Evershaw vibrated with rage that the witch openly defied him in front of his pack as well as outsiders, even though it intrigued his wolf side that she was that brave. Foolhardy and perhaps harboring a death wish, but brave. She’d returned to the cold witch he remembered meeting that first night in the cemetery. The difference made his instincts twitch in warning. He much preferred the Deirdre who teased him and even the one who seemed exhausted but still human. Still approachable. His protective instincts, driven not just by the wolf but by his place as alpha, started to kick in the moment he saw how exhausted and unbalanced she seemed. Her return to that frigid awful witch confused and distressed the wolf, since no one should have that kind of protective shell.

And he had to deal with that even though he had cultivated the distance and go-fuck-yourself attitude she exuded after Ashley left and destroyed his pack and him. That was different. He had good reason to push everyone away. The witch was just being cold and haughty to protect her ego at being ordered around.

Although it gave him pause when even Smith interceded to save the witch’s pride after she refused to acknowledge his status as alpha. Evershaw would have a word with Mercy about her effort to convince the witch to obey; he couldn’t decide if he was pleased with Mercy’s initiative or annoyed that she prevented him from teaching the witch a lesson. He’d almost been looking forward to a knock-down drag-out confrontation, just to see what the witch could do.

He stalked back to his quarters after Smith departed to investigate whatever the fuck it was he did during the day and how he intended to figure out who put the poison in the SUV. No one else dared enter the halls as Evershaw passed, since clearly word had gotten around that he was in a bad mood, and only Todd appeared in the living room while Evershaw paced and growled to himself.

His cousin seated himself in one of the armchairs near the window, not making eye contact. “Edgar Chase is helping to run down the underground exotic animal trade in the city, and we’ve got people out searching the pet stores and internet ads for snakes. There aren’t many venomous snakes nearby, even at the zoo.”

“The witch will be able to tell if it’s RedCloud at the meeting this afternoon. If it’s not them, it’s got to be the coyotes.” Evershaw kept pacing, unable to account for the bolts of energy racing through him, like he needed to work through a massive adrenaline surge. “We’ll deal with it at the meeting or shortly after. That’s all we need to know.”

Todd put his feet up and didn’t respond, although Evershaw knew his cousin had something to say. He didn’t bother to look at him. “What?”

Todd studied something in the ceiling. “Maybe you should go easy on the girl.”

“Why? She’s here for a purpose. I don’t need to coddle her. When the job is done, she can go on her way—so she should be interested in getting the job done faster. It’s not my problem that she’s dragging her heels.” Evershaw didn’t believe all of that, though he couldn’t show too much of it to anyone in the pack. He couldn’t afford even a whiff of weakness getting outside the walls of the pack house.

“Come on, man.” Todd lifted his head to meet Evershaw’s gaze. “She’s a kid and we kidnapped her, and she’s clearly exhausted from saving your ass two or three times over in the last forty-eight hours. Give her a break. She’s not another shifter that you can intimidate and get into a fight with. The last thing we want is for you to get poisoned again and for her to drag her feet so there’s some kind of permanent damage. Smith’s little trick just means you have to be alive—what if the next poison they use turns you into a vegetable? The witch doesn’t have to keep you conscious and strong enough to stay alpha. We need her help.”

Evershaw grunted, unimpressed. He couldn’t argue with Todd’s logic, but that didn’t mean he liked it. His cousin gave up and retreated to deal with the security team who would accompany them to the meeting with the other pack. Evershaw kept pacing even after Mercy crept in to hand over lunch; when he turned to thank her for the delivery, she’d already disappeared. He frowned at the door, something tightening in his chest. He didn’t like that at all. He’d always been able to rely on Mercy, and the thought that perhaps she sided with the witch over him made Evershaw very uneasy.

He was still pondering the implications even as they walked into neutral territory to meet RedCloud.

The witch rode in a separate car and remained in the background next to Henry; Evershaw had had a word with the wolf to make sure he knew to protect the witch from RedCloud. He couldn’t risk her. He tried to convince himself it was because he wanted to live through the next week, but there was a niggling little doubt in the back of his mind that there was some other, much more important reason to protect her.

He pushed aside the thought as he faced the arrogant little shit, Holden, and the taller blonde. Serena eyed him like something good to eat, but Evershaw hardly saw her. Evershaw didn’t wait for them to speak and instead set the tone himself. He didn’t have time to fuck around, and he didn’t want to give them time to think he’d been intimidated. “Have you made your decision?”

Serena’s long nails had been painted black instead of red, almost matching the dark lipstick that was meant to be sexy but instead just made her look older. “We’re willing to split territory but we won’t be... submitting to you.”

The way she said it was meant to appeal to a dominant male, like she already expected to show him her throat and get on her knees for a good fuck. It made his skin crawl. “Either your pack disbands to join mine or the BloodMoon pack, or you stay the fuck out of my city. Those were the choices.”

The woman’s eyes narrowed as she studied him, as if she couldn’t figure out why he wasn’t falling for the catch-me-fuck-me routine. “Not interested.”

“There is a middle ground,” Holden said. He slid her a warning look and folded his arms over his chest. “I am willing to swear fealty to you. I control my pack but I take orders from you. In return, we’d like access to your territory and some of the economic benefits of joining your group.”

Evershaw sensed a sudden tension between them; from the woman’s posture, she didn’t agree with it at all. She wouldn’t cooperate, he knew. It was easy enough to see. But Holden thought he’d dealt with it and didn’t seem concerned. Which just made him even more of a fool. Evershaw knew better than to turn his back on a furious woman.

Well, except for the witch.

She lingered somewhere in the background, hopefully well-controlled by Henry. She at least seemed like the kind of woman who would wait until she could see his eyes before she took a crack at him, while the wolf in front of him... She was underhanded. Even if she had a nice ass.

Evershaw took his time thinking, studying the skinny alpha with the floppy hair and stylish clothes. Not exactly the kind of subordinate he was accustomed to, but having another pack swear fealty to him was the best of the available options if RedCloud wouldn’t disband on their own. The only remaining question was whether the rest of the pack would go along with Holden’s decision.

“Does everyone in the pack agree?” And he looked right at Serena, daring her to object in front of the other alpha.

She fell for it. “No.”

Holden growled and turned toward her. “It’s done and over. We’re doing it.”

She drew breath to argue and embarrass herself, but a quiet voice said behind him, “It was her. And that one.”

Serena’s attention went to the witch, somewhere behind Evershaw, and the wolf’s eyes flashed gold. Another of their pack, standing in the background, also tensed. The witch recognized them. Evershaw folded his arms over his chest and wondered whether Holden had anything to do with it, and left his dirty work to the pack. But from the way the kid looked at Serena, Evershaw, and then the witch, he didn’t think so.

“For a bitch who clearly wanted to jump in my bed, you have a funny way of flirting,” Evershaw said. “Nightshade and rattlesnake venom. Very creative, but a touch underhanded for a wolf.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Holden demanded. He looked at his alpha female. “What did you do?”

Serena didn’t dignify his accusation with a response, which just went to show how little control Holden had over her. That kind of defiance in public meant the pack was in trouble. Evershaw ignored that he’d allowed the witch to defy him for far longer than he should have. Different circumstances entirely.

Her teeth looked longer than a human’s should. “I spent too long bowing and scraping to a bunch of men I didn’t respect. I’m not going to walk into servitude again for anyone.”

Before he could decide what to do about Serena, she moved her hand and half a dozen of their pack broke formation and attacked. He snarled and braced himself for the fight he’d been waiting for. Finally he could confront the sneaky bastards who’d tried to kill him and almost succeeded. He had a split second to hope that Henry got the witch to safety before two big fuckers from RedCloud leapt at him and Serena dodged away, and then the only thing he could focus on was the next person to fight.