Chapter 13

They were quiet when they got back on the road, heading south to Connecticut. The mating bond hummed between them, stronger than before, sated for the moment by the physical connection and their proximity, but nothing had been truly resolved. They still had the issues of the attack, their warring packs, and how to be together. Both packs were on a rapidly approaching collision course that seemed inevitable, and their mating was going to be only one casualty. How many other lives would be lost in the war?

Maya pulled off the highway and navigated the back roads until she pulled into a dirt road leading to a farm. Garrett arched his brow. "We're meeting here?"

She shrugged. "They wanted a neutral place. I guess they've been staying here."

"Isn't this Dirigo territory? Did you know they were still on your land?"

She frowned. No one had said if they knew the remnants of the Tri-State pack were in their territory. Usually, rogues, wolves not belonging to any pack, were either killed with extreme prejudice, encouraged to move on, or, in rare occasions, invited to join the pack. She wondered if her Alpha knew these wolves were here and allowed their presence. And if he did, what that meant overall.

They pulled up to the large white farmhouse and several wolves met them outside on the porch. All were male, most on the younger side of forty, thin, tense, and watching the vehicle apprehensively. Two males stood on the dirt walkway leading to the house, one dark-haired and the other fair.

"There's a couple of outbuildings on the land. A barn and some smaller ones," Garrett murmured.

"Plenty big enough to keep a group of pups. And farms often had root cellars where they could keep people hostages, too."

Garrett nodded, his eyes fixed on the two males, who stiffly waited. They both got out of the jeep and walked around to greet the others.

The dark-haired male stepped forward. "I'm Alex Raines and this is Kyle Aaron. We're what's left of the Tri-State pack. We heard you were looking for us."

Garrett stood slightly back and to the right of Maya, letting her take the lead, to her surprise. "I'm Maya Wessex from the Dirigo pack, and this is Garrett Colvin from Saranac. We're looking for some lost pups."

Both males visibly started at Garrett's last name, then Alex narrowed his gaze. "I heard it was more than lost pups. I heard you were attacked by Saranac and they were kidnapped. So why are you working with them?"

Garrett stepped forward. "Saranac denies these claims. We're assisting Dirigo in finding the pups and proving our innocence."

Kyle snorted. "Let me guess. Your father helpfully pointed you in our direction, gave you our address and said we would do something like that because we were angry, resentful about the way our pack was treated after the war. Am I right?"

Maya snuck a sideways glance at Garrett because that was exactly how it had gone. His pack had directed them to the Tri-State pack, and, while she felt it was misdirection, they had to chase it down. Garrett said nothing, only stared at them.

"That may be true, but you can't deny that you resented the way the war ended. So, we need to make sure you weren't involved so we can get back to our investigation."

Kyle snorted again and opened his mouth, but Alex raised his hand, cutting off the other man. "I understand how an investigation works. I conducted plenty for my pack. We made a lot of mistakes as a pack and none of us denies it. But we never attacked pups. Only one pack ever used innocent lives as leverage for war or terror. That is a trademark Colvin move. Isn't it, Colvin?"

His gaze laser-focused on Garrett, who frowned. "I don't know what you mean. We never attacked pups."

Alex laughed, as did several males on the porch. Alex gestured to another male to step forward, a male in his late thirties. The male joined them, his face lined with grief. "I was there was the Tri-State war started. My mate and pup were killed in the first wave, before the war. We lived on the border with Saranac, in a small community. One night, a group of wolves swept in while most of the males were dealing with a supposed attack on our border. All our mates and pups were slaughtered as they slept. I lost everything that night."

Alex finished the story. "We were accused of starting it and we did, but we were defending ourselves against attacks perpetrated by your pack. We didn't know the full extent at the time. We only knew it later. We were pointed to Dirigo, then Chesapeake as the attackers. Only later did we find out that our allies, the Saranac pack, actually attacked us to start the war. It was the brainchild of your Beta, Linc Colvin. He's your uncle, isn't he?"

Maya froze, the horror of the story washing over her. "Why haven't we heard about this before?"

Kyle gave her a derisive look. "Because it doesn't fit the narrative that everyone wants to share. They want everything tied up in a neat little bow and disbanding us did that for them."

"But the Council…" she started.

"The Council is not the white knights they'd like you to believe. They're a bunch of self-serving assholes. Your alpha knows the truth and lets us live here as long as we stay under the radar."

Maya leaned against the jeep, staring at the dirt, her entire world view shaken in that moment. What more was going on in the background that she didn't know? How much could have been different if only someone had followed the truth instead of lies?

She lifted her head and realized everyone was ignoring her and watching Garrett, as if wondering how he would react. He'd been suspiciously quiet at the accusations against his pack, against his family. He stood there, staring beyond everyone, off into the distance, his hands fisted at his sides, his entire body rigid as if he could break at any moment.

She laid a hand on his back. "Garrett? Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not fucking okay. I just heard that my uncle ordered the deaths of females and pups at least once. Maybe twice."

"Didn't just order it. He was there. As was your father. A witness survived and saw him," Alex said.

Garrett's head swung around and stared at a young man who stepped forward, his hands buried in his pockets, his body hunched over as if prepared for a blow. "Fuck me. Are you kidding?"

Garrett spun on his heels and stormed away across the open field. Maya made as if to follow, but Alex stopped her. "Give him some time. He's just realizing his family is fucking insane."

She paused. "How did you know he wouldn't be the same?"

Alex shrugged. "I didn't. I took a chance. Either way, we weren't involved, but you're welcome to inspect any of our buildings and our home. But we have to stay hidden or the Council, or Saranac, will come after us."

She shook her head. "No, I believe you. We'll be on our way as soon as he's ready. I'm so sorry."

He shrugged. "Stop Saranac. That's the only way to help us now. Sadly, I don't think anyone can. They're being protected by someone higher than any of us."

He turned and headed inside, followed by the rest of his pack, leaving Maya to stare at Garrett's rapidly receding back.

* * *

How the fuck could his family have done something like that? Garrett no longer doubted the stories he was hearing. There was too much evidence that something was very wrong in the Saranac pack. They had always been a disciplined pack, strict about hierarchy and orders, and traditional on gender roles.

But, in the four years since he'd been gone, something had changed and the tenor in the pack seemed to have gotten worse. He sensed more fear around some of the lower ranked wolves. The females were more timid and scared than ever, when he saw a female, that is. And his uncle and father were sequestered in the office, making plans around maps along all of their borders, not just Dirigo. He never remembered his uncle being so forceful about enforcing his position as Beta, going so far as to use strength to put another wolf down, as he had with Garrett that first day, to force submission. Garrett knew he was dominant, strong and powerful, and could be considered a threat, but he hadn't been threatening his uncle.

Everyone in Saranac was on edge, almost loose cannons, and it worried him. If he looked at it from an objective angle, as he was trained as a Council Enforcer, he would bring in the Council to thoroughly investigate the pack for violations. This went beyond ideology and differences of opinion. There was an underlying rot here that spoke of serious problems.

"Garrett? Are you okay?"

He slowly turned to face Maya, his mate. There was no way he could bring her to Saranac. Both he and his wolf knew that now. Even with the promise of taking on a senior leader role and possibly influencing change for all wolves in the pack, he couldn't protect her. In fact, he didn't think he could change anything about the pack even if he took on the leader"s role. This came from the top, from their alpha, not just his family.

The only way to do it was to clean house and take on the alpha role or beta, and he wasn't strong enough, not yet. If he challenged for beta, he might win, assuming his uncle didn't cheat, but their alpha would kill him since he suspected their alpha supported his beta's efforts completely. And there was no way Garrett could challenge for alpha, not now and win. So he could not protect himself, much less a mate.

He had to give her up.

As if sensing his decision, his despair, she stepped closer and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm so sorry for the pain you're feeling. Is there anything I can do?"

Reflexively, his arms went around her, and he held her tight. This might be the last time he held her. He had to let her go, let her be free to find another mate and be happy in her life. After a solid minute of holding her, he loosened his arms and stepped back.

"You were right. About everything. About the pack, the attack, our mating. It was all a dream. But reality is a bitch, Maya. A stone cold bitch."

She frowned. "What do you mean? Sure, I was right about the attack, but we don't have proof, not yet. And we can work it out for our mating. We can find a way. I love you, Garrett. You can join Dirigo. You know you can. We let the Tri-State in. We would let you in too."

He cupped her cheek and let his thumb trace her lower lip. She was so na?ve. He doubted her pack would let someone from Saranac, a Colvin no less, join their pack. But he'd let her believe that for now.

"Sure, we can talk to them. For now, let's get back and I'll do what I can to find the pups on our side. I suspect where they might be and who might be involved."

Her eyes brightened. "What do you mean? Do you know something?"

"No, but I have suspicions, no proof. Let me check into it and I'll share with you as soon as I know for sure. I promise. Trust me, Maya."

She nodded, her eyes fixed on his. "I trust you with my life and the lives of my pack."

He really hoped it wouldn't come to that.