At the sight of the snake tattoo on his neck—the symbol of the Brotherhood of Serpents, the men connected to this trafficking ring—I growled and loomed over him. “Get him the fuck out of my cabin!”
Luna squeezed through the gap between us, my chest rising and falling heavily against hers. Out of respect for her men, I retreated two paces.
The tiny female raised two palms to placate me. “It’s okay, big guy. Gable’s no threat. He left the snakes, like me.” Gable tucked her under his arm casually like he didn’t fear me in the slightest. “I wouldn’t bring him to your home if he posed a threat. And he’s welcome here on the pack lands.”
Welcome? Why? How?
“This is the thanks I get for protecting your kind from the Guild?” He tilted his head and smiled smugly at me, and my wolf snarled.
Heather mentioned the pack used a witch to set spells over their land to conceal them from the eyes of the Guild.
“You’re the witch?”
“Pleasure to meet you, Astra’s man.” His voice was like liquid silk caressing me. The man had a vocal gift to entice someone like a snake entrancing its prey. “I see why you two are a thing. All fire and sass.”
“My mate has the heart of a goanna.” I slapped my hand into his palm and performed the human greeting.
In my mom’s culture, they bent their heads out of respect, and brought their foreheads together in acknowledgment of the person’s spirit. Lycan culture was different. A scratch down the chest, a growl, a way to show submission to an elder, a higher rank, or Alpha.
A black mass took root in my chest, burning and aching. Urgency to free my kin darkened the hot, pulsing vengeance in my veins, and my beast scratched at me to leave and rescue the gantii.
“Where have you been?” I growled, impatience snapping in my blood. “The traffickers have probably abandoned their location.”
“Nice to meet you too.” Cocky Gable steered his mate away.
Blaze took the lead as their Alpha. “The Guild approval process is a nightmare. It took a while for us to get permission.”
The way of the Guild. Painstakingly slow. Now I finally understood why Knoxe took shortcuts to track and kill Styx. Finding loopholes to jump the system. Catch our targets before they jumped a portal to their next hideout.
“Best way to lose your man,” I growled, trembling with anticipation to leave.
Blaze huffed. “Don’t I know it. Unfortunately, a lead this big and one that previously involved the death of a Gildron team, I had to take it to my boss.”
The leader gave off the impression of a man who followed rule and order, much like I did with respect to nature, animals, cycles, and spirits.
At the mention of my fallen comrades, I bent my head out of respect and prayed their souls lived on in the afterlife. A team that was slaughtered out of revenge for my team ambushing a trafficking auction and killing all those involved. The very mission that led to our incarceration at the Guardians. For the, and my team, I vowed retribution, and to end the trafficking ring once and for all.
Luna patted Gable’s chest and leaned her head on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, big guy. We’ve got eyes on the inside.”
Much as I felt a kinship with Gable for being an interloper, my stomach compressed at the idea of working with a snake. Members of the Serpents, whether former or current, were known for their treachery, and I didn’t know or trust him yet. His scent smelled like trickery and deceit—similar to the thief avatar—and that spelled ulterior motives.
Who was I to judge? I was forbidden yet worked in their ranks. If I suspected him of treachery, I also had to be wary of Luna. Anyone my mate trusted with her life was a friend to me.
That aside, I found my real home, my true pack, my right family through the Guardians. Perhaps the same went for Gable.
The snake’s phone went off with a message, the sound irritating to my sensitive ears. He removed his device and read the message. “My moles keep me abreast of the traffickers’ movements. They’re setting up their auction now and I’ve got the coordinates.”
My mind and my beast told me to work alone. Leave the petty politics to the Guild. Lycans sorted out problems with duels. Only the strongest survived, the winner earning the right to choose the direction of the pack.
If working with my team taught me anything, it was to never work alone. Plans went wrong all the time. Always take backup with you. Have backup plans in the event of an emergency. Fools rush in. The animal side warred with my human side for the decision but in the end, I went with my human side and waited for my new allies in the Shadows to return with their mission approval paperwork.
“You want a uniform?” Luna tugged a long, broad thing from her carry bag. “We got one for you. Super Large?”
Due to my height and breadth, my uniform had to be custom made. I accepted the gift from Luna, and began to strip off in front of the group, sending the female’s eyebrows jumping to her hairline.
“Whoa!” Cole raised his hands in front of his eyes.
Talon jabbed me with his spear. “Change in the bedroom.”