Page 12 of Deception

Or so they claimed.

But then Emmett, Clark, and the others started coming back dirty and disheveled. Sometimes, they were bloody from fighting. Even then, she didn’t ask questions, because it wasn’t her place. And when her stepfather died in an attack, she’d hated the shifters that did that to him until Emmett explained.

Clark died for our cause, fighting those who are unpure.

When she finally figured it all out, she’d been shocked. She’d been helping to hunt down mixed shifter couples. She’d arranged ambushes without even realizing it.

But…but…she’d stammered.You said you’re negotiating.

Don’t be ridiculous, child.Emmett dismissed her, as he always did.

But you’re killing them!

Of course, we’re killing them!he’d snarled in her face.They are unpure! They weaken us all!

She wanted no part of that sick crusade, but Emmett wouldn’t let her go. The day she finally worked up the nerve to run for the hills, she’d caught the sound of wailing babies and arguing men.

Kill them,Emmett was saying.Just kill them.

She’d stopped dead in her tracks. Emmett was going to kill innocent children?

Wait!She had rushed over and found the men clustered around two petrified cubs torn from their dead mother’s side.

What are you doing?She’d clutched the children to her body, protecting them instinctively.How sick are you?

They are unpure,Emmett replied in a horrifyingly emotionless tone.They die.

He might have killed her, too, if her desperation hadn’t fueled a crazy plan.

Don’t kill them! Keep them alive.

Somehow, she managed to convince Emmett to spare the cubs — for a little while. If Emmett hadn’t gotten sidetracked into hunting down the wolves and bears of the Blue Moon Saloon, who knows what might have happened?

The Blue Moon Saloon shifters had killed Emmett and his gang then taken the babies under their wing. Fay and Ben had a good home now, up in Montana with Soren’s cousin, Todd, and his mate, Anna. Not only did the Blue Moon clan save the babies — they saved Summer, too, giving her a place to work and live.

But hell, here she was, back in a den of wolves. Who was an enemy? Who might be an ally?

Sometimes, she wanted to fold into a ball and cry to go home. But there’d be no home for her, no peace if she didn’t see this through.

She masked her roiling emotions and faced Mett with a neutral expression. He looked hopeful, as if she was likely to squeal,Yes! I’d love to be your mate, you racist, murdering pig.

“I guess I still need more time to clear my head,” she said.

Gretchen scowled. And the creases on her forehead folded even more deeply when a second man joined them. A tall, blond wolf shifter whose presence made Mett take a step back.

“Hello, Thomas,” Gretchen murmured, not at all pleased.

He stepped up, tipping his hat and nodding to both women. “Hello.”

Every woman in Hope Springs swooned over Thomas. He had the chiseled good looks of a daytime soap opera star, the build of a champion quarterback, and a ready, genuine smile. Like Summer, he was a newcomer to the settlement, and he seemed a perfect gentleman in every way. Apparently, he was the second son of a powerful alpha from somewhere up north. A shifter coming into his prime and ready to lead a pack of his own.

And like Mett, Thomas’ eyes shone a little brighter when he looked at her.

Shit. Shit, shit, shit. What was it about falling in love for the first time — in love with Drew, that is — that made her a magnet for other men? It was as if Drew had reached into her heart and turned on a light that everyone could see.

If she could have turned tail and run back to Arizona, she’d have done it there and then. But she couldn’t. She had to stay and figure out what direction this leaderless pack seemed to be taking, how much of a threat they still were.

“If you’ll excuse us…” Thomas murmured to Mett, taking Summer by the arm and leading her away.

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