going on in the paranormal community here in the city.”
I thought about that for a minute. It was true. As pack alpha, Charles would have the scoop on everything that went on inside his territory. But something about the situation didn’t sit right with me.
“I thought were-shifters hated demons,” I mused.
“We do!” Connor replied hotly. “If a demon had had the nerve to step foot in Austin, Darius would have had him hunted down and slaughtered without hesitation. I’d do the same thing as alpha wolf.”
I took my eyes off the road for a second and met Connor’s gaze. “Precisely.”
He frowned. “I don’t follow.”
“Think about it. Demons like to mess with humans, right? It’s the reason they mostly stick to the cities that have little paranormal activity. They know to avoid the towns and cities that have packs as the alphas won’t tolerate them on their turf.” I paused to let Connor catch up with my train of thought. It didn’t take him very long to get up to speed.
“So why would Charles put up with it?” Connor pondered. “You think he has his own interest in the demon or this book that Malaki seems so interested in?”
I shrugged. “I’m not sure. From what I know about Charles, I can’t see it. He always struck me as a man with integrity, but if it served his interests or that of his pack, then who knows? Guess we’re about to find out. I wish I knew what was so important about this damn book.”
“I—” The sound of Connor’s cellphone ringing interrupted his reply. He stared at the number on the screen. “Well, what do you know?” he said before answering.
I concentrated on the road ahead as I listened to the one-sided exchange. Connor’s responses were clipped, his tone terse. As the conversation wore on, he fidgeted more in his seat, his body language a clear indicator that he did not like what he was hearing.
“Change of plan,” he said after he hung up. “Charles wants us to meet at his ranch.”
“Interesting. He say why?”
“Gave me some line about a problem in his pack, said he had to head back to the ranch himself to deal with it, but I’m not buying it.”
“You think it’s a trap?”
Connor nodded stiffly. “I’m sure of it.”
I took a right turn at the light and headed back out of the city. If Connor was correct, I was about to walk into my third damn trap of the night. And look what had happened the first and second times. I still felt guilty about Matt’s abduction. I shouldn’t have let him go back down those tunnels alone, but then I hadn’t even been able to prevent my own kidnapping—how could I have prevented Matt’s? Despite all that, here I was about to make the same mistake again. But it wasn’t like I had any choice, right? Everything I knew about Charles indicated he was a good alpha and an even better man. So I had to assume he wouldn’t willingly lead us into a trap. Charles had to either be in some kind of trouble or he was acting out of desperation.
He obviously knew something about Barbatos and the book and I had to find out what if I wanted to save Matt. Thirty minutes after the call, I pulled over on the side of the dirt road that led to Charles’ property, cut the engine and switched off the lights.
“How do you want to play this?” I asked Connor, scanning the area around us. The road was quiet and there were no outward signs of life in the surrounding woods, but I was sure that Charles already knew we’d arrived. A strong alpha rarely did anything without the support of their pack. I might not be able to see any wolves, but I could sense they were near. So could Connor. He’d become even more twitchy since I’d parked and a low growl rumbled in his throat as he searched the tree line up ahead.
“You see anything?”
“No, nothing yet,” he replied, his voice dangerously low. “But I think we’re being watched. I can feel their presence. They’re all around us.”
I nodded. “Are they all wolves?
I thought about that for a minute. It was true. As pack alpha, Charles would have the scoop on everything that went on inside his territory. But something about the situation didn’t sit right with me.
“I thought were-shifters hated demons,” I mused.
“We do!” Connor replied hotly. “If a demon had had the nerve to step foot in Austin, Darius would have had him hunted down and slaughtered without hesitation. I’d do the same thing as alpha wolf.”
I took my eyes off the road for a second and met Connor’s gaze. “Precisely.”
He frowned. “I don’t follow.”
“Think about it. Demons like to mess with humans, right? It’s the reason they mostly stick to the cities that have little paranormal activity. They know to avoid the towns and cities that have packs as the alphas won’t tolerate them on their turf.” I paused to let Connor catch up with my train of thought. It didn’t take him very long to get up to speed.
“So why would Charles put up with it?” Connor pondered. “You think he has his own interest in the demon or this book that Malaki seems so interested in?”
I shrugged. “I’m not sure. From what I know about Charles, I can’t see it. He always struck me as a man with integrity, but if it served his interests or that of his pack, then who knows? Guess we’re about to find out. I wish I knew what was so important about this damn book.”
“I—” The sound of Connor’s cellphone ringing interrupted his reply. He stared at the number on the screen. “Well, what do you know?” he said before answering.
I concentrated on the road ahead as I listened to the one-sided exchange. Connor’s responses were clipped, his tone terse. As the conversation wore on, he fidgeted more in his seat, his body language a clear indicator that he did not like what he was hearing.
“Change of plan,” he said after he hung up. “Charles wants us to meet at his ranch.”
“Interesting. He say why?”
“Gave me some line about a problem in his pack, said he had to head back to the ranch himself to deal with it, but I’m not buying it.”
“You think it’s a trap?”
Connor nodded stiffly. “I’m sure of it.”
I took a right turn at the light and headed back out of the city. If Connor was correct, I was about to walk into my third damn trap of the night. And look what had happened the first and second times. I still felt guilty about Matt’s abduction. I shouldn’t have let him go back down those tunnels alone, but then I hadn’t even been able to prevent my own kidnapping—how could I have prevented Matt’s? Despite all that, here I was about to make the same mistake again. But it wasn’t like I had any choice, right? Everything I knew about Charles indicated he was a good alpha and an even better man. So I had to assume he wouldn’t willingly lead us into a trap. Charles had to either be in some kind of trouble or he was acting out of desperation.
He obviously knew something about Barbatos and the book and I had to find out what if I wanted to save Matt. Thirty minutes after the call, I pulled over on the side of the dirt road that led to Charles’ property, cut the engine and switched off the lights.
“How do you want to play this?” I asked Connor, scanning the area around us. The road was quiet and there were no outward signs of life in the surrounding woods, but I was sure that Charles already knew we’d arrived. A strong alpha rarely did anything without the support of their pack. I might not be able to see any wolves, but I could sense they were near. So could Connor. He’d become even more twitchy since I’d parked and a low growl rumbled in his throat as he searched the tree line up ahead.
“You see anything?”
“No, nothing yet,” he replied, his voice dangerously low. “But I think we’re being watched. I can feel their presence. They’re all around us.”
I nodded. “Are they all wolves?
Similar Books
