Page 36 of Wolf's Reckoning
I didn’t waste time. “There are reports of packs falling under attack from a band of rogues.” I looked over my shoulder, ensuring the door was closed. “Doesn’t matter howreadyto lead,whoever wins your daughter’s attention to take over this pack, they’re going to need to be ready to defend it.”
Malric watched me intensely; he didn’t blink when I told him the news. “How many packs have been attacked?”
“Four, officially. Six, if you count the ones gone quiet.”
“Which territories?”
“Southern ridge, eastern timberline, the borderlands. Rogue activity has been noted, not random attacks. Coordinated.”
Malric exhaled slowly. “Definitely not random?”
“No,” I confirmed. “Someone’s moving. Testing walls. Picking off the weak, it looks like, and if Blueridge Hollow loses structure now?—”
“Then the whole eastern mountain this side of the Appalachians collapses.”
I nodded. “That’s my thought.”
He leaned back with a wince, pain threading through his expression, but he didn’t break eye contact. “And Stonefang Pack is monitoring?”
“We’ve been watching, sending scouts to the packs who haven’t checked in. That’s why I think it’s more than officially reported.”
Malric nodded thoughtfully. “And you came to warn me?” he asked. “And let me know, if we need it, Stonefang Pack will assist?”
I nodded, and when he didn’t say anything else, I let the silence stretch.
“You aren’t here for my daughter’s hand?”
I looked at Malric in surprise. “No. She made her choice about me years ago,” I told him candidly. I wasn’t sure what Malric knew of my relationship with Rowen when we were younger, but I was sure he’d have put two and two together since then. “But I won’t deny the fact that you’re?—”
“Dying,” Malric said bitterly. “At the worst time, it seems.”
“Is there a good time to die?” I asked him softly. “The Goddess calls us all to the great hunt eventually.”
“My daughter is in danger. My pack is in danger.” He looked away from me, his brow furrowed. “This is not the time for old men to be on their deathbeds.” He sighed. “But it is what it is. Your alpha is a good one?”
I swallowed. “I believe so.”
Malric huffed out a laugh. “Youbelieveso?” He gave me a knowing look. “You were always vocal. You wouldn’t be with a pack where youbelievean alpha was good, you’dknow.”
He was right. Lars had been a good alpha. “Alpha Lars was a great alpha,” I told him honestly.
Malric accepted that. “He was. He used to drive me insane with his ability to see both sides of an argument, but he was fair. No alpha sons,” he added thoughtfully. “His pack has an alpha now?”
“They do.”
Malric’s eyes narrowed. “Why have you waited for two days?” He held his hand up. “Rogue packs, Lewis could have heard that… Why haveyouwaited for two days?”
“We were at the Pack Council, arrived just after Rowen and Lewis left, I think. We heard the…” I sniffed dismissively. “Intendeds talking. Killian and I spoke to the shaman, and during our chat, he told us your pack was vulnerable.” I broke eye contact. “It’s been years, but I came because your pack, your daughter, could be a target. Whether you or the Council admits it or not, they’re out there, circling like vultures. If she chooses wrong, then?—”
“It won’t just be rogues we have to worry about.”
We didn’t say anything for a long moment, and Ithought he was struggling with the weight of what I’d revealed.
“She’s not ready for this,” Malric suddenly announced. “She thinks she is, but…” His head dipped as he looked at his hands. “She’s strong, fiercer than I think I ever was,” he admitted softly. “But she is not a male.” He looked up at me. “More’s the pity.”
“Or…” I drew in a deep breath. “She’s the only one in this pack who is ready.”
Malric smiled faintly. “You may be right.”
