Page 35 of To Keep A Wolf
“I would have torn the whole thing off if he wasn’t such a coward who keeps two dozen guards outside his door all the time.”
Levi looks tense at the mention of the guards. I turn to him, knowing full well what kind of rage his wolf is feeling right now. “You took out three of those assholes the night you rescued me.”
“Good,” he says.
“Jadick’s injury must be what Grey meant when he said our best shot was coming in that night.” Tripp looks thoughtful. “You must have really set him back, Quinn. Nice work.”
“I’ll feel better when he’s dead,” I say.
“Can’t argue there,” Tripp says.
I look at Levi, whose dark expression leaves no doubt he agrees.
“We have to challenge him,” I say quietly. “It’s the only way.”
“Notwe,” he says firmly.
My eyes narrow. “Just because you’re an alpha already doesn’t mean you have to do this by yourself.”
“It’s not about being an alpha,” he says. “Besides, without pack lands—or a pack—I’m not much of an alpha.”
“The Jades still belong to you,” I say. “Swearing loyalty to Jadick doesn’t change that.”
“I’d like to think they’ll choose me when it comes down to it,” he says. “But in the meantime, we have to be smart. We can’t just march in and expect Jadick to play fairly.”
I drop my gaze. “That’s exactly what he said about Kari.” I look down. “It’s why he waited so long to come for you.”
“Hey, it’s okay.” He presses his hand to my cheek, drawing my gaze back to his. “He didn’t come for me. You did. And I’ll never forget that. Even after everything I put you through.”
“Maybe we can call it even,” I say, and his mouth quirks.
“I’ll take that deal.”
I blow out a breath. “What next? We need a plan.”
“We need a safe place to think,” he says. “A base we can use.”
“Grey and Frankie—will they fight with us?” I ask. They both nod. “Do you think there will be others?”
Levi and Tripp share a look.
“One way to find out,” Tripp says.
Levi nods, and Tripp steps out again. “I’m going to make some calls,” he says before shutting the door behind him and leaving us alone.
Levi explains, “A few Jades left when Jadick first gave the ultimatum about the law. We’ve kept apart because it’s safer, but if we had somewhere to go—somewhere safe—maybe we could get them to come to us.”
“What about another Jade safe house?” I ask, “Like the mall?”
He shakes his head. “Jadick knew about them all.”
He looks angry at himself. But then his eyes lighten with an idea.
He gets up, climbing toward the front. “Where are you going?” I ask.
“To check with Tripp.”
“About what?”
