sure as hell wouldn’t kill when she was the only possible suspect and had to know the consequences from Cole.
He turned to see Blake, the pack beta, sitting on a crate watching him. “So . . . are you fucking her?”
Every eye in the cave was on him, waiting for his reply. “No. Not that that’s any of your business.”
“Hey, it’s my business if you bring someone in here who could turn against us. We’ve been trying to get you to settle down and take a mate. What’s wrong with Rhonda? You know she loves you.”
“We grew up together. She’s like a kid sister to me.”
Blake snorted. “Like a sister isn’t the same as being a sister. And baby sis’ is all grown up now. Have you seen the legs and rack on her? Put the poor girl out of her misery and mark her. At least then the temptation to screw the human wouldn’t be there. Everyone saw how you were looking at her.”
Had he been looking at Jane that way?
“Jane is not a threat to us. She despises the vampires as much as we do. She’s under my protection.”
“I just don’t think . . . ”
Cole stalked across the room to stand in front of the beta, using his considerable size as an easy intimidation tactic. “Blake, would you like to challenge me for pack alpha?”
The beta wolf’s eyes grew large, and he threw his hands up in surrender. “Shit no. I’m not that stupid. I prefer life.”
Cole nodded. “Good, then. The discussion about Jane is over. Any other objections to her being here?”
The room was tense. It was obvious his word wasn’t good enough this time. They all thought him compromised because he hadn’t taken a mate. They were probably all right about that. But he also knew he was right about Jane. She wasn’t a threat to them, and he’d become invested in giving her a place of safety.
“I understand your reservations and why you have them,” he began. “And if I were in your position, I would be worried as well. But just give her a chance. Get to know her before you decide she shouldn’t be here. Some of you know first-hand what the vampires can be like. And believe me when I tell you, she’s probably had it worse than any of those few of you who’ve been in that unfortunate position.”
That got the desired reaction. Just a month ago one of their own had been jumped by some of the vampires and taken in for questioning. Where was the den? How did they get out of the city? Calling them terrorists. Please. Terrorists produced terror. The only scary thing the wolf pack was doing was avoiding assimilation into the police state Borg. Their resistance was only a threat to the vampires and others with the same agenda of control.
The wolf in question, Deric, looked down at the ground. Cole knew he’d been close to cracking when they’d reached him. “You didn’t talk though. That’s the important part.”
Since Anthony had taken over, the vampire had been determined to get the wolf problem under control. The vamps had excellent PR, presenting themselves as refined and civilized, as the salvation of the preternaturals. Meanwhile, the wolves were characterized as a pack of savage beasts, intent on maiming hapless humans and everyone else who stood in their way.
Cole looked around the room, his eyes locking briefly with each member of the pack before moving on. The problem with being the alpha was that few would maintain eye contact with him for more than a second. It was too often seen as a challenge for dominance, and no one wanted to challenge him. They’d all witnessed what happened when a wolf challenged.
Was the pack afraid of him? He hadn’t thought they were. He certainly wasn’t the bastard the former leader had been. Rafe had been truly abusive, living up to the werewolf stereotypes. Cole had thought he’d come off differently. Perhaps not.
Wolves were faster than most of the other preternaturals, even vampires in some cases. Stronger than a lot of them too. They hunted in packs; they traveled in packs;
He turned to see Blake, the pack beta, sitting on a crate watching him. “So . . . are you fucking her?”
Every eye in the cave was on him, waiting for his reply. “No. Not that that’s any of your business.”
“Hey, it’s my business if you bring someone in here who could turn against us. We’ve been trying to get you to settle down and take a mate. What’s wrong with Rhonda? You know she loves you.”
“We grew up together. She’s like a kid sister to me.”
Blake snorted. “Like a sister isn’t the same as being a sister. And baby sis’ is all grown up now. Have you seen the legs and rack on her? Put the poor girl out of her misery and mark her. At least then the temptation to screw the human wouldn’t be there. Everyone saw how you were looking at her.”
Had he been looking at Jane that way?
“Jane is not a threat to us. She despises the vampires as much as we do. She’s under my protection.”
“I just don’t think . . . ”
Cole stalked across the room to stand in front of the beta, using his considerable size as an easy intimidation tactic. “Blake, would you like to challenge me for pack alpha?”
The beta wolf’s eyes grew large, and he threw his hands up in surrender. “Shit no. I’m not that stupid. I prefer life.”
Cole nodded. “Good, then. The discussion about Jane is over. Any other objections to her being here?”
The room was tense. It was obvious his word wasn’t good enough this time. They all thought him compromised because he hadn’t taken a mate. They were probably all right about that. But he also knew he was right about Jane. She wasn’t a threat to them, and he’d become invested in giving her a place of safety.
“I understand your reservations and why you have them,” he began. “And if I were in your position, I would be worried as well. But just give her a chance. Get to know her before you decide she shouldn’t be here. Some of you know first-hand what the vampires can be like. And believe me when I tell you, she’s probably had it worse than any of those few of you who’ve been in that unfortunate position.”
That got the desired reaction. Just a month ago one of their own had been jumped by some of the vampires and taken in for questioning. Where was the den? How did they get out of the city? Calling them terrorists. Please. Terrorists produced terror. The only scary thing the wolf pack was doing was avoiding assimilation into the police state Borg. Their resistance was only a threat to the vampires and others with the same agenda of control.
The wolf in question, Deric, looked down at the ground. Cole knew he’d been close to cracking when they’d reached him. “You didn’t talk though. That’s the important part.”
Since Anthony had taken over, the vampire had been determined to get the wolf problem under control. The vamps had excellent PR, presenting themselves as refined and civilized, as the salvation of the preternaturals. Meanwhile, the wolves were characterized as a pack of savage beasts, intent on maiming hapless humans and everyone else who stood in their way.
Cole looked around the room, his eyes locking briefly with each member of the pack before moving on. The problem with being the alpha was that few would maintain eye contact with him for more than a second. It was too often seen as a challenge for dominance, and no one wanted to challenge him. They’d all witnessed what happened when a wolf challenged.
Was the pack afraid of him? He hadn’t thought they were. He certainly wasn’t the bastard the former leader had been. Rafe had been truly abusive, living up to the werewolf stereotypes. Cole had thought he’d come off differently. Perhaps not.
Wolves were faster than most of the other preternaturals, even vampires in some cases. Stronger than a lot of them too. They hunted in packs; they traveled in packs;
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