Page 32 of The Night Wolf
“Of course. What did you need?”
“I want you to call around and find out who this Ryker is. What pack does he lead? Once you find out, get in touch with Ethan.”
“Okay, what should I tell him?”
“We’re going to buy Ryker out and take over his pack, because he can’t be allowed to threaten Sean. He has to go.”
Though he couldn’t see Lyram, Gareth could tell he had an evil smile when he said, “Oh, I’ll take care of it. Happily.”
When Gareth hung up, he felt a lot better.
Chapter Nine
OVER THEnext several days, Sean trailed behind Gareth as he took him around to meet the pack members. To a person, each of them welcomed Sean with open arms. It wasn’t like his old pack where people informed to Ryker all the time. No, Lydon was like paradise.
Still, as much as he wanted to trust, to give his heart to the pack, every night when he went to bed, Sean locked his door and closed the curtains. Too many times in the past, before he shifted to wolf form and lived in the wilds, he’d meet an Alpha who would lull Sean into complacency, then betray his trust by contacting Ryker.
Sean didn’t want to believe that Gareth would do that, but a million dollars was a strong motivator for going back on your convictions. Yet every morning, Sean would come down and find Dani there, with breakfast waiting. She would greet him and have him sit while she fussed over him.
The one thing that Sean did notice was that the people in Lydon seemed to be exhausted. The coffee shop did brisk business, with a line that extended out the door and halfway down the block. When Sean asked Gareth about it, the Alpha hedged slightly, then said his wolves worked hard and coffee helped keep them going.
The streets of Lydon were clean. There were few cars, as most things were within walking distance. Gareth had said when the town started expanding, more vehicles would be necessary, but he hoped that people would do their best to keep the streets safe. To that end, Sean asked Gareth if he could possibly buy a bike to get him from point A to point B and back. They went online and found a stunning recumbent bike called the Catrike, with add-on electric boost for those days when you needed a little extra help. Sean couldn’t wait to get on the road with it and….
It struck him at that very moment. He was planning a future in Lydon. He had no urge to duck and run, or any fear to hold him back. He was anxious for his life to start, and it had to be here, now, with this pack and this Alpha.
That night, he went to bed for the first time with no nagging feeling that he was being watched or stalked. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, and the terrifying dreams that were his constant companion never materialized.
Finally, he was home.
GARETH STOODat the open window, like he had every night for the last week, and waited for the wolves to arrive. They normally straggled in, a couple at a time, with more showing up every few minutes, until they were gathered outside Sean’s window.
Only this evening there were none. The area outside was quiet. The lights in the town were mostly off. The only sounds were the ones he expected to hear. The soft hoot of an owl, a deer foraging for food, Caleb snoring like a Mack truck. All was right with the world tonight. He extended his senses, feeling his wolves. There wasn’t any terror like he’d sensed from them the previous nights. Instead, an overwhelming sense of calm came over him, filling him with what he could only describe as euphoria. As exhausted as they were, the people were happy.
Gareth took a deep breath, letting the night air fill his lungs. What had changed? Why weren’t they guarding Sean tonight? He focused, concentrating on Sean, unsurprised to find he was asleep. But tonight he wasn’t troubled either, for which Gareth was grateful.
He’d spoken with Franklin, who told him he could find nothing wrong with Lyram, but he also mentioned that many pack members had complained of being tired and listless, though they insisted they’d slept all night. Gareth knew better.
He closed the window and retreated to his desk. If he were smart, he would climb into bed and catch up on some of the sleep that had been denied him, but if there was one thing Gareth hated, it was a mystery. And Sean definitely qualified. He opened the browser on his computer and typed in “Omega wolf.” He was surprised to find out how many instances there were of human writers who used an Omega in their stories. It was strange, especially since, as far as Gareth knew, there were no Omegas left. The last one that he had heard of died hundreds of years ago, killed in a war between packs.
Now? If Seanwasan Omega—which Gareth suspected more and more each day—then he was a treasure to be protected. Hell, he should be fucking worshipped. As prosperous as Lydon was, if they had an Omega in their pack, there would be people begging to belong. But….
Sean had said there were Alphas out there, like Ryker, who had treated him badly. Did they know what he was? There were stories, of course. An Omega couldn’t be claimed. They had to choose which pack they would belong to. Though Sean had pledged his loyalty to Lydon, he could just as easily renounce it and go elsewhere. Gareth hoped that wouldn’t happen, but if it made Sean happy, he would let Sean go with no argument. He’d had enough problems in his life without Gareth adding to them.
As he was scanning the net, he found a site that was claiming to be run by wolves, though after looking, Gareth knew better. Most of the basics were correct, but the message boards were filled with poseurs and wannabes who believed the bite of a wolf could turn someone into a wolf themselves. How preposterous. Still, there was a large and active community that was staying connected.
Gareth was stunned to find anonymous complaints about Alphas who were as bad—or worse—than what Sean had said. There were more than a few accounts of rape, murder, fear, and intimidation. They weren’t Alphas—they were thugs who thought they had what it took to lead their people.
Not all of it was bad, though. He chuckled as he read fan fiction accounts of being a wolf’s love slave, of a man who found himself pregnant and bore the offspring of a wolf. Though he would tell no one, Gareth, oddly, found those stories to be both hot and sexy. They made him a little wistful, because he knew he would have no pup of his own.
It was when he got to the Seeking page that his blood froze. A picture of Sean, much younger, was posted weeks ago, along with a request to help the loving parents find their missing son. A convoluted story about Sean going off to get bitten by a wolf to fulfill a lifelong dream of being one of them, of meeting a strange man online who lured Sean away with the promise of a bite, and no word from him since. There was the obligatory plea from the heartbroken parents, who said they only wanted their son returned to them. Even though Gareth didn’t know them, he could see their grief was fake. The mother’s tears were hardly believable, and the father glared at the camera, his lip curled into a sneer. They were the epitome of all things Gareth hated, and they claimed to love their child.
Oh, and they stressed the reward of one million dollars. Several times.
Gareth’s stomach heaved. Hearing from Sean that they were after him was bad, but seeing it put out on social media was even worse. Gareth peered at the boy Sean had been, the one who’d had his life stolen from him by uncaring parents and demented Alphas.
This had to stop. People shouldn’t live in fear from those who were supposed to protect them. Even poor packs should have enough to sustain the lives of the members, instead of just the Alphas. How could he have been so blind to the suffering of other packs? When he assembled his council, he would have to address these concerns.
Right now, Sean and Ryker were at the forefront of his mind. He pulled out his phone, heedless of the hour, and called Lyram. When he answered, his voice filled with sleep, Gareth chastised himself for doing what he’d just complained about: not thinking about the needs of others.
