Chapter 8

Maya stood behind her Alpha, Duncan MacKinnon, where he sat at the table waiting for the other wolves to arrive. The Supreme Alpha, Simon Henry, and his chief enforcer and Beta, Charles Hollings, were at the head of the table. When they walked in, a wave of power swept over her, almost bringing her to her knees. When she was at the Council last month, she had seen the Supreme Alpha but had not felt his power unleashed. It was formidable. Her den leader, Isaac Hawkins, had warned her about this, but she hadn't been prepared. He had remained standing next to her, but she noted the lines of tension around his mouth and jaw.

All the males in the room were of a similar age. Mid-forties, fit and muscular. Simon was dressed more elegantly than her own Alpha, in an expensive, charcoal suit that was probably tailored to him and showed off his dark hair and a hint of silver at the temples. Her own Alpha was more casually dressed, having been out in the field until recently. He wore a pair of jeans and a button-down flannel shirt, fitted to his body. He was an Alpha who worked alongside his wolves, not handed down directives. In fact, he had spent most of the previous day and today, in the field, first where the incident had occurred, then visiting the families to reassure them.

Now, he sat at the table waiting for the other party to appear, motionless, even as the Supreme Alpha tapped the table with his pen, a scowl on his face. "You did specify the time and location, Charles?"

"I did, Alpha. In writing and on the phone," he confirmed in a firm tone.

They had selected a neutral spot between both territories, a small town on the border between Massachusetts and New York, in the Berkshires, that had served as a meeting place for their packs before when negotiations were necessary. The humans in the town were nervous at hosting three alphas, but they had the state police to protect them. They didn't realize that human police were no protection against a shifter intent on damage.

Simon frowned and glanced pointedly at his watch again. In that moment, they heard a commotion in the lobby and the door opened. Linc Colvin and two other wolves strode into the room as if they owned the place. Maya recognized Linc's brother and leader of the eastern den for Saranac, Shane, and Garrett. She stiffened, as did the other wolves in the room.

Simon glared at them. "Where is your alpha?"

Linc dropped into the chair opposite Duncan with a careless wave. "He has better things to do than be bothered by bullshit accusations. He's authorized me to handle this."

Charles walked over to Linc and casually wrapped a hand around the male's throat, then, in a swift move that stunned the room, pinned him to the table. Then he looked at the Supreme Alpha, who stared at Linc. "Care to rephrase your statement, Beta?"

A wave of alpha power accompanied the statement and all the wolves, except Charles, Simon, and Duncan, hit the floor, baring their throat instinctively. Linc snarled and struggled against the hold, but Charles leaned down and whispered something in his ear, subvocally so no other wolf could hear. Linc froze and went ghost white.

"Care to rethink your comment, Beta?" Simon's voice was silky as he leaned back in his chair, his lip curling a bit to show his displeasure.

Maya glanced at him from the corner of her eye, fascinated by the interplay and terrified to catch his attention. Now she understood what prey felt like when she was in wolf form on a hunt.

Charles must have eased his grip slightly, for Linc choked out a few words. "Apologies, Supreme Alpha. I'm just following orders."

After another long moment passed, the power lifted, and she felt like she could breathe again. Linc gasped and fell back in his seat, rubbing his throat where a few lines of blood dripped. The rest of them slowly struggled to their feet, all looking anywhere but at the Supreme Alpha. Maya chanced at glance at Linc, wondering how he would handle the embarrassment and she caught a speculative look aimed directly at her, though he said nothing. That chilled her more than anything said or done in the past few minutes. The last thing she wanted or needed was attention from the Saranac Beta.

"Now that everyone is finally here, we can begin. Yesterday there was an attack on Dirigo, on their most vulnerable—pups and non-combatants."

"We had nothing to do with it," Shane Colvin burst out.

Simon cut a glare his way, his dominance rolling over the room. "You will speak when spoken to." Shane stiffened, then looked away, unable to maintain the eye contact in the face of strong dominance. "As I said, the attack occurred on non-combatants. The location was well within the boundaries of Dirigo land. Several members were killed and pups were kidnapped. I don't have to add that this is a declaration of war."

"And this affects us how?" Linc asked, having recovered his composure and arrogance.

Duncan leaned forward, but Maya saw his fists clenched on his thighs under the table, betraying his intense emotion. "You know that you're responsible."

Linc only lifted an eyebrow. "You're mistaken. I think you're trying to find any excuse to attack my pack."

Simon raised his hand. "And who do you suppose did it, Colvin?"

Linc shrugged. "Could be anyone with a beef against Dirigo. Rogue shifters, humans, former members of the Tri-State Pack. They weren't too happy about the loss of their pack after the war. They've caused some problems for us, too."

"You allied with them in the war. Why would they attack you?" Isaac asked.

Linc turned a bored look on her boss. "Because they think we betrayed them."

"Did you?" Isaac challenged.

A flash of anger flared in Linc's eyes, quickly suppressed. "Of course not. But they lost, didn't they? So they had to blame someone. Maybe they want to retrieve their formers members, the ones you absorbed into your pack."

Duncan turned back to Simon. "We scented wolves we know are from Saranac. This is pure misdirection."

"But a valid possibility. One that should be considered. Charles, have your enforcers check into the Tri-State pack and any remaining members who may have gone rogue and have an axe to grind."

Duncan opened his mouth as if to speak, and Simon held up his hand. "We will explore all possibilities, Duncan. Enforcers will also investigate Saranac for their involvement."

"We formally protest. We will not allow outsiders on our pack lands," Linc declared.

"Tough. If you disagree, you are admitting guilt and will be punished accordingly. Is that what you're doing, Colvin?" Linc subsided to a sullen silence. "Good. Now, we need local assistance. Paws on the ground. I assume your local wolf is Maya, Duncan?"

Duncan nodded. "She's our second on the western border and knows the people and the land better than anyone except Isaac. She also has a background in investigations."

"Good. Colvin, do you want to assign someone from your side as a representative?"

Maya opened her to mouth to protest, but Isaac tapped her hand. Colvin smirked at her, then nodded. "Yes, my nephew Garrett. I'm sure you know him from his time as a Council Enforcer. He's just returned, so I think he'd be an excellent liaison. He can work with my brother, Shane, and my other nephew, Brandon."

Simon nodded and stood. "Fine. Let's get this wrapped up quickly. Every moment we dawdle is a moment those pups are in danger. Charles will coordinate the efforts. Move out people."

* * *

Charles gestured for Garrett and Maya to hang back when everyone else filed out. His uncle gave him a meaningful look then strode for the door as if he owned the place, as if he had not been smacked down by the Beta of the national pack. Before he could exit, Charles stepped in front of the door.

"I have a few questions for our inquiry, Colvin. Your brother can wait outside." He pointedly looked at Garrett's father, who turned red, then slipped out.

Uncle Linc narrowed his gaze, but folded his arms in front of him and drew himself up, making himself appear larger. It didn't appear to have any effect on the other male, who gestured to the chair. "Please, have a seat."

"I'll stand. I assume this won't take long."

"Depends on how cooperative you are." Charles's voice was quiet but firm.

Uncle Linc studied him for a moment, then chuckled as if he wasn't bothered, and dropped into the chair. "Ask your questions."

"In a moment." The door opened as a couple other males entered the room and stood along the wall. Charles turned to Maya. "Please tell us about the attack."

Maya took a deep breath and stared at a fixed point on the wall. Garrett had an urge to take her hand, offer her some kind of comfort or support, but he knew she would reject it, not appreciating the sign of weakness. So he leaned against the wall, folded his arms, and listened to the story.

"I was on patrol when I felt something in the pack bonds. A sharp pain, a feeling of terror and death. I knew something was wrong, and I headed for the picnic area."

"How did you know to go to that area and not somewhere else?" Charles's voice was calm, even.

Maya swallowed hard. "I knew the wolf that the reaction came from. He was my cousin, Ronin."

Garrett winced. Shit. He'd met Ronin a couple of times when they were much younger. He'd seemed like a decent male, fun and happy. Judging by the bleak look on Maya's face, the story wasn't going to end well for her or her family.

"When I got to the clearing, he was propped against a tree, disemboweled with claws, but he was clinging to life. I knew a healer couldn't save him, not even a powerful witch. He told me they had just finished eating and were telling stories to the pups when wolves came from the north, against the wind, so the sentries didn't sense them. It happened so fast, he said. They must have been watching. They took out the guards and the adults, while a couple of the enemy herded the pups. It wouldn't have been hard. The pups were in one place and probably huddled together for protection, so they made it easy."

"Hearsay. Not admissible," Uncle Linc stated dismissively.

Maya shot him a look of utter loathing and Garrett saw his uncle's hands fist, but he remained in his seat.

Charles interrupted. "Enough. Maya, continue."

She nodded. "We found one pup, dead."

She choked and blinked rapidly. Garrett found himself next to her, his hand on her back, rubbing lightly. He gestured to one enforcer, his old partner Caleb, for a glass of water. Caleb exited and came back with a glass, handing it to him. Garrett placed it in Maya's hand, trying to ignore the push of his wolf against his skin, the howl telling him to protect her and get her away from the males around them.

He risked a glance at the larger room and caught his uncle's smirk, a gleam in his eye as if he could already see a mating in the future. There was no way he'd bring Maya into the Saranac pack, who would never allow her to be an enforcer or who she really was. It would destroy her, and that would kill him to watch her wither away.

He ducked his head, avoiding his uncle's knowing gaze. "You okay to continue?"

She sucked in a deep breath and straightened. "One pup had been killed in the attack. The others were gone, including two of our teenagers. Sloane Wyman and Samuel Lancaster. They had just started shifting." She cleared her throat, her voice coming stronger when she started speaking again. "Ronin passed away moments later. Other enforcers started arriving on scene and we started investigating immediately, putting our best scenters on the hunt."

She lifted her chin and met Charles and Uncle Linc's gaze full on. "We have had enough interactions with Saranac to know who and what we smelled. Saranac wolves were all over the place, including Shane Colvin."

Garrett froze, his hand fisting at his side. His father was involved? No way. His father and uncle hated Dirigo, and they were tough, some could say brutal, males, but even they would never attack pups. He faced his uncle, who sat, relaxed in the chair, a smirk on his face.

"We deny the accusation, of course. It's ridiculous. Someone is setting us up. They wore our clothes or something with our scent on it."

"He saw Shane. Ronin said Shane was the one who killed him. I scented him all over the wound."

His uncle waved his hand dismissively. "You believe the rantings of a dying man over the respected Beta of a pack? He was mistaken, a weak male overcome by a superior force."

"How do you know they were superior? They were cowards, sneaking onto other pack's lands and attacked pups and non-combatants. You don't need warriors for that. You need insane cowards. Honorable wolves would never do that."

Linc lunged out of his seat for her. Caleb North and Garrett smoothly stepped in to block him from reaching her. She snarled from behind them. "I can defend myself."

"Enough," Charles's voice echoed in the conference room, his power pressing on all of them to submit.

They all bowed their knees, even Linc. When everyone was quiet and calm, Charles relaxed. "Colvin, you said it wasn't you. Maya never indicated you were there, but your brother was. Where was he?"

Linc shrugged. "He was with me. We were reviewing the border patrol plans. I didn't want any more skirmishes with Dirigo."

Maya's eyes flashed. "You've been pushing the borders for several months, attacking our patrols and our people."

"Enough," Charles repeated. "We'll assess the border maps later. Right now, we have pups to find. A couple of my enforcers are interviewing your brother now. I hope his story matches yours. I am sending two enforcers to Saranac to talk to your border guards. Garrett, you'll coordinate. I expect no surprises."

His tone implied that there had better be no surprises or funny business. Garrett nodded. "Understood. I'll share what I learn after I review the patrol plan and talk to everyone."

Linc shot him a sharp look but said nothing. Charles nodded. "Take Caleb as your partner in the interviews. I don't think you should bring a Dirigo wolf into Saranac lands. Maya, you'll work with Rafe Mendoza to gather reports from Dirigo. Everyone will report to me here daily. Clear? Now move."

He stood and strode from the room without a backwards glance. After a moment, Maya headed for the door, one of the enforcers peeling off to follow her. Garrett nodded to Caleb to head outside, and he left.

Linc gave Garrett an appraising look. "Awfully protective of a girl that you're not mated to."

"Instincts."

Linc grunted. "You've been gone too long, pup. Besides, that one would just as soon gut you than let you protect her. Stay close to her and let me know if you feel any mating bond forming. We could use her fire in our pack, once she learns her place."

He got to his feet and ambled over to Garrett. In a swift move, he gripped the back of Garrett's neck and yanked him close. "You report everything to me first, you hear? And you keep Saranac's secrets. Remember, pack first. Always."

Garrett nodded the few inches the tight grip allowed. His uncle let his own dominance shine through for a moment, then, as if satisfied that he'd made his point, released Garrett with a shove and strode out of the room.

Caleb re-entered, his impassive gaze taking in his former partner. "So where do we start?"

"We review the patrols and talk to them, see where they all were at the time of the attack."

"Assuming they'll tell us the truth," Caleb said.

Garrett sighed. "Assuming that."

Based on his uncle's not so deft handling of the interview, he wasn't sure what to think any longer.