Liam reached down to help me up, body rigid with anger. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. He only pushed me. It wouldn’t have made me fall if the coward had done it when I was facing him instead of catching me by surprise.”
When Liam tugged me upward, my chest collided with his, causing me to suck in a breath. I avoided eye contact and quickly backed away. I couldn’t decide my feelings for him. One minute I wanted to throttle him, the next I wanted to wrap my legs around him and find out just how cocky he really was. If only he could remain an asshole, things would be much less complicated.
Catching me by surprise, my wolf whispered a word that sounded a hell of a lot like ‘mate’. There was no way I was going to acknowledge anything close to that, so I promptly pushed her thoughts away and ignored it pretending she had said hate instead. That made more sense to my overwhelmed mind.
Augie and my dad rushed over to us while Declan and one of his cronies dragged Rafe away. The crowd had finally reacted, and they were not happy. Shouts sounded from the sides where shifters sat, and the committee members were rapidly overwhelmed by the commotion.
“Everyone, please go back to your pack sites. We will take care of this matter in private,” one of the hosts said on a loudspeaker.
My dad grabbed my shoulders with both hands, inspecting me. “I knew bringing you here was a bad idea. We’re leaving today.”
“Dad, don’t be so dramatic. Rafe didn’t hurt me. Let’s finish what we came here to do.”
By then, Elijah and Liam’s brothers had joined our little group. “How about we go chat about some things back in your area?” Elijah asked my dad.
“Probably time we did that.”
Augie pulled me into him and hugged me. “Couldn’t play it cool, could you?”
Laughter bubbled out from my lips. “It’s not my style.”
The group of us walked the rest of the way in silence. Anger bubbled just beneath the surface, but I was holding it in surprisingly well. Augie kept me anchored to him as he held on tightly to my hand. No doubt he felt the tremors rolling off of me, and I appreciated his silent support. I wished Liam hadn’t punched Rafe. I would have gladly done it myself, but I wouldn’t have stopped with one punch. I would have pounded his face in until it was no longer recognizable. Maybe it was better Liam had stepped in.
“You’re cutting off circulation, Tay,” Augie whispered in my ear.
I loosened my grip and gave him a half-smile. He slowed down, and we fell behind the group. “What’s going on?” I asked.
“Davis called during the games,” Augie said in a low voice. “He was able to get two females out of Declan’s pack undetected. He found them on the outskirts of their property. Pure luck on his part. Neither of them is talking yet, but they were happy to leave with Davis.”
“Where is he taking them?” I asked.
“Back to Oregon. He was going to meet us here, but your dad said to take them home. He didn’t want them anywhere near Declan and chance something happening.”
My dad had made the right call. Obviously, Declan and Rafe both had tempers. We needed to keep as many innocent people as we could out of the crossfire.
I began walking faster, now agreeing my dad had the right idea to leave. “We need to get out of here and talk with those girls.”
Augie nodded. “That’s the plan. Your dad wants to talk with Elijah, and then we’re leaving.”
As much as I had wanted my chance at challenging Rafe tomorrow, I was pretty much over this place. Other than potentially having an ally in Elijah, we didn’t learn anything new that would be helpful in avenging Cord.
We arrived back at the tents and went right into the one Davis had set up for the meeting. Once we were all inside, I felt a little claustrophobic. None of the men standing before me were small by any means. Liam, Caleb, and Aiden all wore blank expressions and stood shoulder-to-shoulder on the far wall. My dad stood at the table in the center and Elijah was across from him. Augie stayed by my side, but I moved over a little bit to get some breathing room.
“I think it’s time we started working together,” Elijah began. “With the hostility Rafe has shown Taya, I am assuming they realize you’re on to whatever they’ve been doing in the Rocky Mountains?”
My dad nodded. “That’s what we believe. I stupidly let Cord convince me it was a good idea to go for a visit to their pack under the pretense that it was part of his alpha training. They must have realized he was also snooping around and retaliated.”
I walked over to my dad and placed my hand on his arm. “Cord would have done it regardless. You can’t take on that guilt.”
His eyes softened, but he ignored my comment. “Do you know what they’re doing?” he asked Elijah.
“We’ve surmised they’re growing their numbers somehow but haven’t figured out how. None of the other packs are reporting transfers or missing members.”
My dad cleared his throat. “That’s because there are no missing wolves. There are missing humans.”
Liam stepped forward. “What do you mean, ‘humans’?”
“Declan has convinced a sorceress to help him turn humans into shifters. I don’t know how she is doing it, but we’ve seen the proof. It’s happening, and we’re close to proving it. When we get back home, we should have enough evidence to gather the council and bring Declan to trial.”
Elijah seemed uncertain, and it pissed me off. Liam’s face was tense, and his body was shaking. His brothers both laid a hand on each of his shoulders, which seemed to calm him some.
“What kind of evidence do you have?” Elijah asked. “You’ll only get one chance at this, and if it’s as bad as it sounds, I hope you’re certain you can nail the bastard.”
My dad hesitated, and I was glad. I knew he had known Elijah for many years, but people changed. I wasn’t sure how much we should trust them and hoped my dad continued to proceed with caution.
“We won’t move forward until we’re confident we have him, or we would have done so already. I haven’t seen the newest evidence myself. Otherwise, I’d share it with you. When we get back and know more, I’ll let you know.”
Elijah nodded, seeming okay with the response. “What can we do to help in the meantime?”
“Just keep your ears open and let me know if you hear anything. The more nails we can put in Declan’s coffin, the better,” Dad said.
I peeked up at Liam, and he was staring at me. He winked and smirked, but I rolled my eyes and turned for the door. Augie followed me out, but before we could get too far, Declan showed up.
“Hello, Taya.” He reached a hand in greeting, but I ignored it. “Is your father here?”
I turned back around and walked into the tent again. “Dad, Declan is here.”
Everyone froze, but finally, my dad followed me out, and everyone else trailed behind to watch the show.
“What do you want, Declan?” Dad snapped.
He held his hands up in mock surrender. “I was just coming to apologize. My son shouldn’t have laid hands on your daughter. It was uncalled for and I wanted to make sure you knew he would be punished.”
What the what? He was up to something. His tone was too even and calm. All of my senses were on full alert.
“Apology noted, but if I catch your son near my family again, then his next punishment will be coming from me.”
Declan lips twisted into what I assumed was supposed to be a smile, but it creeped me out. His dark eyes narrowed on my dad. “As long as your family stays away from my territory, then we shouldn’t have a problem.”
Declan’s words were low, and the threat was clear. My hands balled up into fists, and it took everything I had not to go crazy on the psycho. He was lucky Davis had already gotten what we hopefully needed, and I didn’t want to make things worse.
Declan once again extended his hand. “Let’s not make things harder than they need to be, Gerald.”
My dad stepped forward and grasped Declan’s hand tightly. “You’re right. We’ll see you around.”
The dislike in my dad’s voice was evident, and he abruptly dropped Declan’s hand and turned his back on him. Declan huffed and mumbled something under his breath that I didn’t catch, but finally walked away without incident. I followed my dad back into the tent, but as soon as I walked in, he crashed into the table.
“Dad, what’s wrong?” I ran to his side, and he stared at me, eyes wide with fear.
“Can’t feel –”
His eyes closed, and he collapsed to the ground. “DAD!” I screamed, and Augie rushed in.
“What happened?” he asked.
“I don’t know. He crashed into the table, said he couldn’t feel, and then he passed out.”
Augie helped me straighten my dad’s body out, and as we finished, Elijah walked in, taking stock of the situation. “Declan must have done something to him. No way was that a coincidence. We need to get him to a healer. He could have poisoned him somehow when they shook hands.”
I did a partial shift to my wolf, letting her smell the area. We didn’t detect anything off, so I wasn’t sure it was poison, but there was no other reasonable explanation. Scents could be masked, so maybe Declan had done just that, though there was no way to know until my dad’s blood was tested.
I hovered over my dad. “We won’t be doing anything. Augie and I can take it from here.”
I didn’t know these people, and I certainly didn’t trust anyone anymore. First my brother and now my father. I wouldn’t lose him, too. I crouched protectively over him and let out a low growl as Elijah came closer.
Elijah backed up a little, and his sons came in behind him.
“What’s going on?” Aiden asked, sounding more in charge than I expected, considering Liam was the alpha-in-training.
“Nothing you need to concern yourself with. Augie and I will care for my father. When we have any news, we’ll send word.”
“Oh, Taya,” Caleb rebuked as if we were old friends. “I understand you don’t know us, yet, but we’re not going anywhere. Don’t make this any harder than it needs to be. We’re on your side. Your dad needs a healer, now let us take you to one.”
Caleb’s words, while demanding, were spoken softly and genuinely. I glanced at Augie and he nodded, urging me to accept their help. They could help me get my dad in the truck, but I was taking him to our pack doctor. Nobody else would touch him.
“We have a doctor at our pack. You can help us get him in the truck, and we will get my dad there.”
Caleb shook his head. “That will take too long. He needs someone sooner than that. If he’s been poisoned, he needs medicine before whatever it might be causes permanent damage. Don’t let your stubbornness get in the way, sweetheart.”
The way the endearment rolled off his lips so naturally made me want to cave. His voice was naturally calming, and if I wasn’t careful, he might just have a chance at breaking through my rough exterior. His eyes showed a genuine concern, and I didn’t know what to do. I turned to Augie again, silently asking him for his opinion with one look.
“Just let them help, Taya. I don’t see any other options if you want to get him back to Oregon quickly.”
I let out a huff and sighed. “Fine, we’ll accept your help.”
Caleb laughed as he leaned down and brought his face level with mine. “Sooner or later, you’re going to realize we’re the good guys. It will be a lot easier if you don’t fight it.”
Liam yanked on Caleb’s arm. “Lay off the charm, brother. She has enough to deal with.”
Caleb’s deep chortle caught me off guard. “Don’t worry, I wasn’t trying to hit on your girl.”
Liam’s face turned ten different shades of red as he shoved Caleb outside. Elijah and Aiden stepped closer.
“Let’s get him to your truck, and we’ll take you to our plane,” Elijah said.
Of course, they have a plane, I thought sarcastically as I nodded.
I stepped out of the way while Augie, Liam, and Caleb gently lifted my father from the ground. I cringed at the lack of life in his massive body. The repercussions on our pack if my dad didn’t wake were ones I knew we weren’t prepared for. I was, however, ready to stop playing by the rules. Screw politics. No matter the consequences. I’d been pushed past the point of giving any fucks.