“She could be lying.”
“Short of getting a dragon to do their little lie detector thing, there’s no way to know. Besides, I don’t think she’s lying about not going to other people. She really seemed confused about everything, and scared. She thought I was going to kill her. I’m sure of it.” He shrugged. “Made me feel a little bad.”
“That’s not what I’m talking about. There are different things she could be lying about.”
“Like what?”
“I’m saying what if she’s lying about knowing about werewolves.”
“Huh?” Caleb stared at Malcolm. “Why would she do that?” He shook his head, concern edging into his mind. The idea hadn’t occurred to him.
Malcolm sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. “Think about it. She showed up just right when the True Sons showed up.”
“Might be a coincidence. Shit happens, some good, some bad. I’ve seen weirder crap than that.”
“Or it might not be a coincidence at all. It might be a big trap.”
“Pretty fucking elaborate for a bunch of biker thugs. They aren’t exactly a bunch of Einsteins from what I saw.”
Malcolm shrugged. “Doesn’t mean they can’t set up a trap.”
Caleb grunted. “The play’s the same, even if she is trying to set us up. If we’re watching her, then we’ll know if she’s working with the True Sons or not.”
The other man stared at Caleb, a questioning look in his eyes. “And if she is?”
“Then nothing. Anyone in this pack harms a Blooded, I’ll tear his heart out myself. And if she is, I’ll tell her to get the hell out of here and never come back.” He looked at his door. “For now, though, we just need to keep an eye on her.”