Chapter 16

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

M oya braced her elbows on the table at the Shamrock and looked at the club members who were still going strong.

The bookstore's romance book club met on the second Thursday of every month. Some nights—like this one—could turn into a loud and crazy time. The group read two popular romances from the bodice-ripper days, and then compared them to their recent contemporary selections. Story tropes were flying as they jumped into a discussion of current and past trends.

So. Much. Fun.

As often happened, the meeting ran so long they'd relocated to the Shamrock for a ton of appetizers and…yes, more wine.

Eventually, half the group went home, leaving only herself and five others. "Looks as if the Daonain outlasted the humans." Moya kept her voice low since their oversized table was in the center of the restaurant.

The other females—none of whom were completely sober—giggled.

"This is as it should be," Claire, a red-haired wolf ranch-hand, said with a firm nod.

"Daonain rule!" Orla whispered.

"Hey, bookworms, want more of anything?" Their server, Katherine, stopped by the table.

"Mmm, no, I'm way full." Riona patted her belly. The slender, brunette wolf shifter worked with her family at the café and told the funniest stories of arguing with Maura, her werecat mother. "It's nice to hang out with other shifters."

"Mostly wolves though," Orla from Ramón's construction crew glanced around the table. "Moya, Riona, Ena, and Claire, you're all in the pack, right?"

Katherine raised her hand. "Me too. Although I gotta say it's not something I boast about these days. Not with our new carrion-eating alpha."

Ouch . But Katherine was in her fifties and known for bluntness. So was Claire, actually.

Ena, from the ranch and farm supply store, was about Katherine's age, but far more tactful. She grimaced. "It's difficult to disagree."

Orla's gaze met Moya's. "Your brothers are really unhappy with Brett. First, he tried to get Terence and Killian to attack Jarlath. And last night, at the grocery store, he tried to get Jalen to push me around, which is crazy since Jalen's littermate is a cat."

"Doesn't make sense," Claire murmured.

"Jalen barely backed off in time—since my foot was heading for his 'nads." Orla had fought her way to a position on Ramón's crew. She was tough. "Only…when he stopped, he looked crushed. Like he hadn't wanted to do it. Brett's anti-cat crusade is messing up our construction crew. We felt like a family before this started."

Anger rose inside Moya. Her brothers tried hard to foster a sense of belonging.

Damn Brett anyway. "The ratshit alpha is instigating fights all over town."

"I've heard the same thing." Riona took a sip of her wine. "What a mongrel. Remember when he fought Aiden over a female and reduced the poor bear to a shivering, bleeding mess? I hated Brett so much then, and now, he's our alpha."

"The beta isn't any better." Katherine crossed her arms over her chest. "At one Gathering, I saw Caleb smash Jens to the floor and deliberately stomp on his leg to break it. He'd've done worse if Heather and Moya hadn't intervened."

When she and Heather had stepped up to stop him, most of the shifters watching had lined up also. "Caleb is awful—and a liar too."

"What do you mean?" Riona asked.

"Up in the North Cascades Territory, he and Gretchen told the healer and others that Margery was just pretending to be a banfasa and almost let Caleb bleed to death while she tended her friends." Banfasas didn't have Goddess-given powers of healing but were trained in much the same way.

"Seriously? But Margery is incredibly skilled. I know a few people who would've died or lost limbs without her. Everyone at the ranch was upset when we heard she moved to the North Cascades." Claire slapped her hand on the table. "Lying about her is just plain weasel-nasty."

"It is," Ena agreed. "Did someone in the North Cascades figure out the lies?"

Moya smirked. "The healer did. And when Calum, the Cosantir, found out, he barred Caleb and Gretchen from his territory. Permanently."

"Good for him." Claire wrinkled her nose. "I wish the pack could do the same."

Dervla, a sociable bear shifter who'd moved here and taken over the realty after Pete died, was wide-eyed. "The Gatherings I've been to here weren't that bad. Are fights common?"

"Not any longer." Moya reached across the table and gave her hand a squeeze. "When André took over from Pete, he put a stop to the Gathering brawls. He's an amazing Cosantir. And I never thought I'd say that about a male in authority."

Having seen her poorly controlled responses to being bullied, everyone snickered.

She narrowed her eyes at them, and they laughed harder.

"A shifter who uses his power to push his own warped beliefs shouldn't be alpha. Our Cosantir is trying to pull the clan together, and here's Brett trying to divide us up." Claire's expression was sour. "I don't suppose Ramón or Zorion want to challenge and take over?"

Moya already knew the answer. "Uh-uh. Running a construction crew is one thing; leading a pack is a whole different story. Neither one is that kind of dominant."

"Yeah, guess not." Claire sighed. "What about those two new males, the shifter-soldiers?"

"Patrin and Fell?" If Ena had wolf ears, they would have perked right up. "They're certainly brave enough, considering they risked their lives taking down the hellhound."

"But aren't the shifter-soldiers always on the move?" Riona asked.

No one had asked Moya to stay silent about the shifter-soldiers. And Bron's people would have heard everything. "André apparently told the spymaster bossing the shifter-soldiers to release Patrin and Fell to him. They'll be staying here in Ailill Ridge."

" Reeeally ." Katherine's eyes lit. "Remember how they protected little Alvaro from Roger? They have the traits we need in an alpha."

Dervla nodded. "Those two are real leaders. One of the female hostages came to live in my previous village. When her littermates visited, they said Patrin and Fell kept them safe. Led them. Sounded like her brothers were in awe."

"Well, how can we talk Patrin or Fell into taking over the pack?" Claire asked.

There was a good question. Moya bit her lip. Fell would totally refuse. Patrin, though, was a natural leader, dominant to the bone. Scarily so.

"It's up to them, really, but we can maybe push a little?" Katherine waggled her eyebrows, then picked up the empty glasses. Turning to move away, the server froze.

Moya turned to see what had startled her. Oh, cat-spit.

Standing at a nearby table, Brett and Caleb—and Gretchen—were within hearing distance for shifter ears. Gretchen's face looked… If Moya hadn't known how self-centered Gretchen was, she'd think the female's feelings were hurt.

Not so for the alpha and beta. Faces dark with anger, they were almost snarling at Moya's table of females.

Oh…this is bad.