Chapter Eight

Mac squinted against the bright sunlight as Blake's truck pulled down the dirt and gravel drive, kicking up plumes of dust in its wake. Instead of taking his time to park along the edge of the drive, he stopped at the end of it and jumped out, stalking to join them with irritation in every line of his body.

"Ashley should be inside," he snapped as soon as he reached them.

Lucas opened his mouth to respond, but the woman in question stepped in front of him. "Ashley wants to be out here with the rest of her pack," she shot back.

Blake's fists tightened. "They're already acting like assholes. Driving all of thirty fucking miles an hour so I had to keep waiting for them. I don't trust them. Not with you."

"Neither do any of us." She stretched up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. "Welcome back."

The rumble of another engine echoed through the valley, and Mac spotted a dark SUV rolling down the drive, taking its sweet time. It was a challenge, all right—we may be here on your turf, on your terms, but we'll make you wait until we're good and ready to face you.

Oh, these guys were dicks.

Lucas sighed and painted a smile on his face. "Everyone remember the rules."

Connor snorted. "He said we can't kill anyone until after dinner, Blake."

Blake took Ashley's hand and turned, almost managing to edge her behind him without being obvious about it. "No promises."

The SUV pulled in behind Blake's truck, and three men climbed out, including the driver. He was older, with dark hair and close-set eyes that made the skin on the back of Mac's neck prickle. The other two were young, almost as young as Ashley, and had been at the meeting with the Great Lakes alpha. They walked with a swagger, flexing their muscles and glaring.

The older man nodded to Lucas. "I'm Emmett. This is Leo and Bryce."

Lucas welcomed them and carried on with his own introductions, but Mac stared at the three men instead. They were all watching Ashley and trying to pretend they weren't. It was enough to raise Mac's hackles, so Blake had to be holding back snarls from sheer force of will alone.

Connor fidgeted uncomfortably, edging closer until his shoulder pressed against Mac's. Mac looped his arm around his shoulder and dared any of those motherfuckers to say a goddamn word about it.

Then he glanced at Jud, who was eyeing their guests not with murder in his eyes, but with a cool calculation that meant he was already thinking of all the ways they could quietly disappear forever.

Well, this is off to a great start.

Emmett had moved on from pretending he wasn't gawking at Ashley to pretending he wasn't sizing up the lodge and imagining it as his own. "This is quite the cozy little den you've built for yourselves."

"We needed the space." Lucas's smile got a lot more real. "Are you going to invite the others to join us?"

For an eternal moment, Emmett didn't react. Then he smiled, turned, and gestured with two fingers. "Tim!"

The back door of the SUV opened, and Eyepatch jumped out, his fingers locked around a decidedly feminine wrist.

He didn't quite drag the girl out of the vehicle, but she sure as hell didn't come eagerly. Everything about her screamed anxiety—her stiff limbs, her clenched fists, the way her gaze darted around wildly, taking in not just the pack but the lodge and surrounding woods.

She brushed her wavy, light brown hair out of her face, and he caught his first real glimpse of her eyes—light blue, like the ocean, frozen over now with—

Fear? Mac's hands clenched into fists as Eyepatch—fuck, the guy's actual name was Tim or Jim or something like that—released her. She almost stumbled, but caught herself before she lost her balance and wrapped her arms around her body.

It molded her oversized T-shirt to her curves, and he realized with a start that she was probably about the same size as Ashley. Only her face looked gaunt, sharp and angular, as if she'd lost weight recently.

The bastards wouldn't have starved her, of course. Not because they weren't capable of such cruelty, but because it didn't align with their goals. Stress, maybe—

Or she hadn't been eating on purpose.

"Grace." Emmett's voice was mild, but the chiding edge stiffened the girl's spine and hurried her steps as he continued, "Don't keep our hosts waiting."

But Lucas had already turned away. "I'll show you all around the property. Dinner'll be ready in about an hour. Jud's grilling, so you're in for a treat."

Mac watched him round the edge of the lodge, their visitors trailing after him, and finally unclenched his fists.

Connor made a quiet noise. "If we make it through dinner without bloodshed, it'll be a damn miracle."

Ashley bit her lip. "I don't have a lot of room to talk about being in weird situations, but that was bizarre."

"No." Blake's hand went to the small of Ashley's back, as if he had to touch her. "That was bad."

She leaned against him. "So what do we do?"

Mac flexed his hands and finally let loose with the feral, forbidding grin he'd been holding back. "We watch and wait."

"For what?"

"For them to show their cards."