Page 39 of Their Shared Mate
Caden rose as well. He walked behind Kai and kicked his chair out of the way. Then he smacked the back of Kai’s head and snarled, “If you can’t remain civil, get the fuck out.”
Alex had tolerated this nonsense long enough. They were all chasing their tails and none of it meant anything. He had plans, but Drake and Caden were the only ones Alex trusted enough to enlighten. This meeting, like all the others, was a waste of time.
Predictably, Kai was cowed by the actions of a stronger alpha. He righted his chair and sat back down, hands folded in his lap.
“I tell you what,” Alex said. “Any pack that successfully steals back a female can keep her. I strongly suggest you utilize stealth in your attacks. Any show of force will be crushed by the raptors because they have every advantage when it comes to that sort of shit. I also suggest that you check with each other to make sure you’re not attempting an attack on the same night. One striketeam might get in and out without being caught. There is no way two or three will.”
“Are you serious?” Rhys asked, disapproval narrowing his eyes. “If we have to do this ourselves, what’s the point of a village alpha?”
Alex had hoped to maintain Rhys’ support, but the information Alex discovered the day before freed him from the obligation. Alex’s position was stronger than he’d ever dreamed. He would continue to work with Caden and Drake because they were blood, but even they were no longer necessary.
“This is what I’ve decided,” Alex stated emphatically. “I’ve shared all the recon we gathered in the last two weeks. These attacks must be fast and quiet. Each alpha knows which of his hunters is capable of that sort of attack. It makes more sense to leave the details up to you guys.” He motioned to the table at large. “Let me know what you decide.”
“And we can keep the females we recover?” Kai didn’t sound convinced.
“Your pack will have the first opportunity toclaimher,” Alex stressed. “One of the males within your pack must be able to trigger her heat or the other packs will be allowed to scent her. These females are not pleasure givers. They are for breeding. Is that perfectly clear?”
A chorus of “yes, alpha” followed. Then silence fell heavy and tense as the alphas looked at each other.
Alex watched them in silent amusement. They were all immature assholes, and he was tired of indulging them. The only exceptions were Drake and Caden. Even Rhys had been unnecessarily argumentative lately.
“Who goes first?” Kai asked.
“Draw numbers, fight it out in the combat cage, or just discuss it like civilized hybrids,” Alex snapped. “I don’t give a shit. I’m done talking to all of you.”
Seven of the alphas stood and filed out. As usual, Caden and Drake remained behind.
“What’s the real plan?” Drake asked as Caden shut and locked the door. “I know bullshit when I hear it.”
“That wasn’t bullshit,” Alex chuckled. “I meant every word.”
“Then why are you so damn smug about turning this over to the rival packs?” Caden wanted to know.
Alex pressed back into his chair and interlaced his fingers. “One of two things will happen. Either their attempts will fail, and a bunch of the best hunters from rival packs will be killed, or they will succeed and steal back some or even all of the females. Either way we win.”
“We winifno one in the rival packs triggers heat in the females and someone from our pack does,” Caden corrected as he returned to his seat at the table. “That’s one hell of an ‘if.’”
Alex grinned. All the alphas acted first and analyzed later. To gain his cousins’ support he needed to present the information in a way that made the advantages obvious. “How many females have been claimed so far?”
“Only two are capable of breeding,” Drake provided. “Elias awarded females to his favorites whether they were compatible or not.”
Dismissing his predecessor with a shake of his head, Alex said, “Well, that was incredibly stupid. Fucking is wonderful, but there is no future without breeders. How many did he award?”
“Five,” Caden told him.
“That needs to be undone,” Alex stated. “Elias’ power structure must be abolished and the females given to compatible males.”
Drake’s brow arched as he heard the directive. “The first part is easily accomplished, but the females aren’t going to like being assigned to new males.”
Alex fought back a smile. “What I’m about to tell you will assist the females with their transition.”
“Meaning? Stop being so cagey.” Drake’s gaze narrowed as he stared at Alex.
“As you’re both aware, Babcock was—” Both cousins growled at the name, disrupting Alex’s train of thought. “The sonofabitch is dead. You can stop reacting to his name.” He couldn’t really blame them. Babcock had been the driving force behind the Griffin Project, so all the indignities they’d suffered during their captivity had been his fault. Death alone really wasn’t an adequate punishment for all the suffering he’d caused.
“Alive or dead, I’ll never stop reacting to that vile demon,” Drake insisted.
“Well, the vile demon was Elias’ guest for a short period of time before the cats ended both of them,” Alex reminded. His cousins’ animosity was justified, but he needed them to stay on topic. He folded his arms on the tabletop and leaned forward. “Elias convinced Babcock to engineer a treatment that will allow us to breed with any human female we want.”
