Page 63 of The Night Wolf
It was high praise from anyone, but coming from Deke, it meant more than Gareth could say.
“For those who haven’t met him, this is Deke Simmons. He’s only twenty-two, but he already has an impressive list of articles he’s done about the best ways to save our natural resources. Deke, would you like to let everyone know who you are?”
Deke smiled at him, then did something Gareth hadn’t expected. He put his hands under the table and rolled out in a wheelchair. He must have noticed Gareth’s expression, because he grinned up at him. “Didn’t read the whole file, huh?”
“What… I mean, how?”
Gareth had never heard of a wolf who needed help getting around. As far as he knew, it was unheard of.
“Car accident when I was a kid. Severed my spine. The doctors told my parents I would be confined to a bed for the rest of my life. When I turned eighteen, I had my first shift. It was… life-altering. It couldn’t heal the damage fully, probably because too many years had gone by, but it lets me run as my wolf, and that means everything to me.” He turned slightly. “If this is going to be a problem, I’ll—”
“What? No, not in the least. Am I surprised? Yes, I won’t deny it. But, no, it isn’t a problem.”
He introduced the others and gave them a few moments to chat. Then he took a seat at the table and reached for a plate of cookies he knew Dani had baked for the occasion. She got up and poured coffee for everyone, then sat down again.
“I’m going to admit, this isn’t how I wanted our first meeting to go. Since most of you were there when Ryker kidnapped Sean—which I will be forever grateful for—you know what we’re up against.” He turned to Deke. “We have a wolf problem with our… our Omega.”
Deke’s eyes went wide. “Omega? I thought they’d all died out.”
“So did everyone else, apparently. Except for Ryker. Sean is more than our Omega, though. He’s my mate.”
“Mate? Like in human romance novels? I didn’t know that ever happened.”
Gareth shrugged. “Sean brings a lot of amazing things with him to the table. You don’t even know.”
The thought of Sean had Gareth wanting to run upstairs and see him again, to make sure he was healthy and happy.
“Then this pack is truly blessed by Mother Moon.” Deke turned to Lyram. “Thank you for calling me.”
A sharp nod was his only reply. In fact, Lyram hadn’t said more than a few words to Gareth since they’d come back from rescuing Sean and Quinn. He’d sequestered himself in his room, coming out only for his duties with the pack, then rushing back to his room.
“With the help of Lyram and the rest of the pack, we were able to rescue Sean and his brother, but when it came time to decide what was to be done, I let them walk away.”
The low growl from Lyram told Gareth what he needed to know. He was the Alpha—he didn’t need to explain—but this was his council, and he needed to be sure they understood. So he told them the same thing he had said to Sean. When he finished, he faced Lyram.
“I’m sorry I had to stop you. Maybe it would have been better to end it then and there. I don’t know for certain.”
Lyram shook his head. “No, you were right. I was being hotheaded and not thinking things through. I never even considered him having allies.”
Gareth was glad they’d cleared the air on that. Especially since he was about to ask Lyram for the biggest favor ever.
“I wouldn’t have been able to beat them. I’m not a fighter. If they hadn’t backed down, you would have had to haul my ass out of the fire.”
Lyram grinned. “That’s part of my job description.”
“I’m glad you said that, because I need something from you.”
“Oh?”
“When the time comes, I want you to be the one to fight Ryker.”
“Alpha, I—”
From the doorway came Sean’s voice, strong and clear. “No. It has to be you, Gareth. You’re the only one who can fight him. You need to trust me on this.”
And things got a whole lot more complicated.
Chapter Eighteen
