Page 32 of Deception

“No need to kill a good man,” he said.

Summer wondered what his definition of a good man was. Good as long as he didn’t mix with different species of shifters? Emmett Whyte had seemed fairly normal as long as he was around wolf-only company. So who knew what Thomas meant?

She walked along, wearing a neutral expression and keeping her eyes on the ground. Thomas only released her when they reached the barn door, and the second they stepped through, she hustled to one side. It took her a minute to adjust to the dim interior after the bright light of daybreak, but her nose was immediately filled with the scents of dozens of shifters. Some familiar, others unknown.

“Wow, they’re all here,” someone nearby murmured.

She blinked, looking around. Who was they?

“Connor Davis of Las Alamitos pack,” a man murmured and pointed out the alpha. “Jack Hunter of Indian Ridge. Roric of Westend Pack,” the man went on, naming a handful of others.

“Wow. Did they drive through the night?” Summer couldn’t help whispering.

“Where have you been, girl?” another person scolded.

Been screwing my mate all night,her wolf purred inside.

“Word is that Thomas put the call out yesterday, before the fight. Cocky son of a bitch.”

She looked at Thomas, who was talking with one of the elders. Cocky wasn’t the word. Confident, yes, but cautious too. A careful planner who left little to chance. If only he didn’t hold his cards so close to his chest.

“Wouldn’t you know it,” the man continued. “There’s that bear, back here again.”

Her head snapped up, and she drew in a sharp breath when Drew entered through a door on the opposite side. The crowd murmured, and several wolf shifters skittered out of range of his claws, just in case.

Mate!her wolf cried.Mate!

Her eyes locked with his, and for the space of a heartbeat, she was transported back to the magic of the previous night. That feeling of safety, of undying love. His perfect lips quirked, and she smiled, remembering his whispers and his sweet caress.

Then – shit – she wiped the smile off her face and dragged her gaze away. Drew did, too. It had only been a split-second indiscretion, but if anyone noticed…

She looked around, but everyone’s eyes seemed to be on Thomas and the elders at the front. Whew. She exhaled—

Then froze when she spotted Thomas, staring at her. His eyes slid over to Drew, then back to her.

Her heart pounded. Her feet felt glued to the ground. Her mind calculated the distance to the door. Thomas knew. He’d figured out her connection to Drew. And damn, did he look angry.

She expected him to shout and sound the alarm, but he just stared at her. And stared and stared with eyes that felt close to boring through her soul.

She kept waiting for her cover to be blown, but Thomas didn’t say anything.

Yet.

He could ruin everything. He could turn the crowd on her and Drew in an instant, and even her mighty bear wouldn’t stand a chance against dozens of outraged wolves. Drew would be torn apart, and she… Shit. She’d be lucky to be torn apart. If she was unlucky, she’d be spared and forced to mate with Thomas. She’d seen the interest in his eyes, and she’d heard the stories of powerful alphas who took whatever and whomever they wanted.

She was about to turn and flee when his expression went from thunderous to…sad?

Do you think so little of me?She couldn’t hear his thoughts in her mind, but she could read them all over his face.

She didn’t know what to think. All she wanted was Drew. And peace. Peace in her soul, peace for the shifter world.

“This meeting is called to order,” one of the elders cried out.

Thomas turned away from her and raised his hands, signaling for the crowd to listen. He waited until the room was so quiet, she could hear the breath of the man beside her.

She could feel the weight of Drew’s gaze upon her, too, and thank goodness for that. It was the only thing keeping her from racing out the door. Was Thomas really not going to challenge the love of two shifters of different species?

Thomas spoke in a voice that was all power, all determination. “As new alpha of Hope Springs pack, I have called in the major packs of the Southwest.”

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