Page 17 of Deception

Soon could never be soon enough for him — and Summer felt the same. He could feel her impatience, even from this distance. The tension, too, that he wanted to massage out of her shoulders. The anxiety about what might transpire next.

He kept his arms away from his sides just in case, because the crowd had broken into dozens of separate conversations — all of them heated. A brawl might erupt any minute, and he’d better be prepared to fight his way to Summer and help her escape.

But Thomas and Dryver managed to get the place settled down again — Thomas with seething looks and no noise whatsoever, Dryver with harsh shouts. Drew would put his money on Thomas winning the position of alpha. That was the easy part. The hard part was figuring out what Thomas would do next. Would he lead the pack into a new era of live and let live, or would he set off a shifter war?

“Order! Order!” Dryver pounded his fist on a table. Between that and Thomas’ glare, the place settled down.

“The alpha of this pack will tell you what you can report to your clan, bear,” Dryver said. His voice dripped scorn at the wordbear.

“Yes,” Thomas murmured. “He will.”

“That question will be settled tonight,” Dryver replied, giving Thomas the evil eye.

The crowd broke into chatter again. “A fight! A fight!”

Drew looked around. Shit. He’d never seen shifters so eager for blood.

“Tonight.” Thomas nodded.

The gauntlet had been thrown down; the challenge accepted. Everyone started jabbering at the same time, and all the focus was on the two candidates for alpha. The two who would duel, wolf style, for leadership of this pack.

Drew risked a glance at Summer. Every wolf in a fifty-mile radius would attend the fight, which meant…

Summer’s warm brown eyes sparkled as she caught the gist of his thoughts.

If everyone was glued to the fight, no one would notice the absence of one quiet she-wolf and one brawny bear.

His inner beast all but rubbed his paws together in anticipation.

He turned away from Summer before anyone could notice and faked a bored look that said,Wolves. Such heathen creatures. Nothing like bears.

Which was partially true. Bears deliberated carefully, while wolves reacted from the gut. Bears proceeded with caution, not hot heads.

He thought of Summer, and his blood rushed. Bears knew the meaning of passion, though, in the things that counted most. Like honor. Like duty. Like love.

He’d serve his clan, and he’d do whatever it took to keep his mate safe. But the question was, could he do both?

Trust me,a voice deep in his mind said.When the time comes, trust me.

He shook his head. There it was again. The voice of fate. He wanted to snort. No way was he trusting anyone but himself.

“You, bear, have been heard,” Thomas said when the room quieted down again. “The alpha of this pack will meet with you tomorrow.” He made a subtle motion toward his own chest.

“Yes.” Dryver scowled. “He will.”

Drew looked over both candidates. Which of them would be dead by morning? Thomas was a wolf in his prime, but the experience of a veteran like Dryver was not to be discounted.

“Tonight,” Dryver said, glaring at Thomas.

“Tonight,” Thomas barked back.

They meant the fight, of course. But when Drew reached his thoughts out to Summer, he had an entirely different meaning in mind.

Tonight,he thought, hoping she might read his thoughts.

Tonight.A faint, hopeful whisper tapped into his mind.Tonight.

Chapter Five

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