Page 19 of Crew

“What a jackass,” Avi said. “Can I declare that he and I are not relatives anymore? I’m embarrassed to be related to him.”

“He’s the one who should be embarrassed,” Grey said. “He’s got no hold on Zara. There isn’t a stallion law anywhere that would force a mated female to stay with a herd without her soulmate.”

The problem was that there was no real authority over the herds in general, no national herd police or a group of stallions in charge of all stallions. Each herd had their own laws, and while most would be similar, there would be differences.

Clearly, Colton believed he had the final say in what Zara did—or in this case, didn’t do—but he was sadly mistaken if he thought he could keep Zara in the Valley Herd.

“I see only one real answer here,” Ford said.

“What’s that?” Crew asked.

“Kick them out of our territory. She’s your soulmate and you’re mated now; that makes her part of our herd regardless of whether she joined ours officially. He might not want to accept her exile, but it’s not up to him anymore.”

“Why would he want to keep her in the herd, anyway?” Avi asked. “She’s mated to another alpha.”

“From what she said, the males in her herd are basically helpless to do anything for themselves. When she was the only female, she had to take care of all of them. It wasn’t like how Tris is our herd caretaker and we all have jobs that keep our herd running smoothly. It’s like she had to do everything for them while they did nothing in the name of ‘keeping the herd safe.’”

“Damn,” Grey said. “Well, that explains why they’d want to keep her around. They’re probably worried about being hungry and dirty.”

Crew chuckled. “So we kick them out, escort them out of our territory?”

“You’d have to declare them no longer welcome, our borders closed to them,” Ford said.

Crew nodded in thought. “I recall my father doing something like that when I was a kid, but I think it might have been another shifter group who shared the hunting territory and there was a fight over resources.” He sighed. “I’d hoped it would be easy and we could help them find a new place to settle without having an issue about Zara staying with us, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.”

“We’ve got your back,” Ford said. “Tell them to take a hike, we’ll make sure they leave, and then we’ll loop in Khyle and Dexter so they know what’s going on.”

The other members of the herd were working a construction job, so they hadn’t been available for the chat about the other herd.

They left the vehicle storage barn and headed to where the other herd was staying. Opening the door, they found the herd near the cots.

“We need to talk, Colton,” Crew said.

Colton smirked. “Couldn’t come here and talk to me yourself, you needed all your friends?”

“My authority is whole when it comes to my herd,” Crew said firmly. “Zara came to you out of courtesy to let you know she’s leaving the Valley Herd. You had no right to tell her no.”

His smirk faded. “She doesn’t get to decide that and neither do you. She’s still one of mine until I say so.”

Crew shook his head. “No.” He squared his shoulders and drew on his stallion. “As the alpha of the Little River Herd, I decide who’s welcome in my herd and territory and who isn’t. Zara and I have chosen each other as mates, and she told you she was leaving your herd and joining mine. She isn’t under your authority any longer, period.

“Beyond that, your presence here has caused tension and disrupted the harmony of this farm and my herd. You sought sanctuary, and we gave it willingly, but your behavior shows you aren’t here in good faith. Herd law is clear: no herd may stay in another’s territory without the permission of the alpha. You’ve overstayed your welcome and it’s time to leave. You have until sunset tonight. If you don’t leave on your own, we will force you to go by any and all means necessary.”

Colton stared at Crew and the tension grew between them, the words that Crew spoke hanging in the air like wet laundry on a line. Weston shifted back and forth on his feet uncomfortably, looking like he wanted to diffuse the tension but not knowing how.

Finally, Colton snarled, “You’ll regret this.”

“My only regret is allowing you and your herd to stay as long as you have.”

Crew and his herd walked out of the barn. “We’ll stick here until they leave,” Ford said, nodding at Grey.

“They’ve got a few hours,” Crew pointed out.

“I think they’ll leave sooner rather than later,” Grey said. “He’s pissed but he doesn’t want a fight. And some of his males might be fighters, but not all of them are, and if Dexter and Khyle show up, they’ll be outnumbered.”

“I don’t want to have to call them in for a showdown,” Crew said.

“You won’t,” Ford said. “I believe they’ll go on their own.”

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