Chapter Thirty-one
Brady
This probably wasn't the worst reunion, but as Brady attempted to get comfortable on a stack of wood slats, he was hard pressed to think of a worse one. It wasn't just the accommodations that were lacking, but the angry mob of super powered shifters getting louder by the minute in the next room over. The rest of Darius' pack had arrived right before Pippen had snapped the lock into place on the storage room door. Brady wasn't sure how Darius' pack had taken it, but judging from the noise that even his human ears could hear, they weren't happy.
In response, a crowd of wolf shifters began gathering in the hallway, standing between the storage room and the angry mob as a protection detail. Pippen was there, as was Caleb, Asher and Sorrell. A while later they were joined by another extremely buff wolf shifter named Oscar, who informed the others that his mate was taking care of their children with his sister and brother.
Felix and Conner had left to speak with the leaders of Darius' pack. That had been a great moment, when the three of them, Parker Glenn and Brady had learned that Darius was a pack master. If there was one good thing about all this, the break in on the bar seemed to be forgotten in the excitement.
"No way around it," Pippen murmured to Sorrell. "We'll have to postpone the party, if only long enough for the food to be delivered again. I've been prepping for days. If I find who did this…"
"Whoever did this had to have balls of steel to purposefully go up against that guy," Parker murmured to Glenn. "He's terrifying."
Glenn grinned and nodded, but that got Brady thinking. "Whoever did this, broke in; I don't think they know any of you. Why break bottles of liquor instead of just taking all of them? And why ruin the food?"
"To send a message," Caleb said, obviously eavesdropping on the conversation.
"What is the message though?" Sorell asked. "Don't have a great party?"
"This would be easier if we could sense the coyotes. That's why they are so wily," the shifter named Oscar said. "You don't know you have a coyote until it is almost too late."
"You don't smell coyotes by their shifter animal like you would a lion," Asher said.
"You sense them by their surroundings," both Asher and Parker said at the same time.
Asher paused to share a moment with Parker. Brady thought he saw a nod of apology. "That is how I knew what Parker was the moment I met him. He smelled like the forest, like the shrubs that grow there, the trees, the lakes, the animals that are all unique to that mountain. Except, he didn't also have a human, wolf or lion smell."
"Could you try that around the area of the crime?" Pippen asked.
"I could, but honestly, Parker would be better at it," Asher replied.
In that moment, Brady decided again that Asher was a good friend to have. Parker looked prouder than he had since they got there.
"We'll have to wait until Conner and Felix get those guys out of here. All of our pack members have been sent home until further notice. These guys are less agreeable to just leaving. Even though their pack master is fine now. Completely healed," Pippen said.
It was evening before Felix burst down the hallway looking very tired and just as irritated. "Whose idea was this?" he mumbled more to himself. "Those shifters are dill holes, most of them anyway."
"That's the point of this," Sorell said, looping his arm around Felix's. "Outside pack relations."
"Well, I was able to relate with them enough to send them down to another bar. Christine hates me already, she'll hate me more when she finds out I sent them there."
Pippen unlocked the cell and led them out to the front. The restaurant looked weird with most of the lights off and empty of customers. Asher and Parker continued forward, tiptoeing through the wreckage without touching anything too much. The rest of them stood a few steps back and waited. Brady leaned into Glenn, needing his strength as much as Glenn needed his.
A few minutes later, Brady thought about sitting, he was so tired. "Mother fucking Foster!" Parker exclaimed making Brady and Sorell jump.
"Who?" Felix asked.
Parker and Glenn filled the wolf shifters in on who Foster was and as they did, it clicked.
"A message. He sent a message. We destroyed his distillery, so he destroyed your bar." Brady held Glenn's hand. "This is our fault. I'm sorry."
"Don't take the blame for this," Conner snarled. "You don't control what other people do. What's the best way of learning more about this Foster? Or do you think he'll be done now?"
"He doesn't seem like the type to end things fairly," Glenn growled.
"He also isn't this brave," Brady added. "I can't see him sneaking in here on his own."
"Because he wasn't alone," Parker said solemnly, holding a white towel to his face. It had been on the counter, seemingly left from the break in. Beside him, Asher scowled as if he also knew whose scent was on the towel but he did not open his mouth to speak the name. "The coyotes are to blame, just like everyone thought."
***
After, Pippen, and a small crew stayed at The Den to clean up. Brady had offered to help too, but both Glenn and Parker looked as though they needed some space away so he was thankful when Pippen said they didn't need help.
Back at the apartment, the three of them wandered, listless. None of them quite knew what to do and for once, the heat that usually dictated Brady's actions had soothed. A while later, Brady and Parker sat on the couch while Glenn was in the kitchen making them something to eat.
Parker leapt off the couch as Glenn burst from the kitchen. "What happened?" Brady asked, following his mates into the office. Once he was in the same room as the radio, Brady could hear what the two shifters had. A voice coming through the speakers.
"Hello? Parker? Hello? Damn I forgot what I say when I'm done talking," Hazel said through the radio.
"You say over," a softer higher voice sounded through the speakers.
Glenn got there first and picked up the receiver, speaking into it. "We're here, what's going on?"
"Glenn? That you? Parker there? He said he'll only talk to Parker."
Brady didn't like the sound of that.
Glenn handed it over to Parker who brought it to his lips. "Are you okay? Is everyone okay?"
There was silence and then an ominous static before a low voice spoke. "Hey cuz, nice place you have here. No wonder we wanted to take it."
"Clinton, if you've hurt any of them, I will kill you."
"What the fuck are you talking about? Hurt my pack? Isn't that what you do? They are safer with me than they are with you. Oh sorry, I forgot your title, Pack Master."
Brady gasped. That had to mean…
"When did he die?"
"Does it matter? He's fucking dead. Why don't you come down and claim your prize? That's what you wanted right? To be pack master?"
Parker's face twisted into an expression of sorrow and anger. He was upset at the news of his uncle, but he had no time to grieve. "No, I never did. I only wanted to help," he said with no expression. "Clinton, you need to listen to me, Foster's moonshine, the liquor he makes, it's poison, it is killing you."
"Come on, man, like we believe you. Foster's done nothing but help us."
"I know you were at The Den, I know you helped him bash things up."
"Oh, so sorry to mess of your precious wolf pack's day." Clinton snorted, somehow making the sound feel like a curse word.
"Parker?" his aunt's voice sounded through the speaker, she was clearly crying. "Please come back." There was a scratching noise like there was a scuffle or something on the other end and then nothing.