Chapter Eight

~Donovan~

I’d risen early, my body hard and hungry for my mate, but I chose to leave her tangled with Anthony. We’d both loved her last night, several times. Feeling her skin, her mouth, the grip of her hands on my body made it difficult to remember she was still healing. Quicker now that she’d shifted, but still recovering. What she needed most now was rest and answers. Anthony would see to the first, and I’d head out to work on the second.

I had my phone at my ear as I left the house.

“Are you there?” I asked as soon as West answered the call.

“Got here early this morning. It’s a full-on shit show,” he muttered. “Bunch of lowlife pricks trying to claim control of a pack that’s scattering to the wind as we speak. Whole place is a fucking mess.”

“Anything on Clayton or Claire Richards?”

West was quiet for a moment. “They pulled her body out of the rubble about an hour ago. Still nothing on the male. I’ve heard rumors he made it out. I’ve also heard rumors someone took his body, so it would be assumed he made it out and was giving orders through someone else’s mouth,” West offered.

“Find the truth,” I ordered. My mate didn’t need rumors.

“I will.” There was no doubt in his voice. West would dig until he had what he wanted. I’d liked the male from the first time we’d met. Before Rowan Byrd was presumed dead. Before Bas had met and mated Raina Byrd and the James Pack had taken residence in Rigton County. “There are good people here, Donovan. People who are hurting. Clayton was a bastard, but I’m learning his wife was loved. She did a lot of things to take care of this pack. Some of these people don’t know where to go.”

“Talk to Cyan.”

“Thing is, I think it might be time to regrow the Rigton Pack. A lot of our pack was absorbed into yours when Bas and Raina were mated. They felt abandoned by us, and I get that. Rowan gets that. Maybe, it’s time for some new blood,” West suggested.

“Then do it. I can’t see Bas or Cyan caring. Let them head this way. James Pack or Rigton wolves. We’re both here. We’ll both welcome good people and weed out any bad that try to sneak in.”

We’d done it when we first took over this territory. One thing the James Pack wouldn’t tolerate was bullies and abusers. We had zero tolerance. There’d been problems along the way. Several mates who’d been attacked or in danger. That was all gone now. The last had been cleaned out when Rowan Byrd had risen from the dead and discovered who’d initiated the attack on him and his mate. We’d had peace since then. Or at least, no major drama until Emma arrived. Thinking of my mate made me think of the men who’d hurt her.

“Find out if any of the survivors had anything to do with my mate’s capture and abuse,” I ordered. “If so, I want them brought here. Justice will be given out. By Anthony, Emma, and me.”

“I’ll let you know,” West promised. “Give me a few more hours, and I should have another update. The rest of the building will be cleared by then. Scott and Cody are moving about the town, feeling out who was who in the pack hierarchy.”

“With his sons out of the way, who stands to gain the most,” I mused.

“Exactly. See if your mate has any insight on that,” West suggested.

“Will do.” I disconnected then turned as Michael joined me. “Fuck.”

“What’d you find out?” he asked, flipping his keys around his finger.

“They found Claire Richards’ body.”

“Shit. Sorry, man. You going to back in to tell her?” Michael asked.

I was torn. She needed to know, but would it make any difference if it was now or when she woke up? No matter how much she’d voiced her acceptance that her mother hadn’t survived, learning it was true would hit her hard. Was it wrong of me to want to protect her from that just a little longer?

“Not yet. I’ll let her rest a little longer.” I finished a text to Anthony, giving him a heads up in case anyone reached out. “Let’s head on over to Bas’ and see what else they know. Maybe, Nico has checked in by now.”

“Cyan said they still can’t reach him. He’s gone dark. Hell, at this point, we don’t know that Clayton Richards didn’t kill both sons. Whatever it is, we won’t know shit until we hear from Nico.”

“Clayton Richards took his daughter and tortured her to locate Sam,” I reminded Michael.

“I’d say it’s pretty obvious he wasn’t sane?” Michael countered. “Then again, I’m sure he has a list of enemies. Who says someone else didn’t take Sam?”

That gave me pause. “What would anyone have to gain by taking Emma’s brother?”

“Control of the pack. Think about it. Take the remaining son before Clayton can kill him, too. That pack passes from father to son. Cyan should have been their alpha, but Clayton killed his brother and sent Cyan away. There were a few attempts on his life before he joined with Bas. Even one after.”

I nodded as Michael spoke. We’d all heard about it. Many of us had left broken or toxic packs and been hunted in one way or another. My mind raced through Michael’s thoughts and everything we’d just learned.

“If Clayton is dead, then they have Sam to use. If they can control him. If Sam is missing, then they have Clayton’s body to use. If they can convince others he’s alive.”

“If Clayton survived, he’d be hurt in some capacity,” Michael mused. “You don’t walk away from an explosion like that without taking some damage. Unless he was the one who set it.”

“True. Plus, if they have Sam…” I stopped. “We need to know more about Sam. Where was he when his brother was killed? When Emma was captured? Did he get out, or was he involved?”

“You think he might have helped Clayton kill Jonathan? Why would…” Michael paused. “Damn. That’s diabolical. Second son. He’ll only be alpha if he takes out his brother.”

“Just as his father did.” I glanced at Michael, urging him to follow my train of thought. “Who else stands in the way of that?”

“Of Sam being alpha?” Michael asked. “They wouldn’t let Emma take control. That’s a patriarchal pack.”

“It is, and who’s the only living male of a former alpha who might have a claim? If he wanted to assert it,” I added.

“Fuck.”

I saw everything connect in Michael’s mind.

“This might have been a setup from the start.”

“Get to Bas and Cyan. Call in the pack. Tell them to keep reaching out to Nico. I’ll get Anthony and Emma and head over. No one goes anywhere alone.”

“I’m grabbing Piper. Reaching out to Bas now,” Michael yelled as he headed back to his house at a run. I was doing the same.

I shoved the door open just as Anthony stepped out of the kitchen, coffee cups in hand.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, immediately going on alert.

I merely motioned for him to follow me as I barreled down the hallway toward the bedroom. The door hit the wall as I pushed in. Emma, who was just waking up, startled, her eyes going wide as she took in me then Anthony as he slammed into my back.

“What is it?” She nearly tripped on the covers as she jumped out of bed. My gaze automatically slid over her naked body. The woman fired my blood. She was pure temptation even with her clothes on. Naked, she was a man’s ultimate fantasy. No, not a man. Only two men. Me and Anthony.

“We need to head out. Now. Get dressed. Quickly.” My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I saw West’s name when I pulled it out. “I need to get this. Trust me. I’ll tell you everything on the way to join the rest of the pack. Just hurry.”

Anthony stared at me as I stepped back out of the room. My phone stopped, but West called again before I had the chance to call him back.

He didn’t even wait for me to say anything. “It’s not her.”

“Claire?”

“Yes. It’s not her body. Someone went to a lot of trouble to make it look like her. It’s not. Something’s off here.”

“Fuck. Listen to me. You three need to be on your guard. In fact, you need to get out of there. Soon. The sooner the better,” I warned.

“Rowan said the same when I spoke to him. Scott’s heading to get the car now.”

“No!” I warned. “Stay together. This feels like a setup, West.”

West was quick, connecting all the dots immediately. “Emma was bait. They’re after Cyan. Cody!”

I heard West shuffle the phone away as he spoke to the male with him, telling him to call Scott and get him back. “We’re heading to meet up with Scott. I’ll make sure we check for any tails as we head back, but if it was planned, that means Wallace was part of the plan.”

“To get my mate here, create chaos and draw out Cyan.”

Wallace had done a dump and run. Hell, he’d clipped Emma with the car as he’d left. As far as I was concerned, he deserved our wrath for that alone.

“None of them could have guessed Emma would find her mate in the James Pack,” West said.

“Mates,” I corrected.

“Do you think they mean to try to trade Claire Richards for Cyan?”

I nodded even though West couldn’t see me. He whistled on the other end of the connection.

“Cyan would have never gone after their pack,” West stated.

We all knew the truth of that. He was our beta. He was family. He’d never leave this pack, but a man like Clayton Richards would never understand loyalty. Or maybe, he understood it just enough to use it to finish what he’d started all those years ago. He’d killed his brother for the alpha title, but he’d allowed his nephew to escape. He’d used his wife and daughter. Manipulated them into what? Calling out Cyan? All so he could take out a threat that never existed.

“Scott’s here. We’re leaving now,” West said, pulling my mind back to him.

“Be safe.”

“Always. We’ve kept Rowan safe for a long time,” he reminded me. “We’ll be fine. Catch you as soon as we’re back.”

I hung up and turned to see both Emma and Anthony watching me. Anthony had his arm around her waist, holding our mate tight to his side.

“You think he’s coming here, with my mother, to kill Cyan?” she asked, letting me know she’d been paying attention to my side of the conversation.

“I do.”

“And Sam.” She paused, clearing the clogging emotions from her throat. “You think he could be dead also?”

“Possibly. I can’t imagine your father leaving him alive when he killed Jonathan,” I admitted, stepping closer to her. I didn’t like the distance between us, though it was only a few feet. “I’m sorry, baby.”

“I can’t…” Tears poured down her cheeks. “Jonathan deserved better.”

“You deserve better,” Anthony said as we held her in between us.

“I have you.” She shuddered as she fought and gained control of her emotions. “Both of you. I have this pack and…” More tears flowed. “A brother I never had the chance to know but would like to. And I won’t give up hope of finding Sam. Of finding my mother. Do you think she’s alive, and my father plans to use her to get to Cyan? She’d never want that. She’ll fight him tooth and nail to prevent it.”

“We’ll find a way to make sure neither of them are hurt,” I vowed, meeting Anthony’s gaze and getting a nod. “But I need a promise from you.”

“What?” she asked.

“No matter what gets thrown at us, you stay with the pack. You go nowhere by yourself. If you find yourself confronted by your father or anyone from your old pack, you do whatever’s necessary to keep yourself safe until we get to you.”

Anthony turned her face toward him. “Because we will get to you. Nothing will ever keep us from you.”

Emma nodded. “I promise.”

“Good.” I dropped a kiss on her lips, meaning for it to be a quick brush, but I couldn’t help but take it deeper, to claim her. When I finally broke away, Anthony was there, and it revved my pulse even higher to watch him kiss her with the same intensity as I had.

“Let’s go,” he said when he broke their kiss.

We kept her between us on the way out to the vehicle. No matter what was headed our way, she would remain safe. I’d spill blood to assure that. Even if it was my own.