20. Griffin

-Outlaws and Outsiders- CoryMarks

Grace walks in with Nic and I see the minute her mothering instincts kick in. She shifts fluidly and lays down, curling up around the girls. Deep down, I know it’s because she feels like she failed the puppies, and that’s why they were abducted. I signal to my brothers to keep an eye on Grace and the babies and I touch Nicolai’s shoulder to get him to follow me.

We head out into Grace’s garden and have a seat on the porch overlooking the yard. “Sorry to pull you away, but there are things you need to know.” Barrett comes out shortly after we’re settled and hands me the file I needed and two cold beers for us. Barrett smiles at us, then heads inside back to watch over Grace.

Flipping through the file, I hand Nicolai several pieces of recon my team has done about the potential threats in the pack. I also slip a map over to him where the first attack on Grace happened, where she almost died and this most recent attack on the babies. The two sites are close to each other and I believe it holds some significance. I also give him the pictures of Roxy and her ex, Hunter, so he knows who we are watching out for. The last thing I had him is the photos of how much damage Hunter had done to Grace and what the crime scene looked like.

A deep growl escapes his lips, and I watch the fur race up and down his arms. “He did this to her? I’ll kill him myself.” He stares down at the image and then glances up at me.

The back door opens and Ethan steps out with a six-pack in one hand and an open beer in the other. “Better get in line, Nic. I’ve got first dibs on that motherfucker.” Ethan looks damn near feral as he looks between Nic and me before chugging down his beer.

Nic nods and then leans back, deciding against challenging Ethan. “How’s Grace?” I know she’s fine. I feel it through the bond.

“Resting peacefully. Conrad and now Barrett are curled around her and the babies. Conrad has decided he’s best for home defense and us as the war machine.” Ethan shrugs his shoulders as if what he said was gospel.

Reaching through the bond, I talk to Conrad and I’ll be damned. He believes he’s better at home with Grace and the babies than leading the charge with us. “Well, with that settled, we should consider our options.” I hand Ethan other pieces of the intel and I watch him peruse the information.

“Everything appears to be close to the old mine system to the north over here just outside of the Cruz territory in no-man”s-land between the two packs.” Nic draws attention to the five-mile sliver between the Cruz and Spinelli pack lands.

“That’s been part of my suspicion for a while now. The tail end of that slice of land runs between our two packs, which explains how they have been moving undetected.” Ethan says then raises an eyebrow at Nic. “Technically there is no need for borders anymore between our packs, now that Grace claimed you.” Ethan arches a brow at Nic and he grins back.

“I believe you are right. We need to have a joint pack meeting at the edge of the territories and join the packs. Wolf Creek runs through the middle as a natural divider for the pack lands, so why not name the combined back Wolf Creek Pack? We would be larger than the Wolverton Pack at that point by at least three hundred members combined.” Nicolai proposes, and that gets Ethan’s attention.

“You know there will be wolves on both sides fighting the combining of the packs even it’s for the best.” Ethan cracks the top off of his beer and chugs half of it as he stares at me. I already know the high probability of fights breaking out.

“We have a Moon Wolf as their Luna. That will carry weight within the packs, especially if she shows up in her wolf form.” Nic makes a valid point.

“That might paint a target on her back as well. A Moon Wolf in existence? Think of the ramifications. It’s not as if she has a big enough target on her back. Let’s just walk her from our pack into yours.” Shaking my head, I pop open a new beer for myself.

“I could walk with her.” Ethan turns and looks at me and then over at Nic. “I’m feared in six packs no one in their right mind would try anything.” Ethan puffs up and his wolf blazes to life in his eyes.

My brother’s legendary temper and blood thirst could, in this instance, be a very good thing. “I believe it would carry more weight if you and Nic walked her through both packs,” I ponder my suggestion further. “I know I’m the alpha for our pack, but pound for pound, Ethan is more lethal. If we go by ancient law, the birth of a Moon Wolf means she rules the packs and has full dominion over them.” I reach under the table to the book I had left there earlier today when Grace had busted me reading it.

The book of traditions and laws clearly states that a Moon Wolf rules over all. It doesn’t matter if I have been an alpha for twenty years or twenty minutes. Her birthright outweighs mine. Turning the book over in my hand, I open it to where I have the satin sash marking the page. I place the open book between my brother and Nicolai so they can read.

They lean over the book and complete the page and flip to the next. Nicolai’s eyebrows shoot up and Ethan looks like he’s in deep thought. “Let’s have Grace announce the meeting and then we will escort her to the border as our wolves.” Ethan says as he looks between me and Nicolai.

“We’ll talk to her when she wakes up from her nap. I don’t want to assume that she’s willing to expose herself to both packs.” I look towards the back door and who is standing there? The Luna in question. I move quickly to open the back door and Grace and the puppies come trotting out with Conrad and Barrett behind them. Grace takes the puppies into the yard and, sure enough, the little ones had to go to the bathroom.

Grace walks back over to us and shifts fluidly and accepts Ethan’s button-down shirt from him. “What do you guys have planned? I heard something about the blending of the packs and needing the Moon Wolf.” She rubs her stomach and steals the book from Ethan before he can pull it away from her.

I watch as her eyes scan the page and she bites her bottom lip, eliciting a growl from Ethan. Narrowing her eyes, she looks over at him then focuses on the book again. Her eyebrows shoot up for a moment, then she reaches out and takes Nic’s hand and places it on her stomach. I can tell the minute he feels the baby move, his eyes flash golden for several seconds, then back to normal.

“From what Ruby told me, as it gets closer to my third trimester, I may lose my ability to summon my wolf.” Grace looks deep into my eyes and I can tell the thought frightens her, even though she’s not showing it. “We need to unite the packs before I can’t shift.” Her eyes move from mine over to my brother, then over to Nic, before looking back at me again.

“I agree. It would offer more security for you and the babies. Luna”s gifts can only do so much in the face of a rogue alpha.” Several heartbeats pass and that’s when I realize my error. Grace looks like a deer frozen in headlights and I have Ethan yelling in my head to fix it. Reaching out, I pull a very stiff Grace into my arms and run my fingers through her hair.

“You have four very strong alphas, one of which is almost feral.” Ethan grins when I call him feral and it almost concerns me. We will do everything in our power to keep you and the babies safe.” I press my lips to her temple and breathe in her scent as it changes back to normal.

Grace snuggles in closer and rests her head on my chest finally. Our baby kicks and it makes me laugh. “Naughty little one, don’t kick your daddy,” Grace whispers as she reaches down to rub her stomach. She turns her attention on Ethan and waves him over, and places his hand on her stomach. The little one moves again and gets both of us to laugh. The flash of Nic’s camera makes Grace look up. He turns the phone around so we can see the picture. “I love it Nic, it’s beautiful.”

“Not as beautiful as you.” He says before moving closer. “I’ll call my betas to come here so we can figure out how to move forward.” Nic scoots forward and kisses Grace’s temple before walking off into the garden to make his phone calls.

“Let’s get you fed and prepare for this meeting we need to have. Ethan, let’s gather our betas and get our route planned.” Ethan rolls his eyes and grabs the book and heads into the house with Conrad and Barrett, bringing the puppies inside.

“I thought we were getting me food?” Grace tilts her head, looking up at me.

“We are. Go get changed and we’ll go out to lunch where ever you would like to go.” Grace beams up at me before heading into the house ahead of me. Shaking my head, I go inside and find Conrad and Barrett at the table, feeding the babies. “I’m taking Grace out to lunch. We need to plan a dinner for our betas and Nic’s when they arrive.”

“We should host it in the pack house.” Barrett offers and tilts his head to the side.

“Yeah?” I’m not sure I’m following where he’s going with that idea.

“Well, this is Grace’s safe place. Her den.” He arches an eyebrow at me, then it makes sense.

Nodding, I look down the hall when I hear her feet on the stairs on her way down. “Good call, the pack house it is. We have eight betas and Nic has six, so seating enough for twenty.” I look down at my phone when I send the text message setting dinner for six pm. I send a similar message to Nic so that his people are aware of the dinner time and location.

Grace rounds the corner in the cutest baby doll dress and flats and I swear my heart almost stopped in my chest. She giggles as she twists back and forth, making Ethan drop his drink and set the phone down. I place a hand in the center of my brother’s chest and stop him from approaching our mate. “I’m taking her to lunch first, then we can do whatever dirty thought popped into your head.”

“I’m holding you to that, Griff.” He slaps me on the chest before turning and leaving the kitchen.

Grace turns and heads towards the front door and I follow her without question. Once on the porch, she stops and stares at our vehicles. Usually I take the truck everywhere, but with all things considered, I grabbed the keys to Conrad’s armored car. A year ago I would have yelled at him for wasting money on bullet proof glass and bomb proof armor on the car. But with the attempts on our mate’s life lately, it was money well invested.

Reaching out, I take ahold of Grace’s hand and lead her to the car and help her get comfortable and buckle her in place. When I’m sure she’s secured, I run around to the driver’s side and get in.

“Where are we going, Griff?” Grace tilts her head as she turns in her seat to face me.

“It’s a surprise.” I smile at her and put the car in gear. We have one of the best steak houses not far off pack lands I plan to take her to. It’s in what we call neutral territory and other packs frequent it. Ambrose and Dustin are set to have lunch there today, and it’s a perfect time to rope those two Alphas into our master plan as back up.

Ambrose has taken to Grace and has sworn to protect her and her bloodline for the rest of his life. An alpha doesn’t make a commitment like that unless he means it. To break that kind of bond would mean losing his position as alpha and possibly his life. We pull up to the restaurant and Grace lights up, pointing at Ambrose’s car.

“Ambrose is here?” She squeals and covers her ears, instantly regretting her life choices.

“Yes, it’s part of the reason I brought us here. We can handle business and pleasure at the same time. Dustin will be with him and it’s good to make friends with the other alphas, all things considered.” Grace nods and I exit the car to go retrieve her. I can only hope this impromptu meeting goes off without a hitch. We need all the allies we can get at this point.